Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 42:20-43:42

Would an 18-inch gun make a useful anti-submarine mortar?

It could throw a formidable anti-submarine charge, but the weapon would be unnecessarily large and would sacrifice the rapid pattern fire that makes smaller guns and purpose-built mortars useful.

3-inch Guns4.5-inch Guns4.7-inch Guns5-inch Guns6-inch Guns18-inch GunsAnti-Submarine WarfareDepth ChargesNaval GunsWeapon System Design
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Question

What would happen if a gun-launched anti-submarine mortar were scaled up to an 18-inch tube?

Short answer

It could throw a formidable anti-submarine charge, but the weapon would be unnecessarily large and would sacrifice the rapid pattern fire that makes smaller guns and purpose-built mortars useful.

Notes

An 18-inch gun could fire a powerful anti-submarine shell, but finding a ship and mounting for such a large weapon is the first problem. Smaller guns offer a high rate of fire that can spread charges across the suspected submarine position. The examples include 3-inch, 4.5-inch, 4.7-inch, 5-inch, and 6-inch guns. A gun could put roughly twenty large depth charges into an area within a minute. Delayed detonation or coordinated arrival could make those rounds form a simultaneous pattern.