In this letter, Chuck is still waiting to hear when and where he’ll be going. However, he has been getting exposure to the ship and practicing his shooting.

He mentions being in charge of a “kay gun”. A K-gun is not really a gun at all, but a depth charge launcher. The model on this ship would likely have been a Mark 6, introduced in 1941 and used through the end of the war. The K-gun projector would launch an underwater charge with a distance of 60 to 150 yards with impact in less than 5 seconds. Depth charges were used on as anti-submarine warfare. They were not required to come into contact with the submarine, as the shock of the explosion under water was usually enough to put them out of commission.

On Wikipedia: Depth Charge

Letter home, envelope (front); August 18, 1944

Letter home, envelope (front); August 18, 1944

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