˜yÐÄvlog

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paravane

[ par-uh-veyn ]

noun

  1. an underwater defensive device against mines, consisting of a pair of torpedo-shaped vanes towed at the bow of a ship, usually a minesweeper, by cables that can cut the cable of a moored mine, causing the mine to rise to the surface, where it can be destroyed or removed from the water.


paravane

/ ˈ±èæ°ùəˌ±¹±ðɪ²Ô /

noun

  1. a torpedo-shaped device towed from the bow of a vessel so that the cables will cut the anchors of any moored mines
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of paravane1

First recorded in 1915–20; para- 1 + vane
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of paravane1

C20: from para- ² + vane
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

More of the white hull and the anchor came into view, followed by the paravane, a long pole used to snare mines.

From

He, Commander Charles Dennistoun Burney, a British M.P., inventor of the paravane comes to prepare for a series of trans-Atlantic flights by the giant dirigible R-100, now nearly complete.

Soon submarines, submerged to periscope depth, surrounded the Revenge; dummy torpedoes were fired against the "paravane"; and airplanes were catapulted from the deck of an aircraft carrier to drop "depth bombs" among the submarines.

Upon encountering the anchor chain of a submerged mine or the hull of a submarine, the cable draws the paravane into contact.

The defensive paravane is simply the old idea of the pilot boat which, after having put the pilot on board, makes fast a line from the bow of the ship and by putting the helm well over, runs out on the bow away from possibility of bumping the ship.

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