Steamwake: Yes, I paused the game and pressed the Del key to remove the 'Game paused' screen. Then I tried to find some good angles. The good thing about the external camera is that you can pan anywhere you want even if the game is paused. So some of these shots are actually from the same split second, only taken from different angles.
kholemann: Like I mentioned in the original post the hedgehogs didn't explode, but the depth charges that were launched a few seconds later did. Those are the explosions seen on the pics. Thanks for the info though!
I have just continued the patrol, where I encountered a convoy with only tankers! I'm preparing to make a new 'photo story' from that soon, but I need to calm down a bit first. It was the most fun and excitement I've had so far in SH3...

But I can tell as much that I got hammered with more hedgehogs and depth charges...

But I did survive, even without reloading a single time (turning around to avoid cold stares from the realism buffs...

).
Stay tuned!