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From: ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Q-Ship
Message-ID: <1991Apr13.014909.22775@amd.com>
Date: 9 Apr 91 15:19:18 GMT
References: <1991Mar30.020556.28498@amd.com> <1991Apr4.042746.13412@amd.com> <1991Apr5.092614.9187@amd.com> <1991Apr6.020824.13995@amd.com>
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From: ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman)


In article <1991Apr6.020824.13995@amd.com> jtchew@csa2.lbl.gov writes:
>Something tickles the back of my mind about a "Q-ship," a merchantman
>filled with flotation materials and armed with ASW weapons and/or teamed
>with other combatants, supposedly used in WW II to sucker and then strike 
>back at submarines.  What flotation material was used, and did it work?

As I recall, this tactic was used in WWI by the British and the floatation 
material was balsa wood. In addition to being very light, balsa is stronger
per pound than steel. The ship would take a hit, simulate an abandon ship
drill, and wait for the sub to surface to finish off the ship. Then panels
would drop away and gun crews would sink the sub. This worked moderately
well until the German sub commanders got wise. Then they quit using 
surface gunnery to finish ships and just put another torp in or sailed
away. Note that to a balsa loaded ship, even a hit that "broke her back"
wouldn't sink the ship. I also seem to recall that the only Q ship lost
in WWI encountered a German crusier that simply wouldn't give up until
it sank the ship. This is all from vague memories of a book I read some
twenty five years ago called appropriately enough _Q Ship_.

Gary