USN Destroyer ASW weapons

[el cid again]

This refers to modern destroyers - not DEs or WWI vintage ships. Note that NONE EVER mounted Hedgehog in wartime - never mind what it says in stock or all the mod data variaions. 12 ships got Mousetrap - and it utterly failed - and was removed.

The first class (Farrugut) was built with NO ASW weapons - but decks strengthened for 2 racks. These were added in wartime - with 5 DC per rack. I rate them as a pattern of 2 - drop one - then another at the calculated separation distance. No way to get lateral charges off the centerline of the ship. None of these ships ever upgraded for ASW - there was neither room nor weight for them - and priority went to AA changes.

The next three classes (Porter, Somers and Mahan) were purely anti-surface warships as built - no ASW capability was built in nor was ever added. They were converted over time to AAW ships - by removing torpedo mounts and then main battery mounts - ultimately the Porters and Somers exchanged DP guns in smaller numbers for their original SP ones - and ultimately most ships lost - or were scheduled to lose - all their TT - in favor of 40mm and 20mm mountings. None of these classes should ever have any DD except in non-historical scenarios - and then only at the expense of losing after turrets.

Next came the first ships built with DC racks - Gridley and Bagley. These are almost identical ships - differing because different yards built them. The 4 Gridleys were too weakly built to add much to - so they were the only US modern DD never to get 40 mm. In 1945 - if the emergency conversion were carried out - they would have lost their DC racks as well as their TT. The Bagleys were able to add 2 40mm and several 20 mm without losing anything - but never did get any more than their original 2 DC racks. They also would have kept these after the 1945 AA upgrade (trading TT for 40mm essentially). These two classes get pattern of 2 for all variations - and even in a fictional mod would need to lose mounts if that changed (to be realistically possible).

The first ships to be modified for ASW and to really fight - they fought in the Atlantic before the USN entered WWII officiallly - were the Benham class. These removed a 5 inch gun for a single Y gun - and they already had 2 DC racks - so they get a pattern of 4 - and 5 of those patterns could be fired. This never changed in any variation - although AA was added and other changes were also made (e.g. radar).

The Sims class was bult to the standard to which the Benhams were converted - a pattern of 4 - 1 Y gun and 2 DC racks. 5 patterns could be carried - and again - this was not upgraded in any varation I can find.

The first class built which began to reflect lessons learned since 1939 was the Benson/Bristol class. These are really the same class hull wise - but very different weapons wise. The first ships were designed to the pre war standard - had 2 DC racks - and 2 banks of 5 TT - and 5 single main guns. But the later ships mounted only 4 main battery guns and 1 bank of TT - in favor of a serious ASW suite - which now included 4 (or eventually 6) K guns - where a K gun is more or less half a Y gun - but now you can mount AA on the centerline between the 2 DC thrown per pair. These ships have a pattern of 2 for Bensons or 8 for Bristols - as built. They come in several variations during the war - eventually losing all their TT to end up in identical form - 4 main guns - lots of 40 mm and 20 mm - and 8 DC patterns. Still only 5 patterns carried - and never any ahead throwing weapons (except for 12 that got 3 Mousetraps - which failed to work tactically). Not all ended up getting the emergency 1945 AA upgrade - but it should be a possibility.

Fletchers were much larger ships. They had 5 main batteries (singles) - two banks of 5 TT - and 2 DC racks plus 6 K guns = pattern of 8. None ever fitted an ahead throwing weapon. They apparently could carry 10 patterns - although often carried the standard 5 - and they might have dismounted a TT bank in favor of an aircraft. Sumners were more or less Fletchers with twin mounts so they could carry six guns - and were less successful than generally understood - apparently being overloaded. No change in ASW fit. Sumners were simply lengthened 14 feet to produce the Gearings - which were faster and less overloaded - but more or less were the same thing as a Sumner weapons wise.

Interestingly, USN and IJN started with patterns of 2, went to patterns of 4, and then to 8, on fleet destroyers. IJN went to patterns of 12 on DE - while USN used 13 (apparently a pattern of 12 with one more in the center). The difference was the USN DC for destroyers was larger. Like USN, IJN did not use ahead throwing weapons on fleet destroyers - but did use them on DE - starting with mortars - then going to DC projectors. IJN also put ASW weapons on some cruisers and even CVEs - and it developed ASW shells for guns and short guns - mainly for use by merchant or auxiliary ships. The mortar - called "three inch" but really 81mm - and the shells for guns seem to have not been very effective - I rate the mortar firing a full pattern as equal to a "pattern of one" small DC - and we have no provision for AA shells (not being an option I have yet figured out how to do).

RN started with a pattern of 5 (4 with one more in the center) of small DC - upping that to 10 (8 with 2 in the center) by the time PTO erupts into war. They went on to a pattern of 14 (12 with 2 in the center) for late war work - a standard the USN and IJN never adopted. RN also mounted Hedgehog or even Squid on some destroyers.

[DuckofTindalos]

No modern US fleet destroyer has Hedgehog mounted in stock.

[el cid again]

This appears to be true. They seem to have been added by CHS - from which RHS inherited them.

On the other hand, Farrigut, Porters, Sumners and Bagleys seem to have DC when they did not.