| The Depth Charge Projector Mark 6 Mod 1, commonly called the K-Gun, is used to launch the 300 pound cylindrical charge (Mk 6) or the 200 pound teardrop charge (Mk 9). see Depth Charges
The K-Gun consists of a smooth-bore barrel attached to an expansion chamber fitted with a breech mechanism. The breech plug houses a firing mechanism that can be fired by local percussion by lanyard or electrical firing controlled from the bridge. FIRE ! Note the short stump to the right of the projector's main arm, into which the explosive charges were loaded. The projector is fixed and variations in range are obtained by varying the weight of the impulse charges. These are assembled in 3 inch cases using three standard weights of black powder charges resulting in ranges of 50 (60), 75 (90), and 120 (150) yards for Mk 6 and (Mk9 and Mk 14) charges. see Depth Charges (Patterns) The depth charge is launched attached to an arbor, with the action of the propellant against the base of the arbor. The arbor remains attached to cylindrical charges, but is released from the teardrop models to take advantage of their streamlined shape. The use of rear drop racks was a useful strategy in WWI, but during WW2 a submarine could evade this if it had already dived some time before. A more widespread pattern was needed to catch such a target. The obvious solution to this problem was throwing the depth charges far to the side, so as to create a sort of depth charge carpet. For this purpose, the Y-gun was created which was a projector, firing depth charges using a small explosive charge, located on the centerline of a ship and having two "exits", forming a Y. On each arm, a depth charge was tied, to be fired off in support of the other charges, and landing some hundreds of yards outboard. While this was an effective addition to the ASW forces its major drawback was that it could only be mounted on the centerline where little room is typically available. A split version of the Y-gun, the K-gun, was developed which could be mounted on the sides of the superstructure, firing one depth charge outboard. Several of these could be and were mounted on each destroyer. |  Top View of K-Gun
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24 January 2000 (mjs)
URL:http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/slater/weapons/k-gun.html