Editing Depth charge (section)

{{Short description|Anti-submarine weapon}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Depth charge bd.jpg|thumb|US World War II Mark IX depth charge. Streamlined and equipped with fins to impart rotation, allowing it to fall in a straight [[trajectory]] with less chance of drifting off target. This depth charge contained {{cvt|200|lb}} of [[Torpex]].]]
A '''depth charge''' is an [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW) weapon designed to destroy [[submarine]]s by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive [[shock factor|hydraulic shock]]. Most depth charges use [[high explosive]]s with a [[fuze]] set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth from the surface. Depth charges can be dropped by [[ship]]s (typically fast, agile [[surface combatant]]s such as [[destroyer]]s or [[frigate]]s), [[patrol aircraft]] and [[helicopter]]s.

Depth charges were developed during [[World War I]], and were one of the first viable methods of attacking a submarine underwater. They were widely used in World War I and [[World War II]], and remained part of the anti-submarine arsenals of many navies during the [[Cold War]], during which they were supplemented, and later largely replaced, by anti-submarine [[homing torpedo]]es.

[[File:Mk-101 Lulu NDB.jpg|thumb|The Mk 101 Lulu was a US nuclear depth bomb operational from 1958 to 1972]]

A depth charge fitted with a [[nuclear warhead]] is also known as a "[[nuclear depth bomb]]". These were designed to be dropped from a patrol plane or deployed by an [[anti-submarine missile]] from a surface ship, or another submarine, located a safe distance away. By the late 1990s all nuclear anti-submarine weapons had been withdrawn from service by the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Russia]] and [[China]]. They have been replaced by conventional weapons whose accuracy and range had improved greatly as ASW technology improved.