Depth Charge: Royal Naval Mines, Depth Charges & Underwater Weapons, 1914–1945

by Chris Henry

The history of weapons and warfare is usually written from the point of view of the battles fought and the tactics used. In naval warfare, in particular, the story of how these weapons were invented, designed and supplied is seldom told. Chris Henry, in this pioneering study, sets the record straight. He describes how, to counter the extraordinary threat posed by the U-boats in the world wars, the Royal Navy responded with weapons that kept open the vital supply routes of the Atlantic Ocean.He also celebrates the remarkable achievements of the engineers and inventors whose inspired work was essential to Britain's survival.

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a good topic, but the book is mostly unreadable. Some generalizations about the role of the citizen-tinkerer, not backed by any real description of how the tinkering led to the technology. Some gory engineering detail, that was slightly too gory even for me.

Main thing I learned is that depth charges are complicated to build, since you need a delicate depth-sensor that survives the shock of collision with the water. (Especially challenging if the charge is being thrown by a mortar or dropped by a plane!)