Was Hedgehog inspired by aircraft depth charges?

Was Hedgehog inspired by watching aircraft drop small depth charges?

Probably not; Hedgehog work began earlier, and Squid rather than Hedgehog was the projected depth-charge system.

The popular story linking Hedgehog directly to aircraft dropping small charges is treated as apocryphal. Hedgehog threw a pattern of smaller impact weapons ahead of the ship, whereas Squid brought projected depth charges into the later weapon family. Hedgehog development had begun before the aircraft observation supposedly inspired it. The distinction matters because the two weapons used different attack concepts even though both improved forward-thrown anti-submarine fire.