Home > Terms > English (EN) > Down the throat

Down the throat

In United States World War II military terminology, a torpedo aimed at a directly approaching boat was said to be aimed down the throat. This 0-degree bow angle (AOB) was usually used against attacking destroyers or anti-submarine craft.

A "down the throat" shot would be any shot in which the target craft, or simply put, it was heading straight toward the submarine. These were extremely difficult setups from which to launch torpedoes, and usually it was only the skilled or desperate boat skippers who attempted such attacks.

It was first used by Pompano (SS-181) under the command of Lieutenant Commander Lew Parks during the boat's first war patrol, although it did not hit.

Its first successful use was by Dudley W. Morton, while in command of the USS Wahoo (SS-238), according to the foreword written by Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Jr. in "Wake of the Wahoo", by Forrest Sterling.

During its last patrol, Harder (SS-257) sank an attacking Japanese destroyer with such a shot. Harder's captain, Cdr. S.D. "Sam" Dealey, was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for the patrol. Another Medal of Honor was awarded to the captain of Parche (SS-384), Lawson P. "Red" Ramage for a similar shot on a patrol that returned.

Another submarine, which did not return from a patrol but was known to have used a "down-the-throat" shot was Gudgeon (SS-211).

From Wikipedia.

0
  • Part of Speech: Other
  • Synonym(s):
  • Blossary:
  • Industry/Domain: Military
  • Category: Navy
  • Company:
  • Product:
  • Acronym-Abbreviation:
Collect to Blossary

Member comments

You have to log in to post to discussions.

Terms in the News

Billy Morgan

Sports; Snowboarding

The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...

Marzieh Afkham

Broadcasting & receiving; News

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...

Weekly Packet

Language; Online services; Slang; Internet

Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Banking; Investment banking

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...

Spartan

Online services; Internet

Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...

Featured Terms

Toongting
  • 0

    Terms

  • 1

    Blossaries

  • 1

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Travel Category: Travel sites

5.Berry Head Arch, Canada

A naturally occurring rock archway, on the Spurwink Island Path of the East Coast Trail. The arch can be viewed from various angles, and you can walk ...

Contributor

Featured blossaries

African countries

Category: Travel   2 20 Terms

Venezuelan painters

Category: Arts   1 6 Terms