Anti-submarine weapon

An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense an anti-submarine weapon is usually a projectile, missile or bomb that is optimized to destroy submarines.

History

Before World War I

Prior to about 1890, naval weapons were used only against surface shipping. With the rise of the military submarine after this time, countermeasures were considered for use against them. The first submarine installation of torpedo tubes was in 1885 and the first ship was sunk by a submarine-launched torpedo in 1887. There were only two ways of countering the military submarine initially, ramming them or sinking them with gunfire. However once they were submerged they were largely immune until they had to surface again. By the start of the First World War there were nearly 300 submarines in service with another 80 in production.