Invented by Austin Gudmundsen
This is a letter written by my Dad, Richard A. Gudmundsen to me about an idea invented by my grandfather, Austin Gudmundsen during WWII.
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Joyce, 28 Feb 2005
In 1941, German submarines were taking a huge toll in convoys from Halifax Canada to Scotland. They were using sound from ship propellers to guide their torpedoes. This idea was generated to defeat such infernal devices. Dad (Austin Gudmundsen) sent it to the Navy Department. He got no response, but after the war was over, got a confirmation that it was used.
DAD
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The image below reads:
A Sonic “Scrambling” system for protecting convoys from submerged submarine attack
1. Each vessel in the convoy will have an underwater signaling device.
2. The minimum intensity of any signal will be greater than that from any propeller on any ship.
3. Signals will have a wide pitch range and a wide intensity range, both of which may be readily varied during short signaling periods of necessity.
4. A timing control system, as between ships, will be employed so that no signal from any ship will be on more than a few seconds at a time, yet one or more ships will be broadcasting a signal at all times.
5. It would appear that this system could completely scramble sounds emanating from the ships propellers, so that the sub’s sonic detector would be useless for locating the position of any vessel in the group.
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