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Depth charge
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<p>A depth charge is an <a href="/facts/Anti-submarine_warfare/dW89ebRA">anti-submarine warfare</a> (ASW) weapon designed to destroy <a href="/facts/Submarine/6fhcAKHV">submarines</a> by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive <a href="/facts/Shock_factor/3117yPoc">hydraulic shock</a>. Most depth charges use <a href="/facts/High_explosive/sUme5Pp8">high explosives</a> with a <a href="/facts/Fuze/uGhu5xbF">fuze</a> set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth from the surface. Depth charges can be dropped by <a href="/facts/Ship/418ptx1L">ships</a> (typically fast, agile <a href="/facts/Surface_combatant/K5G80V1h">surface combatants</a> such as <a href="/facts/Destroyer/bkYL7bI8">destroyers</a> or <a href="/facts/Frigate/U4g4RMM4">frigates</a>), <a href="/facts/Patrol_aircraft/BNXaRGVj">patrol aircraft</a> and <a href="/facts/Helicopter/chQF7H55">helicopters</a>. </p><p>Depth charges were developed during <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a>, and were one of the first viable methods of attacking a submarine underwater. They were widely used in World War I and <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, and remained part of the anti-submarine arsenals of many navies during the <a href="/facts/Cold_War/spJdJQ3q">Cold War</a>, during which they were supplemented, and later largely replaced, by anti-submarine <a href="/facts/Homing_torpedo/RLLPpktk">homing torpedoes</a>. </p> <p>A depth charge fitted with a <a href="/facts/Nuclear_warhead/QVdBcMdm">nuclear warhead</a> is also known as a "<a href="/facts/Nuclear_depth_bomb/xse7mUI8">nuclear depth bomb</a>". These were designed to be dropped from a patrol plane or deployed by an <a href="/facts/Anti-submarine_missile/rDfQnkga">anti-submarine missile</a> 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 By the late 1990s all nuclear anti-submarine weapons had been withdrawn from service by the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>, the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>, <a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn">Russia</a> and <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>. They have been replaced by conventional weapons whose accuracy and range had improved greatly as ASW technology improved. </p>