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Originally Posted by TorpX
AFAIK, no hedgehogs or mousetraps, but they had an anti-submarine mortar. I'm not sure what exactly the insperation or idea behind it. It seems to have been rather ineffective.
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Yes, the Japanese introduced some ASW mortars. Seems they couldn't fire a full spread the way the hedgehog could and charges were relatively puny and grossly inaccurate.
From the NavWeapons.com site...
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No ahead-firing weapons equivalent to the Hedgehog or Squid were developed by the Japanese, although an ASW projectile for many naval guns and a simple mortar for merchant ships were introduced late in the war.
A 15 cm (5.9") ASW mortar was developed for transports and merchant ships. This was in a cradle mounting allowing 360 degree traverse and had recoil and runout cylinders. The projectile weighed about 60 lbs. (27 kg) and could range out to a maximum of 4,500 yards (4,100 m).
The Navy 81 mm mortar was also carried by many escorts, firing standard projectiles.
Finally, a 15 cm (5.9") rocket propelled DC with a range of 3,280 yards (3,000 meters) was developed in April 1945 but this saw no active service.
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