Why Not Q-Ships?
April 11, 2009 – 8:41 amPirates would be more circumspect in their actions if someone started using Q-hips off the Horn of Africa. A World War One innovation to deal with U-boats, Q-ships were cargo ships fitted with fake deck houses that concealed guns (U-boats had to surface to torpedo ships then, and used their deck gun to finish off their prey) and their holds were often filled with ping-pong balls. You could blow the bottom off a Q-ship, and it would not sink. As soon as a U-boat would surface, the Q-ship that they thought was an unarmed merchantman would drop the sides on the fake deckhouses and open fire. For a good read on Q-ships, try Sea Killers In Disguise: Q Ships and Decoy Raiders od WW I.
Maybe someone could dust off the Constitution and read up on ‘Letters of Marque and Reprisal,’ too.
One Response to “Why Not Q-Ships?”
Q-Ships in the Indian Ocean would put a fast stop to terrorists “pirates”. These criminals would think long and hard about which ships they attack after a few of them were blown-away. The UN and the namby-pambies need to get over this nonsense that terrorists have rights. They forfeit any rights when they take up arms to commit crimes in international waters. Shoot them, wrap them in pig blankets and dump them for the sharks. Guaranteed that when they know they can expect no quarter and will go to hell in a pig blanket will deter most of them.
By Ed Kennedy on Apr 14, 2009