I got to thinking and had a question

[GoldenRivet]

My thought process took me down this road... dont know how.

but i thought about an anti submarine device and wondered if it would have worked back then at all?

A bomber flies overhead on an attack run on a U-boat. among the falling bombs is a powerful magnet that activates when dropped. connected to the magnet is a 30 - 50 meter chain attached to a bright orange bouy, this bouy would be equipped with a small homing device.

on the off chance that the bomber's little "magnet marker" scored a hit or came close to the u-boat and attached itself, the u-boat would tow the bouy along under the water.

As the bomber circled overhead, and the u-boat went deep the bouy dissapears from view and the u-boat evaded the bomber, immediately upon surfacing though, nearby bombers would detect the homing signal and head for it at high speed.

surely by now the U-boat is on the surface, and has brought out the cutting torches to cut the heavy steel chain and remove this barnacle of death from their boat.

But aircraft engines roar on the horizon, even if the boat manages to clear 30 meters depth by the time the bombers arrive, all they have to do is target the bouy and the waters around it.

tactically speaking, when a u-boat evades an aircraft, the u-boat could stay submerged for many hours... but the aircraft could only loiter for 10 - 15 minutes and return to base. the U-boat contact is lost, and the u-boat escapes. but with this device, the aircraft, nearby aircraft, or nearby warships could detect the surfaced u-boat from many miles around once it surfaced... this would give the allies a quick means of re-establishing contact with the u-boat which had previously given them the slip.

Second to that... why not have a magnetic device that is launched from a depth charge rack... it does not explode, but instead attaches itself to the U-boat. the device creates a siren like sound which automatically shuts off at 600 meters. also much like a bold canister, it activates when it makes contact with a large metallic object.

if the device falls below 600 meters, the siren stops - indicating a miss. but if the siren continues for many many minutes, and the active sonar return intinsifies (bold like device active) the attacking destroyer knows exactly where the boat is.

the only way to shut it off is to surface the boat and remove it, OR sink past 600 meters.

[Cohaagen]

I'd imagine if ever there was a proposal for such a device someone would have raised the point: if you can attach a bouy or some other thing to the sub, why not attach something explosive and save all the subsequent farting about?

[Brag]

The decks we wood lined

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Brag

The decks we wood lined

good point, but i suppose it could attach to the side of the hull or something.

they had a similar device for Panzers, which is why they are coated in Zimmerit... seen here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:P...usf.G_1_sk.jpg

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Cohaagen

I'd imagine if ever there was a proposal for such a device someone would have raised the point: if you can attach a bouy or some other thing to the sub, why not attach something explosive and save all the subsequent farting about?

also i would think it would be like a hedge hog... very small explosive punch.

[Capa]

Funny.

All that chain would be too expensive though, and I doubt the kind of unpredictably it'd offer would be acceptable.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

...on the off chance...

And there's the rub: air-dropped devices almost never hit their targets. Even bombs did most of their damage from "near misses"; i.e. they acted just like depth charges, going off close enough to cause damage, but rarely actually hitting.

[seafarer]

I'd say it's pretty basic really. Unless your magnet was of Wile E. Coyote-like strength, it would have to be literally dropped directly onto the steel of the submarine to stick. And if your aircraft are getting that close and accurate with their attack, why not just drop a 200 or 500lb bomb on the thing and be done with it.

Even industrial neodymium magnets, while powerful, only have a relatively small sphere of influence - miss the sub by just a few feet, and your magnet just sinks to the bottom.

[Torplexed]

I think such a system could also be defeated by simple degaussing.

The degaussing system aboard a naval vessel consists of coils of electrical cable in different locations within the hull, a direct power source for energizing the coils and a controlling system, via switchboards, to control the amount and polarity of current through the coils.

The purpose of degaussing is to counteract the ship’s magnetic field and establish a condition such that the magnetic field near the ship is, as nearly as possible, just the same as if the ship were not there. This in turn reduces the possibility of detonation of magnetic-sensitive ordnances or devices.

[GoldenRivet]

lots of little details i had not considered... ahhhh it is to dream.

how about one 4,000 lbs depth charge?

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

lots of little details i had not considered... ahhhh it is to dream.

how about one 4,000 lbs depth charge?

Well....the US, Soviet Union and Britain all developed nuclear depth charges. That oughta about do it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Depth_Bomb

You can hide...but you can't run.

[GoldenRivet]

now that is just flat out INSANE

[bookworm_020]

You drop one of them in the water and you would kill your sub, but green peace would be after you!

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

now that is just flat out INSANE

Hehheh..my favorite in the not-well-thought-out weapon catagory would have to be the now defunct nuclear bazooka. :p

The Davy Crockett was a bazooka-type missile with a W54 nuclear warhead. It could be mounted on a Jeep, or a three-person team could carry it. The weapon system used a spin-stabilized, unguided rocket fired from a recoiless rifle. While early atomic missiles were heavy and awkward, the Davy Crockett was only 30 inches long, 11 inches wide and weighed 76 pounds.

Two types were made: a 120-mm with a range between 1,000 to 6,500 feet; and a 155-mm with a range between 1,000 to 13,000 feet. The Davy Crockett also could carry a conventional high-explosive round for use as an anti-tank weapon. Stockpiled from 1960 to 1971, the Davy Crockett brought nuclear capability to the infantry.

Given the ranges listed, sounds like a suicide weapon.