The Hector Depth charge

MobyGrape · 07-30-06, 02:12 PM

Just finished reading, Convoy, By Martin Middlebrook, a great read

He mentioned in book,
The Germans, however, would not get away totally unscathed. Beverley, having narrowly escaped destruction from torpedoes fired by U-616--her erratic, zig-zag course and high speed saving her--gave U-228 a severe depth charging which caused a small leak in the U-boat’s hull. The destroyer’s ASDIC then picked up another contact: U-530, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Kurt Lange--at 39 believed to be the “second oldest captain in the U-boat fleet”--and hunted her for over two hours, subjecting her to a depth charge barrage that knocked out lighting and caused leaks in the boat's pressure hull. Fortunately for the submarine, the sole Mark X depth charge--a one-ton torpedo-like affair nicknamed "Little Hector" that almost certainly would have given the coup de grace to the already wounded undersea raider--malfunctioned, the firing mechanism failing. Beverley subsequently lost contact with U-530--which then escaped--and depth-charged U-600 soon thereafter, but did not score a "kill."

07-30-06, 02:12 PM	#1
MobyGrape Frogman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mid Pacific Posts: 292 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The Hector Depth charge Just finished reading, Convoy, By Martin Middlebrook, a great read He mentioned in book, The Germans, however, would not get away totally unscathed. Beverley, having narrowly escaped destruction from torpedoes fired by U-616--her erratic, zig-zag course and high speed saving her--gave U-228 a severe depth charging which caused a small leak in the U-boat’s hull. The destroyer’s ASDIC then picked up another contact: U-530, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Kurt Lange--at 39 believed to be the “second oldest captain in the U-boat fleet”--and hunted her for over two hours, subjecting her to a depth charge barrage that knocked out lighting and caused leaks in the boat's pressure hull. Fortunately for the submarine, the sole Mark X depth charge--a one-ton torpedo-like affair nicknamed "Little Hector" that almost certainly would have given the coup de grace to the already wounded undersea raider--malfunctioned, the firing mechanism failing. Beverley subsequently lost contact with U-530--which then escaped--and depth-charged U-600 soon thereafter, but did not score a "kill."