British destroyers and light cruisers had already used mine rails in the First World War. German minelaying submarines, destroyers, and converted merchant raiders showed how mines could hurt a stronger enemy, while the Royal Navy's general control of the surface gave it a different set of options. Submarine mine loads were limited, whereas a surface ship could lay a much denser field. This made a fast run toward a hostile coast and away again practical. The Abdiels carried the Harwich Force's operational model into the Second World War.
Notable Point · 1:10-3:16
World War I roots of the fast minelayer
World War I destroyer and cruiser minelayers supplied the operational model: get close to hostile waters, sow a field, and leave quickly.