[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

New one for me: I note that British lendlease LST's also carried four FAM's in 'mounts' but not American LST's did not... I cannot seem to find a photo of one of this type of ordinance; ANY ideas out there? I suspect it was a variation on the short-lived 'Z' batteries with wire/parachute mines fired from Royal battleships at aircraft; The weapon had 20 smoothbore tubes, fired ten at a time. A small cordite charge was used to ignite a rocket motor which propelled the fin-stabilized 7-inch (18 cm) diameter rocket out of the tube to a distance of about 1,000 feet (300 m), where it exploded and released an 8.4 ounces (240 g) mine attached to three parachutes by 400 feet (120 m) of wire. The idea was that an aeroplane hitting the wire would draw the mine towards itself where it would detonate. BOTTOM LINE: it was ineffective; aircraft could avoid the wires and the ordinance had been seen igniting on HMS Hood's deck during her fatal encounter with Bismark...after which the Admiralty acted to remove the weapon from all British warships. Seen mounted on turret of HMS Nelson prior to replacement by Bofors 40mm guns. As if it will work better on an LST than on a Battleship??? Well it must have been a form of ' second handmedown comfort' ordinance.

The arming of merchant ships was the original question.

FAM, Z batteries, HMS Hood?