A Nuclear Depth Bomb (NDB) is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional depth charge and can be used in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) for attacking submerged submarines. The Royal Navy, Soviet Navy and United States Navy had nuclear depth bombs in their arsenals at one point.
Due to the use of a nuclear warhead of much greater explosive power than that of the conventional depth charge, the Nuclear Depth Bomb considerably increases the likelihood (to the point of near certainty) of the destruction of the attacked submarine.
Because of this much greater power some NDBs feature a variable yield, whereby the explosive energy of the device may be varied between a low setting for use in shallow or coastal waters, and a high yield for deep water open-sea use. This is intended to minimize damage to peripheral areas and shipping.
Famous quotes containing the words nuclear, depth and/or bomb:
“Language is as real, as tangible, in our lives as streets, pipelines, telephone switchboards, microwaves, radioactivity, cloning laboratories, nuclear power stations.”
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Appear and disappear in the blue depth of the sky”
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“There are no accidents, only nature throwing her weight around. Even the bomb merely releases energy that nature has put there. Nuclear war would be just a spark in the grandeur of space. Nor can radiation “alter” nature: she will absorb it all. After the bomb, nature will pick up the cards we have spilled, shuffle them, and begin her game again.”
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