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fuze. Depth charges served well throughout World War I but were not without flaws. A ship had to pass directly over a submarine to score an effective hit, because of this depth charges were dropped in lines instead of more effective clusters and could only be carried in ships fast enough to avoid the
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rounds, each one 7 inches (180 mm) in diameter and weighing 65 pounds (29 kg) with a 35-pound (16 kg) warhead. Each projectile had a range of about 250 yards (230 m) and was fired in a circular pattern in front of a ship. While the warhead on a
Hedgehog was much smaller than that
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During World War II submarines once again posed a major threat to Allied shipping, which necessitated the development of more effective anti-submarine mortars. These all had the common characteristic of throwing multiple charges ahead of the attacking vessel, while it was still in sonar contact. The
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After World War I depth charge throwers were developed, which could hurl depth charges some 100 feet (30 m) from the side of a ship, perpendicular to its travel. These were a significant improvement over the old method, permitting the use of large 'patterns' of up to ten depth charges from the
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concussion of the explosion. 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 then destroyed by depth charges.
239:"blackout" from the blast and turbulence of a conventional depth charge explosion were eliminated. In the later stages of World War II the Hedgehog was complemented in Britain by the
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system, with three gyro-stabilized barrels, fires 350-pound (160 kg) projectiles to a range of 1,000 yards (910 m). It remained in service with many
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three-barrelled depth charge mortar, which fired 390 lb (180 kg) depth charges to a range of 270 yd (250 m), and in the US by the
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on the projectile, which would only detonate on impact with a target. Since the projectile would only explode on a hit, the long periods of
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depth charge rails used together. However, they still required a ship to pass very close to a submarine, which entailed loss of sonar (
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190:) contact during the final stages of the approach. Submarines could and did use this dead interval to take evasive action.
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It was the
British who developed the first anti-submarine mortars. Several versions appeared in 1917, most notably the
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has largely replaced the anti-submarine mortar in naval combat, although several examples still exist. The
British
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of a depth charge it scored three times as many kills than its predecessors. This was due to the use of a
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by a direct hit with a small explosive charge. They are often larger versions of the
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and fire a projectile in relatively the same manner. They were created during
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and elsewhere. The earliest way to counter a submarine was in the form of
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Anti-submarine warfare did not become an issue of great concern until
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Naval weapon type for launching small depth charges against submarines
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are artillery pieces deployed on ships for the purpose of sinking
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Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar on the forecastle of HMS
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345:. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
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41:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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263:firing a RBU-6000 rocket depth charge.
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343:Naval Weapons of World War II
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327:Campbell, pp. 91–93, 166–167
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195:BL 7.5-inch naval howitzer
155:BL 7.5-inch naval howitzer
222:most successful was the
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301:Russian Navy
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309:RPK-1 Vikhr
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364:Categories
293:Baltic Sea
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315:Citations
247:rockets.
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