A nuclear depth bomb is the

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

equivalent of the conventional

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

, and can be used in

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

for attacking submerged

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, Soviet Navy, and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

had nuclear depth bombs in their arsenals at one point. Due to the use of a nuclear warhead of much greater explosive

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

than that of the conventional depth charge, the nuclear depth bomb considerably increases the likelihood (to the point of near certainty) of the destruction of the attacked submarine. Some aircraft were cleared for using these, such as the

P2V Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and P ...

, but none were used against any submarines. Because of this much greater power some nuclear depth bombs feature a

variable yield Variable yield, or dial-a-yield, is an option available on most modern nuclear weapons. It allows the operator to specify a weapon's yield, or explosive power, allowing a single design to be used in different situations. For example, the Mod-10 ...

, whereby the explosive energy of the device may be varied between a low setting for use in shallow or coastal waters, and a high yield for deep water open-sea use. This is intended to minimise damage to peripheral areas and merchant

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

. During the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, Britain's naval task force carried 31 nuclear depth charges. HMS ''Hermes'' had 18, HMS ''Invincible'' had 12 and RFA ''Regent'' had one by mid-May 1982. The ships were within the “total exclusion zone” imposed by Britain around the Falkland Islands. Details of the number of devices per ship were contained in a file marked “Top Secret Atomic” found at the UK National Archives by media outlet ''

Declassified UK ''Declassified UK'' is an investigative journalism website founded in 2019 by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis. It describes itself as "the leading website for in-depth analysis and exclusive news on British foreign policy, investigating the UK mil ...

''.''Declassified UK''
Richard Norton-Taylor, UK deployed 31 nuclear weapons during Falklands War, 3 January 2022. All nuclear anti-submarine weapons were withdrawn from service by China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States in or around 1990. They were replaced by conventional weapons such as the Mk 54 Torpedo that provided ever-increasing accuracy and range as anti-submarine warfare technology improved.

List of nuclear depth bombs

RPK-6 Vodopad/RPK-7 Veter RPK-6 ''Vodopad'' (, "waterfall") is a Soviet 533 mm anti-submarine missile deployed operationally since 1981. RPK-7 ''Veter'' (, "wind") is a 650 mm version, deployed operationally since 1984. Both missiles are given the same United States Navy d ...

(1981–present) *

WE.177 The WE.177, originally styled as WE 177, and sometimes simply as WE177, was a series of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons with which the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) were equipped. It was the primary air-dropped nuclear we ...

(1966–1998) *

Mark 90 nuclear bomb The Mark 90 nuclear bomb, given the nickname "Betty", was a cold war nuclear depth charge, developed by the United States in 1952. It had a length of , a diameter of , and a weight of , and it carried a Mark 7 nuclear warhead with a yield of 32 ...

(1952–1960) * W34 for

Mk 101 Lulu The Mark 101 Lulu was an airdropped nuclear depth charge developed by the United States Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission during the 1950s. It carried a W34 nuclear warhead, with an explosive yield of about 11 kilotons. It was deployed by th ...

(1958–1971) * W34 for

Mk 105 Hotpoint The Mark 105 Hotpoint was an airdropped nuclear bomb developed for the United States Navy using the 11 kiloton W34 warhead. It was developed in the 1950s as the first nuclear bomb purposely designed for laydown delivery (bunker buster) but could a ...

(1958–1965) *

B57 nuclear bomb The B57 nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War. Entering production in 1963 as the Mk 57, the bomb was designed to be dropped from high-speed tactical aircraft. It had a streamlined casing ...

(1963–1993) *

B90 nuclear bomb The B90 Nuclear Depth Strike Bomb (NDSB) was an American thermonuclear bomb designed at Lawrence Livermore National Labs in the mid-to-late 1980s and cancelled prior to introduction into military service due to the end of the Cold War. The B90 ...

(cancelled) * W44 for

RUR-5 ASROC The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...

(1961–1989) * W55 for

UUM-44 SUBROC The UUM-44 SUBROC (SUBmarine ROCket) was a type of submarine-launched rocket deployed by the United States Navy as an anti-submarine weapon. It carried a 250 kiloton thermonuclear warhead configured as a nuclear depth bomb. Development SUBRO ...

(1964–1989) *

W89 The W89 was an American thermonuclear warhead design intended for use on the AGM-131 SRAM II air to ground nuclear missile and the UUM-125 Sea Lance anti-submarine missile. What was to become the W89 design was awarded to the Lawrence Livermore ...

for

UUM-125 Sea Lance The UUM-125 Sea Lance, known early in development as the ''Common ASW Standoff Weapon'', was to be an American standoff anti-submarine missile, initially intended to carry a W89 thermonuclear warhead. It was conceived in 1980 as a successor to ...

(cancelled)

List of nuclear depth bombs

References

See also