Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:50:56-2:51:27

The newspaper report that exposed shallow Japanese depth charges

The panel portrays Admiral King as furious that press reporting revealed an exploitable weakness in Japanese anti-submarine tactics.

Anti-Submarine WarfareDepth ChargesErnest J. KingImperial Japanese NavyUS NavyWartime Secrecy
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Question

How did the United States Navy react when newspapers revealed that Japanese depth charges were set too shallow?

Short answer

No formal measure is given, but Admiral King is described as furious because the report exposed an important operational advantage.

Notes

The question concerns a wartime report that Japanese depth charges were being set too shallow to reach American submarines. Publicizing that weakness risked alerting Japan to correct it. The panel does not quantify an official response, but it depicts Admiral Ernest King as exceptionally angry with the responsible editors. The exchange illustrates the tension between press freedom and operational secrecy when a published detail can change enemy tactics.