How long did it take to reload DC racks and Hedgehogs IRL?

[gouldjg]

Hi Folks

Does anyone know how long it would have actually taken to reload, set DCs and Hedgehogs in real life?.

I find speed of 15 seconds hard to believe but stand to be corrected.

Thanks for any help

[CCIP]

I don't have the literature in front of me, so I hope someone comes back here with a few exact figures.

Well the DC racks are racks for a reason. Rolling charges off these was never a problem, I believe. Setting the charges is not a complicated process and is done by a crew. The racks are made to roll series of charges off as opposed to just single drops.

K-Guns and other such DC launcher would probably take at least 2-5 minutes

Hedgehogs - I had a figure for this somewhere. 10-20 minutes, I believe.

[gouldjg]

Thanks CCIP

Yes of course your right about the racks doh silly me :damn:

I am very interested in the kguns and hedgehogs.

I love the sound of 10 minutes, That sounds good to me, not too many on my head if I implement this then.

I will do a google to see if i can uncover some info.

Thanks again

[CCIP]

To give you an idea - the hedgehogs weighed 32lb each and had to be reloaded by hand (24 of them). They were pneumatically thrown.

The K-gun DCs were fired by an explosive charge strapped to the DC, and had to be lifted (with a manual lever, I believe) to fit onto the K-gun. The spares were prepared in advance.

I'm very sure there's concrete data on the time involved, since I came across it in the books I read.

[timetraveller]

Just finished reading "U-Boat Killer", by Capt. Donald MacIntyre, who commanded the HMS Hesperus and others, escorting convoys in the N. Atlantic. He claims his crew reloaded DCs in about 15-30 seconds one time. Hard to believe. They must have been "ready" I guess.

By the way, this is a great read. MacIntyre is the guy who captured Kretschmer in U-99 on the high seas, when Kretschmer surfaced "in the wrong place".

The book is on sale at Books-A-Million bargain rack for $7 right now. Hard cover too. A steal.

TT