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This depth charge contained 200 lb (91 kg) of Torpex. A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarines by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive hydraulic shock.
Early depth charges were designed to be rolled into the water off of the stern of a fast ship. The ship had to be moving fast enough to avoid the concussion of the depth charge blast. Later designs allowed the depth charge to be hurled some distance from the ship, allowing slower ships to operate them and for larger areas to be covered.
The Mark VII depth charge was the primary British anti-submarine weapon until 1944 when the anti-submarine projectile launchers the Hedgehog spigot mortar and Squid three-barrelled mortar introduced in 1943 and 1944 proved more effective. [1]
Depth charges, the most used weapon, were improved during the course of the war. Starting with WW1 vintage 300-pound (140 kg) depth charges, a 600-pound (270 kg) version was developed. Torpex explosive, which is a 50% more powerful explosive than TNT, was introduced in 1943.
During the action, a few depth charges became loose aboard Christabel, and at great personal risk Ensign Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan secured them, earning him the Medal of Honor. [10] On June 6 U-151 attacked the British ocean liner SS Dwinsk about 400 miles east of the Bermudas. Twenty-two crewmen were lost, but the rest survived in the ...
On August 11, 2022, British deep-sea divers located the wreck of Jacob Jones off the Isles of Scilly at a depth of 377 feet (115 m). [20] Numerous artifacts were located, including the 80-pound (36 kg) ship's bell. [21] [22] [23] The divers, who found the bell lying on its side, flipped it upright and photographed and filmed it. [21]
Depth charges HMS Penn was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War . The M class were an improvement on the preceding L class , capable of higher speed.
The depth charges were also not as effective as one might think at sinking a submarine - only a very close detonation would sink a submarine, and the problems of scoring a direct hit meant that a submarine was more often damaged than destroyed by depth charges. After World War I depth charge throwers were developed, which could hurl depth ...