Editing Minelayer (section)

== Etymology ==
Before World War I, mine ships were termed [[mine planter]]s generally. For example, in an address to the [[United States Navy]] ships of Mine Squadron One at [[Isle of Portland|Portland]], England, [[William Sims|Admiral Sims]] used the term "mine layer" while the introduction speaks of the men assembled from the "mine planters".<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/northernbarragem00annarich#page/106/mode/2up |editor=All Hands |year=1919 |chapter=Speech of Admiral W. S. Sims, U. S. Navy |title=The Northern Barrage, Mine Force, United States Atlantic Fleet, The North Sea, 1918 |location=Annapolis, MD |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute|Naval Institute Press]] |page=108 }}</ref> During and after that war the term "mine planter" became particularly associated with defensive coastal fortifications. The term "minelayer" was applied to vessels deploying both defensive- and offensive mine barrages and large scale sea mining. "Minelayer" lasted well past the last common use of "mine planter" in the late 1940s.