US Mark 101 Nuclear Depth Charge

By Crusader1307

One of The US Military’s first attempts to combine a depth charge device and Atomic weapon for the express use of Anti-Submarine Warfare, The Mark 101 “Lulu” was first deployed in 1958. It carried a W34 Warhead that could produce an 11-Kiloton yield. In deployment, “Lulu” was dropped on a suspected or targeted Enemy Submarine by Aircraft. The Device was timed to “free sink” to a specific depth and self-detonate. The Mark 101 was 8-feet long and nearly 2-feet in diameter. On average, The “Lulu” weighed 1,200-pounds. Great Britain as well as other NATO Navies used The Mark 101 as well. However, a common problem with The Mark 101 was that it had no safety mechanism. In other words, if “Lulu” accidentally fell off the Deck of a Ship or was dropped via Aircraft haphazardly, it would travel to it’s required detonation depth and explode. Despite this issue, The Mark 101 was in active deployment until 1971 when it was replaced by better engineered and more technologically advanced Devices.