According to Nicholas Monsarrat (The Cruel Sea) the Royal Navy was so unprepared for U-boats they sent out assorted tug boats and fishing trawlers armed with a few WWI Lewis guns and half a dozen depth charges at the beginning of the war. The IJN was a little better prepared (since they had two years to watch what the U-boats were doing to the Brits) but still equipped small craft and merchants with depth charges at various times.
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