Harpooning Whale

W00212

Harpooning Whale

 

Harpoon being fired at a whale, South Georgia. During World War II sonars were used very effectively to detect enemy submarines. This was advanced equipment, which used sound waves to locate objects and measure environments underwater. After the war, whalers in the Antarctic used the same type of equipment. The 'asdic man' (asdic stands for Anti-Submarine Detection and Investigation Committee), would listen to echos on his headphones, and translate marks off a roll of paper into a running commentary on the whale's distance. This was relayed to the bridge of the ship, the gun platform, the engine room and up the mast to the 'barrel' by loudspeaker so everyone involved in the hunt knew to be on the alert. A harpoon would be fired once the whale was within 100 metres of the boat.

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