Adanlayer was a type of vessel assigned tominesweeping flotillas during and immediately afterWorld War II. They were usually smalltrawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans. Adan is a markerbuoy which consists of a long pole moored to the seabed and fitted to float vertically, usually with a coded flag at the top.
Dan laying was an important part of minesweeping, and boats were fitted specifically for this purpose. The task of a danlayer was to follow the minesweepers as they worked an area, and lay the dans which defined the area swept and made it obvious where the clear channels were. This would also help the minesweepers cover areas accurately without gaps and unnecessary overlaps.[1] A danlayer worked with a minesweeper flotilla when large areas of sea were to be swept.
Since Germany had been an exponent of mine warfare since the 1920s, it was natural that theKriegsmarine used a number of danlayers duringWorld War II. Danlayers of the Kriegsmarine included the following vessels:
Danlayers employed by theRoyal Navy during the extensive mine clearance operations following World War II included the followingIsles-class trawlers.
TwoRound Table-class trawlers,Sir Lanceleot (T228) andSir Galahad (T226) were converted fromminesweepers to danlayers prior to theNormandy landings.
In 1944, prior to the Allied invasion of Normandy, the Admiralty-type Motor Mine Sweepers Nos. 141, 142, 238, 239, 240, and 241 were converted to danlayers and renamed HMSBurfin, HMSCottel, HMSFichot, HMSJude, HMSQuirpon, HMSSt. Barbe. All were twin-screw, wooden, 105-foot, coastal-minesweeping sloops that were financed by Steers Ltd. of St. John's, Newfoundland and built by Henry Stone in his shipyard at Monroe, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, Canada between 1941 and 1943.
Danlayers employed by theRoyal New Zealand Navy during World War II