Erm… I don’t actually know. I’d assume that would depend entirely on the type of fuse and how armoured the deck of the ship was. Likely to bounce off a battleship, but would punch through a destroyer.
Considering air-launched depth charges looked like this
It would probably either just explode on impact, or do nothing and get stuck somewhere in the superstructure, either way it would be a waste of a perfectly good anti-submarine weapon.
During the Battle of Samar, TBFs from Taffy 3 dropped depth charges on ships in Kurita’s force. They dropped them in front of & along side the oncoming warships.
With Halsey and the 3rd Fleet off chasing after Ozawa and his carriers, San Bernardino Strait was left unguarded. Kurita passed through unchallenged. Center Force emerged from the strait at 3:00 AM on October 25. The only thing standing between Kurita and the landing beaches of Leyte were three escort groups designated Taffy 1, 2, and 3. All three groups consisted of a total of 16 rickety and unarmored escort carriers and small destroyers and destroyer escorts (DEs).
Center Force caught Taffy 3, under the command of Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague, completely by surprise. Sprague ordered his planes into the air but in the ensuing rush many planes took off with either the wrong ordinance or no ordinance at all. With the planes in the air the carriers made for a rain squall while the destroyers and DEs made smoke to cover the withdrawal.
Meanwhile Kurita, who was unaware Ozawa had succeeded in drawing off Halsey, assumed he had encountered the more powerful 3rd Fleet. Having only recently ordered his fleet into formation to counter air attack, Kurita caused further confusion by ordering a “General Attack” which called for his force to split into smaller groups.
The destroyer USS Johnston found itself closest to the enemy. On his own initiative, without waiting for orders from Sprague, her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans steered his tiny vessel directly at the Center Force at flank speed. Evans understood that the only weapon he possessed that was capable of doing any damage was his torpedoes. With an effective range of 6,000 yards, Evans knew he would have to get in close. Evans fired his torpedoes and succeeded in damaging the cruiser Kumano, blowing her bow clean off and forcing her out of line. Seeing this, Sprague gave the order for his “little boys” to attack, sending the rest of Taffy 3’s screening ships into the fray.
Taffy 3’s other two destroyers Hoel and Heerman, and the DE Samuel B. Roberts attacked with a spirit that belied their small size. Taking on ships more than double their size the four ships harried and harassed, trying to delay Kurita as much as possible. Even after their torpedoes were expended they continued to fire with their 5" guns. All save the Heerman were sunk for their gallant efforts.
While the “little boys” sacrificed themselves the escort carriers also opened fire with their single 5" mounts. The Fanshaw Bay fired on a cruiser, scored at least five hits along the superstructure and caused smoke. KalininBay struck a cruiser on its No. 2 gun turret. Gambier Bay and White Plains also reported hits on enemy cruisers.
Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Thomas Sprague (of no relation to Clifton Sprague) ordered his task unit’s aircraft into the air with whatever they happened to be armed with, even if it was just depth charges and machine guns. Most of the aircraft were older models but the Japanese had no air cover of their own so they could attack unopposed. Many pilots, unable to return to rearm made dry runs at the Japanese ships, attempting to disrupt their movements by bluffing.
As the carriers turned and retreated south the Gambier Bay drew the attention of the Yamato. She took several hits before capsizing at 9:07. Gambier Bay became the first and last U.S. carrier to be sunk by gunfire.
The sheer ferocity with which Taffy 3 defended itself with confirmed in Kurita’s mind that he was indeed up against a much larger and powerful force. By this point Kurita’s forces has descended into confusion, compounded by the “General Attack” order and the constant air attacks. Kurita gave the order “all ships, my course north, speed 20” to presumably regroup his forces. Center Force retreated and was never able to capitalize on the opportunity before it.
As the action came to an end Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi put his Special Attack Force into operation. The escort carrier St. Lo became the first U.S. ship attacked and sunk by kamikaze pilots.
Kurita and his Center Force managed to escape Leyte Gulf. Halsey realized his error too late and was unable to return in time to cut him off.
Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans, commanding officer of the USS Johnston was lost when his ship went down. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the engagement.
