Bold (a term derived from

kobold A kobold (occasionally cobold) is a mythical sprite. Having spread into Europe with various spellings including " goblin" and "hobgoblin", and later taking root and stemming from Germanic mythology, the concept survived into modern times in G ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

sonar decoy A sonar decoy is a device for decoying sonar. Most are released from submarines to act as a false target. Submarine decoys The first submarine decoys were the German Bold fitted to U-boats of World War II. These were a pellet of calcium hydrid ...

, used by

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

from 1942 onwards. It consisted of a metal canister about in diameter filled with

calcium hydride Calcium hydride is the chemical compound with the formula , and is therefore an alkaline earth hydride. This grey powder (white if pure, which is rare) reacts vigorously with water liberating hydrogen gas. is thus used as a drying agent, i.e. a d ...

. It was launched by an ejector system

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conve ...

ly referred to as ''Pillenwerfer'' (English: " pill thrower"). When mixed with

seawater Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appro ...

, the calcium hydride produced large quantities of hydrogen which bubbled out of the container, creating a false sonar target. A valve opened and closed, holding the device at a depth of about . The device lasted 20 to 25 minutes. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

called it SBT (Submarine Bubble Target).

External links

Sonar decoys at uboataces.com
Sonar decoys Weapons countermeasures Sonar U-boats {{military-stub

See also

External links