Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouftic
"At 0201 hours on 23 September 1943 the German submarine U-666 fired a Gnat torpedo, which hit HMS Itchen (Cdr. Clement Edward Bridgman, DSO, RNR) after 1 minute and 10 seconds. The frigate blew up after the hit in position 53º25'N, 39º42'W. Debris from the vessel was later found on the conning tower of the U-boat and on HMCS Morden."
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I said "difficult", not "impossible". My initial response was to you using the word "normally" in quoting a high death rate. Do you have a record of the number of frigates exploding vs. those not exploding due to ammunition?
Quote:
"HMCS Athabaskan (Lt.Cdr. John Hamilton Stubbs, DSO, DSC, RCN) was sunk in the English Channel north-east of Ouessant by two torpedoes from the German torpedo boats T-24 and T-27. The magazine and a boiler blew up in an explosion that was seen 20 miles away."
http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4440.html
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Again, I didn't say it couldn't, or didn't, happen. You said it was a normal thing. It's not. By-and-large torpedoed frigates did not suffer secondary explosions.
Quote:
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"AB T.D.H. Malone had set the depth charges to “safe” before the ship was struck and this action undoubtedly saved many lives.
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Which says the depth charges did not explode.