Squid
Squid anti-submarine mortar on display at the Devonport Naval Base
Type	Anti-submarine Mortar
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1943–1977
Used by	Royal Navy
Production history
Designer	Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development
Designed	1942
Specifications
Weight	10 tons
Shell	440 lb (200 kg)
Calibre	12 in (305 mm)
Barrels	Three
Effective range	275 yards (250 m)
Filling	Minol
Filling weight	207 lb (94 kg)
Detonation mechanism	Time fuse

The Squid was a World War II ship-mounted anti-submarine weapon. Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport on Auckland 's North Shore. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD known colloquially as the Wheezers and Dodgers, was a department of the Admiralty responsible for the Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A shell is a payload-carrying Projectile, which as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling though modern usage includes large solid projectiles The term caliber or calibre designates the interior Diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod The VEB Kombinat Minol, founded on 1 January 1956, was the state-owned Gasoline and Lubricant reseller of the German Democratic World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability A weapon is a Tool used either in Hunting, or attack or defence in Combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel or to destroy enemy weapons It consisted of a three-barrelled mortar which launched depth charges. A mortar is a muzzle-loading Indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities short ranges and high-arcing ballistic trajectories Depth Charge is a character in the Beast Wars: Transformers universe It replaced the Hedgehog system, and was in turn replaced by the Limbo system. For the area denial weapon see Czech hedgehog. The Hedgehog was an Anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy Limbo, or Anti Submarine Mortar Mark 10 (A/S Mk10 was the final British development of the anti-submarine ahead-throwing weapon stemming from

Literally ordered directly from the drawing board in 1942, under the auspices of the Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development, this weapon was rushed into service in May 1943 onboard HMS Ambuscade. The Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD known colloquially as the Wheezers and Dodgers, was a department of the Admiralty responsible for the The first production unit was installed on HMS Hadleigh Castle, it went on to be installed on 70 frigates and corvettes during the second world war. The first successful use was by HMS Loch Killin on 31 July 1944, when she sank U333. Timeline On 31 July 1944 together with HMS Starling (U66, sank the German submarine U-333 in the North Atlantic west of the Isles Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The system was credited with 17 submarines in 50 attacks. 195 squid installations had been produced by 1959.

This weapon was a three-barrel 12 inch (305 mm) mortar with the mortars mounted in series but off-bore from each other in order to scatter the projectiles. The barrels were mounted in a frame that could be rotated through 90 degrees for loading. The projectiles weighed 390 lb (177 kg) with a 207 lb (94 kg) minol charge. Minol is a military Explosive developed early in World War II to augment supplies of Trinitrotoluene and RDX, which were then in short supply ^[1] Sinking speed was 43. 5 ft/s (13. 3 m/s) and a clockwork time fuse was used to set the depth. In an Explosive, Pyrotechnic device or military Munition, a fuse (or fuze) is the part of the device that initiates function Maximum depth was 900 feet (274  m) and all three projectiles had to be set the same.

The weapons were automatically fired from the sonar range recorder at the proper moment. Sonar (which started as an Acronym for sound navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses Sound propagation (usually underwater to navigate The pattern formed a triangle about 40 yards (37 m) on a side at a distance of 275 yards (250 m) ahead of the ship. Most squid installations utilised two sets of mortars. All six bombs were fired in salvo so that they formed opposing triangular spreads. The salvos were set to explode 25 feet (7. 6 m) above and below the target, the resulting pressure wave crushing the hull of the submarine.

In April 1977, the Type 61 frigate Salisbury became the last ship to fire the Squid in Royal Navy service.

References

---

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic