Over 50 years ago, bombers were actually used to protect the environment.💣
aircraft to finally put the ship out of its misery. This was done using a series of well-placed depth charges.
Depth charges consist of some form of a canister filled with high explosives. These can be deployed by them rolling off a ship, or, as in the case of theFor shipborne depth charges, the explosive will typically have a mechanism to detonate at a set depth using a hydrostatic valve. While this is also theoretically possible for aircraft-deployed depth charges, most modern types utilize magnetic contact fuses.
The use of depth charges to take out a surface ship is not unheard of, and they can be quite effective under the right circumstances. , which was sunk by the U.S. Army Air Service’s First Provisional Air Brigade, was led by General William"Billy" Mitchell. The 1921 aerial bombing tests that sunk the ship were a key demonstration of American airpower, which went down due to depth charges.
Sea mines also do the same thing, except they are usually partially sunken or fixed to the seabed to make navigation of waterways treacherous. to have the best effect, the charges need to detonate a short distance away from the target vessel, and ideally below the hull line. When the charge detonates, it creates a large gas bubble that expands rapidly in an attempt to equalize the pressure of the surrounding water.