In SH5 there are three different types of projectors to deploy depth charges to the sides of a ship. One of them isn't functional:
- K-gun projector: Mounted on the sides of the ship, delivering the depth charges to either port or starboard. These projectors don't work. The projector is firing, you can hear the noise and see the smoke of the propellant charge, but no depth charge is delivered, no splash is indicating the depth charges impact on the water, no depth charge explosion can be seen or heard. Mounted e. g. on Black Swan class sloop, V&W class destroyers and (early in the war) on American destroyers and destroyer escorts (Fletcher, Buckley, Everts class).
- K-gun projector with Mk 9 depth charges: As above, but with faster sinking depth charges. Works fine. Appearing later in the war, these projectors are mounted on some American ships that were previously equipped with the standard K-guns.
- Y-gun projector: Mounted on the centerline of the ship with the arms of the "Y" pointing outboard, two depth charges are cradled on shuttles inserted into each arm. Works fine. In SH5 you'll find them on Wickes/Town and Clemson class destroyers.
That's the reason why some folks find the projectors working correctly (K-guns Mk 9, 1942/43 onward or Y-gun) and some don't (standard K-gun, 1939-1942). I found the destroyers that are equipped with the faulty K-guns to be less dangerous as they should be, because their projectors are not able to generate the wider dispersal pattern when used in conjunction with rack-deployed charges.
As a temporary solution I replaced each line 'LinkName=KGun' with 'LinkName=KGun_Mk9' in the equipment definition file (.eqp) of the ships concerned. And the DCRack with the DCRack_Mk9 respectively, so the racks deploy the same type of depth charges. Perhaps someone can build a proper fix for the K-guns...
Depth charge projector fix available here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...60#post1837160