The Invention of the Depth Charge - Kaboom? Yes Jellicoe, Kaboom!

Today we take a look at how the depth charge in particular came to be.

Sources:

[TomFynn]

"first you had to remove a safety pin" Remember: Once the pin has been pulled, Mr Depth Charge is no longer your friend.

[adambebb]

the idea of a net that catches submarines seems like something out of a cartoon that is used to foil the villan's escape. I just imagine Kaiser Wilhelm being hoisted out of the water and going "Curses! I'll get you next time Royal Navy"

[jamespocelinko]

This is just the story of a fisherman progressively getting angrier about not catching anything until they finally break out the dynamite, only on a larger scale.

[ChrisRand-gflz]

Pulling up alongside a surfaced submarine and having a large Blacksmith hit it with their hammer is truly one of the most British things ever.

[atigerclaw]

Skipper: "Let's blow this popsicle stand, boys!"
Jellicoe: "Kaboom?"
Skipper: "Yes, Jellicoe... KABOOM."

[Casmaniac]

9:20 what did you do during the war grandpa? "I was on anti-submarine hammer duty."

[anumeon]

"Hope was coming for those who weren't equipped with big hammers" Ohh Drach, never change.. :)

[Christopher-ixql]

Officer: Sir! They have dived under the ocean!
Jelico: Blow it up then.
Officer: Blow what up? Sir.
Jelico: The Ocean.

[Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Okay but the idea of a warship cannon-sized rifle grenade go hard, not gonna lie

[TheEDFLegacy]

I would love to see a video on the invention of the hedgehog! They completely changed the game for anti-submarine warfare, yet I feel like a lot of people aren't even aware of them

[metalburner]

If at least one of the spar torpedo boats didn't have a knight in full jousting gear painted on the side I will be disappointed.😂

[andrewgillis]

One of things we historians forget is it isn’t needed to sink a submarine, just keep it from attacking. So while a submarine is avoiding being destroyed, it’s not launching its torpedos. That success is hard to quantify.

[michaelinsc]

These 30 minute "Five Minute" guides are fantastic!

[mikearmstrong]

Mental image of Muttley trying to stiffle a wheezing chuckle as Dick Dastardly pokes his head up out of a conning tower and Penelope in a stunning sailor outfit bops him with a giant mallet.

[frankbodenschatz]

Thanks again for an explosive study of the depth charge. The racks and K guns were very stturdy devices as i found out last year chipping paint and repainting them on the USS Slater during our work week before you visited. They had a very nice presentation on the use and setting of the mechanism and allowed me to set it. Something i had wanted to do since i first saw them as a kid. Impressive as they had to set and fire patterns off while rolling around in the violent waters during maneuvers at 18-19 years old holding on to the key! Add into these the Hedgehogs and you can see how the U-boats had life very rough in the latter half of the war. The congressman telling about how our subs were simply diving below the Japanese depth charges should have been keel hauled under the Iowa.

[fearthehoneybadger]

Woe to the occasional ship, during WW2, that had their depth charges armed when the ship was sunk. Surviving crew in the water were suddenly unalived when the ship reached detonation depth.

[enoughothis]

Depth charges: For when your hammer isn't big enough

[mitchm]

Drach, you always cover topics with such depth that this is truly a perfect subject for you.

[sskuk]

Criuser: Charges at submarine to ram it!
Submarine: Evades by diving!
Cruiser:...
Cruiser: *Drops anchor!*

[billistefansson]

Greetings and salutations Drax! Thank you for all your fantastic videos, I am an avid fan of yours. I am also an amateur student of Naval History, especially the WW2 period. I am an Icelander, living in Sweden, and I befriended a Brit whose father served in WW2 on the HMS Ashanti. I started to look into the history of that particular ship, and what a story that turned out to be. One of 4 of the 16 RN Tribals that survived the war. Her story reads more or less as "been there, done that". The Norway campaign, (where my friends father was decorated), later the Arctic Convoys (incl possibly PQ 17), definately with PQ 18, down south to the Pedestal Convoy, back up north to the Arctic and then back south taking part in the Torch landings. Later she operated in the Bay of Biscay alongside some of the Canadian Tribals. If ever there was a ship deserving a video of it`s own I would vote for the HMS Ashanti. Again, thanks again for all your fantastic videos, I especially liked your recent ones about AB cunningham and Johnny Walker. All the best to you and yours, Billi Stefansson.