Depth charge
Carga de profundidad
- Date
- 1916 · confidence high
- Place
- Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Herbert Taylor (HMS Vernon)
- Field
- Conflict
What it is
A cylinder of explosive with a hydrostatic fuse that detonates at a preset depth. Introduced in the Royal Navy in 1916 against German submarines, it was the main anti-submarine weapon until the Hedgehog.
The Type D became available in January 1916; the first confirmed sinking with them is attributed to U-68 (March 1916), though that case is disputed.
What it led to
- convoy escort tactics
- anti-submarine rocket launchers (Hedgehog, Squid)
- anti-submarine warfare combined with sonar