Depth charge

A depth charge is an explosive weapon designed to detonate underwater at a preset depth, chiefly to attack submerged submarines.

Hydrostatic pistol: A pressure-triggered fuze that activates a weapon when surrounding water pressure reaches a preset level. It senses water pressure to trigger a depth charge at its selected depth.
Royal Navy: The United Kingdom's naval warfare service, established in its modern form in the seventeenth century. The Royal Navy developed the first depth charge during the First World War.
Battle of the Atlantic: The prolonged Second World War campaign to control the Atlantic sea lanes between the Allies and Axis powers. Allied escorts used depth charges extensively against German U-boats in this campaign.
Submarine: A vessel capable of operating underwater, usually using onboard propulsion and life-support systems. Depth charges made submerged operation dangerous even when a submarine was not directly hit.
Torpedo tube: A device that launches torpedoes from a ship, submarine, or aircraft. Some ships used torpedo tubes to launch depth charges, though stern racks and mortars were more common.
Herbert Taylor: A British naval engineer associated with the invention of the depth charge during the First World War. Taylor's work produced the hydrostatic mechanism that made preset-depth detonation practical.
U-boat: A German submarine, especially one used in commerce raiding during the two world wars. U-boats were the principal targets of depth-charge attacks in both world wars.
Crash dive: An emergency rapid dive by a submarine to escape detection or attack. A crash dive helped a submarine evade an approaching aircraft before depth charges were released.
Underwater explosion: A rapid release of energy underwater that produces a shock wave and expanding gas bubble. The blast wave and bubble pulse are the main sources of damage to a nearby submarine.
First World War: A global war fought from 1914 to 1918, involving the Allied and Central Powers. German U-boat attacks created the urgent need for a weapon against submerged submarines.

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