Information.
At the outbreak of war in 1939 merchant ships were fitted with a 4" gun on the poop deck and for defence against surface craft. The gun was already outdated and fired a 4" shell by means of a cordite charge which was loaded separately. Ex-Royal Marine gunners were recruited and one merchant seaman gunner was trained. The RM Gunner then trained members of the ship's company in the operation of the gun to form his gun crew. Later the guns were replaced with new 4" LA/HA guns with new safer ammunition.
Some ships were also eqipped with the Lewis machine gun
After Dunkirk the ships were also fitted with Marlin or Hotchkiss machine guns firing .303 ammunition as a defence against the Luftwaffe who had beguun to target shipping, some ships were also fitted with the 12 Pdr. Anti Aircraft gun. Later they were replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon guns. Various other air defence measures were devised some more sucessful than others, these included:
- The Parachute Aerial Cable.
- The Fast Aerial Mine: a rocket trailling a wire was sent up into the path of an aircraft, if the aircraft struck the wire, a grenade shot up the wire and exploded on contact with the aicraft.
- The Holman Projector: a steam or air pressure fired grenade launcher.
- Small barrage balloons.
- Pillar Box; a 12 tude rocket launcher with limited range.
- Depth charges.
- Degaussing coils and minesweeping paravanes; as a measure against mines.
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