Post by Diarist on Sept 11, 2016 9:09:37 GMT 1
Hopefully it'll be a quiet day but I do have meetings at both the Admiralty and the Foreign Office. Duff Cooper had invited me to visit him when we first met but I had been busy with other projects and the FTX. Henry Tizard was also there in response to my request about torpedoes and his special explosives. I was informed that explosions underwater are much more destructive than on the surface where torpedoes usually exploded. Henry was suggesting a delayed detonation, one or two seconds after hitting the hull.
"But a ship travelling at 30 knots covers quite a distance per second. Would it still be effective?" I asked.
"That depends on the size of the ship and whether it is moving or not but I was thinking more of aerial bombs rather than torpedoes. They can be much larger therefore more destructive."
"Depth charges dropped from an aircraft? They are not exactly aerodynamic and wouldn't the impact from hitting the water trigger the detonator?"
"Not if the delay were four or five seconds. It would take that time to reach the ship after being dropped and if the bomb were spherical it would bounce across the water in a straight line."
"It sounds good theoretically but how do we practice it? We just disposed of fifteen potential target ships in our war against Italy."
"We have to design the bomb first then practice against static targets."
"Good, then I'll talk with my contacts in the aircraft industry. Maybe they'll have a few thoughts. The spherical bomb is a good idea. We could have used those against the dams in Eritrea. What diameter would a 2,000 lb bomb have?"
"Still working on that and the detonator too."
"Thanks for bringing me up tp date. How many submarines do the Germans have now, Duff?"
"They've budgeted 36 but approximately 20 have been commissioned," he replied.
"Not wasting much time, are they?"
"They are building larger ships too, Bob."
"I'm in favour of shadowing any ship or submarine that ventures out of the North Sea. It'll be good practice for our Navy and will hopefully intimidate them. We need to remind them who's the master of the high seas."
"A bit provocative."
"No, Henry. Let's face it. Nazi Germany's existence is a provocation. I'll discuss it with Winston later. Anything else because my next stop is the Foreign Office?"
"But a ship travelling at 30 knots covers quite a distance per second. Would it still be effective?" I asked.
"That depends on the size of the ship and whether it is moving or not but I was thinking more of aerial bombs rather than torpedoes. They can be much larger therefore more destructive."
"Depth charges dropped from an aircraft? They are not exactly aerodynamic and wouldn't the impact from hitting the water trigger the detonator?"
"Not if the delay were four or five seconds. It would take that time to reach the ship after being dropped and if the bomb were spherical it would bounce across the water in a straight line."
"It sounds good theoretically but how do we practice it? We just disposed of fifteen potential target ships in our war against Italy."
"We have to design the bomb first then practice against static targets."
"Good, then I'll talk with my contacts in the aircraft industry. Maybe they'll have a few thoughts. The spherical bomb is a good idea. We could have used those against the dams in Eritrea. What diameter would a 2,000 lb bomb have?"
"Still working on that and the detonator too."
"Thanks for bringing me up tp date. How many submarines do the Germans have now, Duff?"
"They've budgeted 36 but approximately 20 have been commissioned," he replied.
"Not wasting much time, are they?"
"They are building larger ships too, Bob."
"I'm in favour of shadowing any ship or submarine that ventures out of the North Sea. It'll be good practice for our Navy and will hopefully intimidate them. We need to remind them who's the master of the high seas."
"A bit provocative."
"No, Henry. Let's face it. Nazi Germany's existence is a provocation. I'll discuss it with Winston later. Anything else because my next stop is the Foreign Office?"