Original U.S. Navy WWII Mousetrap Anti-Submarine Rocket Inert Cutaway Trainer
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Original Item: Only One Available. This is an exceptionally rare WWII era anti-submarine weapon Mousetrap cutaway training device. It is nicely marked on the side:
INERT
7.2 IN PROJECTOR CHARGE
HEAD MK 4 MOD 0
HBX LOADED 9SIMULAYED0
FUZE MK 158
It is offered in very good condition but please note that the tail fin hoop has been bent.
At the beginning of World War 2, the standard anti-submarine weapon for destroyers was the depth charge. One useful development for this weapon type were so called "projectors" - devices which could throw a pattern of depth charges ahead of the destroyers, thereby avoiding the time lapse between the detection of a submarine at some distance and the actual attack. The U.S. Navy's standard anti-submarine projector from 1942 onwards was the Hedgehog. This was reasonably effective, but the relatively large recoil of the Hedgehog mortars prevented its use on smaller ships (e.g. patrol boats). The solution was a rocket-propelled depth charge, which could be fired without recoil.
Development of a rocket-propelled depth charge began by the NDRC (National Defense Research Committee) group at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in late 1941 or early 1942. The emerging rocket was a standard Hedgehog charge of 18.3 cm (7.2 in) diameter fitted with a 2.25" MK 3 solid-propellant rocket motor. The name Mousetrap was derived from the launcher (anti-submarine projector MK 20), which was simply four steel rails monuted at a fixed angle to the ship's deck. Later the MK 22 projector with 8 rails was also used on some ships. On small craft, the Mousetrap ASW system remained in service until the end of the war.
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Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.
All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).
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