Mine loadouts turn a small sloop into a local deterrent

Interwar sloops could change their visible loadout for minelaying or minesweeping as well as other tasks. A ship arriving with mine gear invited observers to calculate what even twenty or thirty mines might do off their coast. The same hull could also demonstrate that the visiting navy was prepared to clear a threatened route. That combination made a modest vessel relevant to both coercion and reassurance. Configurable equipment could magnify presence without turning every deployment into a high-end combat mission.