| GENE SLOVER'S US NAVY PAGES NAVAL ORDNANCE AND GUNNERY VOLUME 1, NAVAL ORDNANCE CHAPTER 14 ANTISUBMARINE WEAPONS |
| HOME INDEX Antisubmarine Weapons A. Antisubmarine warfare B. Depth charges C. Depth bombs D. Throwing weapons E. Nets and booms |
| A. Antisubmarine Warfare 14A1. Introduction Antisubmarine warfare (ASW) comprises the employment of available weapons, resources, and necessary tactics against enemy submarines, their operating bases, and their supporting activities. The purpose of ASW is to deprive the enemy of effective use of his submarines. Operations contributing to accomplishment of this purpose are various in nature and may be either offensive or defensive in character. In general, the principal categories of antisubmarine operations are as follows: 1. Bombing and mining. Destructive bombing (or bombardment) of enemy submarine pens, bases, building yards, and repair facilities will reduce enemy capabilities to wage submarine warfare. Mining serves the purpose of preventing movement of enemy submarines to and from their bases. Such operations may be carried out by aircraft or submarines. 2. Hunter-killer operations. A hunter-killer group consists characteristically of an aircraft carrier with radar-equipped antisubmarine planes, sonar-equipped antisubmarine helicopters, and a screen of destroyers. Aircraft conduct both surface and undersea searches, and are capable of rocket, depth bomb, depth charge, and antisubmarine torpedo attacks. When aircraft cannot complete the destruction of the submarine, they guide surface units to the scene for concentrated attack and reattack. 3. Escort of convoy. Escort of convoy, or screening, is usually conducted by antisubmarine surface vessels. Air support may be available at times, and may include surface search by fixed-wing A/S planes, or sonar search by helicopters and airships. 4. Harbor defense. Harbor defense comprises measures for protecting fixed geographical areas by preventing penetration of submarines, small surface craft, or manned torpedoes into these areas. Harbor defense measures include using defensive minefields, nets and booms, and underwater listening and echo ranging equipment. Fixed installations are usually supplemented by surface A/S units capable of attacking any submarine detected. Air patrols, including planes equipped with magnetic airborne detection (MAD) equipment, are also available to harbor defense forces. 5. Submarine antisubmarine operations. Submarine-versus-submarine operations are showing increasing effectiveness, and development in this field is being actively prosecuted. 14A2. General The importance of antisubmarine warfare cannot be too highly stressed. Recent advances have been made in submarine design and operation, such as greater speed and the ability to stay submerged almost indefinitely. These facts, plus the submarine potential of any prospective enemy, make it obvious that maximum effort must be devoted to attain proficiency in antisubmarine warfare. Current emphasis in research and development-in both equipment and tactics- and an intensive fleet A/S training program are directed toward this end. It was demonstrated during World War II, and has been further confirmed by operational evaluation since that time, that the air-surface hunter-killer team is one of the most effective forces in combating submarines. Aircraft have the advantage of searching large areas quickly, an important consideration because of increased submerged speeds of modern submarines. Formerly, aircraft contact with underseas craft was limited to surfaced or snorkeling submarines. If the submarine submerged before the attack, surface units were guided to the scene for further operations. It is now possible for airborne units to maintain contact on submerged targets and to deliver lethal attacks while the submarine is below the surface. Airships and helicopters track submarines with sonar. The airship tows a sonar transducer which gives azimuth, or scanning, presentation comparable to surface ship sonar. As a matter of fact, airship sonar applications are quite similar to those of surface vessels, and the airship has the additional advantage of greater search speeds. Antisubmarine helicopters are equipped with dipping sonar. The helicopter hovers in the target area, lowering a searchlight-type sonar transducer for careful step-by-step underwater search. Another means of tracking submerged targets from the air is by magnetic airborne detection equipment. MAD operates on the same principles as fixed magnetic loops that are standard equipment in harbor defense detection systems. MAD measures distortion of the earth’s magnetic field caused by the presence of ferrous metal such as a submarine. Attack capabilities of both airships and helicopters have been increased by recent developments. The helicopter is capable of carrying an antisubmarine torpedo, while the airship may attack by torpedo, depth charge, depth bomb, or conventional hedgehogs. 14A3. Weapons Since antisubmarine warfare has a high priority, the near future will see in use against submarines weapons which cannot be described in this volume because of security classification. In addition to those weapons described in preceding chapters, there is a special group of weapons designed especially for use against submerged submarines. They have common characteristics of sinking or diving from the surface of the water and producing an underwater explosion either (1) on contact with the submarine, (2) in proximity to the submarine, or (3) at a preset depth. Depending upon the launching method, such weapons are grouped as follows: 1. Throwing weapons, including the hedgehog and an antisubmarine rocket called weapon A; 2. Torpedoes; 3. Depth charges; 4. Depth bombs. In addition to the three classes of active weapons, this chapter includes a discussion of nets and booms, described above as one of the passive means for antisubmarine (and antitorpedo) defense. |