Quote:
Originally Posted by tater
IT's not like the cable would snag and harm either. The whole idea is that when it hit, the escort hears it, and can prosecute the attack.
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actually tater that was exacly what happened, they had to pull them faster than a trawler does so the hooks would hook into the hull and not slide off.
they couldnt use depth charges which was rthe reason for the hooks not as a detection method but they were meant as an offensive weapon of their own.
DD would often go too fast by using the same running attack tactics as if they were depth charging so when it snagged something then something was ripped off, either the subs hull or the DD rear deck was damaged. the winches were literally ripped off the decks along with everything it was attatched to and all the rigging for them and it often messed up the decks to the point repairs couldnt be avoided. in one case the DD snagged the rockbed and it was badly damaged.
if DD went too slow then subs could easily move out of the way by going to flank since they were noisy and im sure they could hear where the hooks were dragging. another drawback was the rear racks were removed so you lose those as weapons and trawlers didnt have enough mass to do the job so they werent a good choice to use the sub hooks.
its not like dropping a trawl over the back end and tying it to a moring cleat.