scary thought

[Sledgehammer427]

okay, i heard about this japanese destroyer that, upon contacting a submerged submarine, would drop a fishing line like thing with a flag that would attach itself to the submarine, and this line would have a buoy that would, from its distance from the flag, indicates the depth of the submarine. it is said that it sank 4 boats thru the war....scary innit?

[seafarer]

If they could pinpoint the subs position precisiely enough to attach a line to it, why not just drop a dang ol' contact-fused DC on it and be done.

That is, personally, I don't believe it

[Idaeus]

I second him ^

[hyperion2206]

I think I've read about it, must have been Silent Victory or Thunder Below. The Japanese would lower a hook into the water to "catch" the sub. What I didn't know was that they attached a flag and a buoy.
This idea is genius because if you manage to attach the flag to the sub you can never lose it. If you rely on sonar or ASDIC alone you can. After a depth charge went off it can take up to 10 minutes until you are able to use sonar etc. effectively again.

[Sailor Steve]

It all sounds a little "fishy" to me.

[Paajtor]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer427

okay, i heard about this japanese destroyer that, upon contacting a submerged submarine, would drop a fishing line like thing with a flag that would attach itself to the submarine, and this line would have a buoy that would, from its distance from the flag, indicates the depth of the submarine. it is said that it sank 4 boats thru the war....scary innit?

Sources, please.

[seafarer]

Originally Posted by hyperion2206

I think I've read about it, must have been Silent Victory or Thunder Below. The Japanese would lower a hook into the water to "catch" the sub. What I didn't know was that they attached a flag and a buoy.
This idea is genius because if you manage to attach the flag to the sub you can never lose it. If you rely on sonar or ASDIC alone you can. After a depth charge went off it can take up to 10 minutes until you are able to use sonar etc. effectively again.

Actually, why is it genius? Again I'll say, if you can actually manage to attach a line to the sub, then just attach an explosive, gut the pressure hull, and be done with it. What's the point in tagging it, and then having to chase around after the tag in order to sink the boat? When you attached the line, you surely had a good enough fix on its position and depth to sink it outright, so what is the point of merely tagging it?

[Keelbuster]

Yea - and if you did attach a line, wouldn't it be likely that your very next DC run would knock it loose?

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Originally Posted by Keelbuster

Yea - and if you did attach a line, wouldn't it be likely that your very next DC run would knock it loose?

It depends if the intentions were to co-ordinate more ASW assets to make sure the submarine was destroyed. I'd attach the line then get another few destroyers here for three DC runs, no chance of survival then.

[Sailor Steve]

If it was possible to attach a line, then it would be equally possible to attach a strong enough cable to support some weight. Then you could have a pre-rigged 5" shell ride the line down. This would almost certainly blow a hole in the pressure hull, and you would win the submarine war overnight.

Until I see some real evidence, I'll modify my 'fishy' statement: it sounds like BS to me.

[Pred8tor]

Originally Posted by hyperion2206

I think I've read about it, must have been Silent Victory or Thunder Below.

I've read something like this. I remember the sub's crew could hear the scraping sound as the line dragged against the side of the sub. It may have been in Silent Victory (I haven't read Thunder Below) , but I more recently read about Eugene Fluckey's experiences in the Tang (Sorry, the title escapes me at the moment - not Thunder Below, though). I'm thinking it was in the later book in which I read of this event. So perhaps it is also in Thunder Below.

[Edit]: Hmmm. Now that I think about it, maybe it was a line securing a mine that actually was rubbing against the side of the sub. That's more likely.