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Originally Posted by cobalt
i dont think it would be practical because the diesels of the sub would probably drown out everything else in the ocean.
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You would have used it while submerged, not on the surface.
Ultimately, yes, sonar was in it's infancy in the Second World War. The dated hydrophone systems were little more than underwater direction finders where range had to be 'guesstimated' by the operator. This was not really a big problem for the operators due to the fact that, outside of the last few months of the war, submarines actually spent very little of their time submerged. It was the lessons learned regarding the danger of airpower that forced the submarine to be developed into a true sub-surface platform, rather than a submersible torpedo boat. As such, sonar would then become the primary, rather than secondary, method of detection and identification, which would push technology and development in a rapid fashion. The results were dramatic: In the course of nearly 30 years, ecompassing the First and Second World Wars, as well as the 1920's and 30's, the submarine remained virtually unchanged in regards to design and function. However, in less than 10 years following the end of the Second World War, the submarine would undergo radical transformations in both design and function.