Get Our Extension

Anti-submarine mortar

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way

Anti-submarine mortars are artillery pieces deployed on ships for the purpose of sinking submarines by a direct hit with a small explosive charge. They are often larger versions of the mortar used by infantry and fire a projectile in relatively the same manner. They were created during World War II as a development of the depth charge and work on the same principle.

Discover more about Anti-submarine mortar related topics

Submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Submarines are referred to as boats rather than ships irrespective of their size.

Mortar (weapon)

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore metal tube fixed to a base plate with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition.

Infantry

Infantry

Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry, mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine infantry.

World War II

World War II

World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war.

Depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

Beginnings

Crew of SS Orca with British BL 7.5 inch Naval Howitzer, an anti-submarine mortar developed in 1917
Crew of SS Orca with British BL 7.5 inch Naval Howitzer, an anti-submarine mortar developed in 1917

Anti-submarine warfare did not become an issue of great concern until World War I, when Germany used submarines in an attempt to strangle British shipping in the Atlantic Ocean and elsewhere. The earliest way to counter a submarine was in the form of depth charges, which were large canisters filled with explosives, rolled off the back of a ship and detonated by a hydrostatic fuse. 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 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.

After World War I depth charge throwers were developed, which could hurl depth charges some 100 feet (30 m) off the side of a ship. These were a significant improvement over the old method, permitting the use of large 'patterns' of up to 10 depth charges from the throwers and stern depth charge rails used together. However they still required a ship to pass very close to a submarine, which entailed loss of sonar (ASDIC) contact during the final stages of the approach. Submarines could and did use this dead interval to take evasive action.

It was the British who developed the first anti-submarine mortars. Several versions appeared in 1917, most notably the BL 7.5 inch Naval Howitzer; however the anti-submarine mortar did not become a truly successful weapon until the advent of the multi-barrelled Hedgehog 25 years later.

Discover more about Beginnings related topics

World War I

World War I

World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.

Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 km2 (41,100,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe, and Asia from the "New World" of the Americas in the European perception of the World.

Depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

Hedgehog (weapon)

Hedgehog (weapon)

The Hedgehog was a forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon that was used primarily during the Second World War. The device, which was developed by the Royal Navy, fired up to 24 spigot mortars ahead of a ship when attacking a U-boat. It was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers and corvettes to supplement the depth charges.

WWII anti-submarine mortars

Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar on the forecastle of HMS Westcott, 28 November 1945
Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar on the forecastle of HMS Westcott, 28 November 1945

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 first was the famous Hedgehog, which consisted of 24 small mortar rounds, each one 7 inches (180 mm) in diameter and weighing 65 pounds with a 35-pound 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 of a depth charge it scored three times as many kills than its predecessors. This was due to the use of a contact fuse 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 sonar "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 Squid three-barrelled depth charge mortar, which fired 390-lb depth charges to a range of 250 metres, and in the US by the Mousetrap rockets.

Discover more about WWII anti-submarine mortars related topics

Modern uses

ORP Kaszub firing a RBU-6000 rocket depth charge.
ORP Kaszub firing a RBU-6000 rocket depth charge.

The homing torpedo has largely replaced the anti-submarine mortar in naval combat, although several examples still exist. The British Limbo system, with three gyro-stabilized barrels, fires 350-pound projectiles to a range of 1,000 yards (910 m). It remained in service with many British and Commonwealth navies until the 1980s. The Bofors anti-submarine rocket launcher was used until 1980 with the Swedish Navy. It had two or four barrels and fired a 550-pound projectile up to 3,800 yards (3,500 m). Due to the poor sonar conditions of the Baltic Sea, mortars, rocket and missile launchers still retain a place next to torpedoes. The former Soviet Navy (and by extension, the Russian Navy) is the largest user of anti-submarine mortars. Keeping with the Soviet idea that weapons should be simple, cheap and reliable, several versions of rocket-propelled anti-submarine mortars were developed. Trials were also conducted on destroying oncoming torpedoes with anti-submarine mortars. The most common is the RBU-6000, which fires twelve 160-pound projectiles in a horseshoe pattern up to 6,500 yards (5,900 m) away. There was also a more extreme version, the nuclear RPK-1 Vikhr, though this is more technically an anti-submarine rocket. It had anti-surface and land-attack uses as well.

Discover more about Modern uses related topics

Torpedo

Torpedo

A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such a device was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive, or fish torpedo; colloquially a fish. The term torpedo originally applied to a variety of devices, most of which would today be called mines. From about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate a self-propelled underwater explosive device.

Limbo (weapon)

Limbo (weapon)

Limbo, or Anti Submarine Mortar Mark 10, was the final development of the forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon Squid, designed during the Second World War and was developed by the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment in the 1950s.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Bofors 375mm anti submarine rockets

Bofors 375mm anti submarine rockets

The 375mm ASW rocket family is an ahead-throwing anti-submarine warfare (ASW) rocket launcher system developed by Bofors. The system has three types of launcher with either two, four or six barrels, and entered service in the 1950s. Sweden used the four-barreled system on the Halland and Visby-class destroyers. France built the four-barrelled system under licence then developed the six-barrel system and used it on many classes of warship including T 47 and T 53-class destroyers and A 69-class avisos (corvettes). The Netherlands used it in the Friesland-class destroyers. It was also was used by Royal Malaysian Navy on the Kasturi-class corvettes before they removed it from the ships. Indonesia use it on its three Fatahillah-class corvettes and Brazil on six Niterói-class frigates, all of which are still in service. The rocket system is also being used by the Turkish Burak-class corvette's which are all ex-D'Estienne d'Orves-class A69 type aviso corvettes, mainly designed for coastal anti-submarine defense and ocean escort missions.

Swedish Navy

Swedish Navy

The Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps.

Sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on or under the surface of the water, such as other vessels.

Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.

Soviet Navy

Soviet Navy

The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with the opposing superpower, the United States, during the Cold War (1945–1991). The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War, either confronting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in western Europe or power projection to maintain its sphere of influence in eastern Europe.

Russian Navy

Russian Navy

The Russian Navy is the naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696; its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

RBU-6000

RBU-6000

The RBU-6000 Smerch-2 is a 213 mm caliber Soviet anti-submarine rocket launcher. It is similar in principle to the Royal Navy Hedgehog system used during the Second World War. The system entered service in 1960–1961 and is fitted to a wide range of Russian surface vessels. It consists of a horseshoe-shaped arrangement of twelve launch barrels, that are remotely directed by the Burya fire control system. It fires RGB-60 unguided depth charges. The rockets are normally fired in salvos of 1, 2, 4, 8 or 12 rounds. Reloading is automatic, with individual rounds being fed into the launcher by the 60UP loading system from a below deck magazine. Typical magazine capacity is either 72 or 96 rounds per launcher. It can also be used for shore bombardment.

RPK-1 Vikhr

RPK-1 Vikhr

The RPK-1 Vikhr NATO reporting name SUW-N-1 was a Soviet nuclear anti submarine missile system. FRAS-1 was the NATO code for the missile round itself.

Source: "Anti-submarine mortar", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, December 9th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-submarine_mortar.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

External links

Media related to Anti-submarine mortars at Wikimedia Commons

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.