# When was the last time anti-submarine weapons were used in anger? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179 "2020-10-04T12:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/1 "2020-10-04T12:48:15Z")
Submarines have been used a few times in the post-war period. Famously by the British during the falklands war, and as Tomahawk missile platform in recent American wars IIRC. In that time has anyone actually tried to sink one? A huge amount of money has been spent on anti-submarine warfare (and a whole arms race with decades of submarines and anti-submarine weapons trying to get the better of each other). But has any of it ever been used? ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/2 "2020-10-04T14:46:27Z")
I have something of a philosophical question. The Falklands War was – as the name implies – a war. So how can it be considered part of a “post-war period”? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/3 "2020-10-04T14:53:19Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > In that time has anyone actually tried to sink one? Yes, in [the Falklands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_Santa_Fe_(S-21)#Argentine_service). ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/4 "2020-10-04T16:03:53Z")
More of a very serious warning: Both Sweden and Finland have dropped depth charges nearby unidentified submarines in the past. [https://www.google.com/search?q=sweden+drop+depth+charges+on+unidentified+submarine&rlz=1CATTSD\_enUS774US774&oq=sweden+drop+depth+charges+on+unidentified+submarine&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.23197j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=sweden+drop+depth+charges+on+unidentified+submarine&rlz=1CATTSD_enUS774US774&oq=sweden+drop+depth+charges+on+unidentified+submarine&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.23197j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/5 "2020-10-04T17:15:38Z")
In the UK at least, ‘post-war’ refers to a date after VE Day ( 8 May 1945) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/6 "2020-10-04T17:24:19Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I have something of a philosophical question. The Falklands War was – as the name implies – a war. So how can it be considered part of a “post-war period”? Because the term specifically refers to WWII. It’s obviously not meant to be a literal semantic thing. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/7 "2020-10-04T23:27:15Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I have something of a philosophical question. The Falklands War was – as the name implies – a war. So how can it be considered part of a “post-war period”? Yeah I suspect I am dating myself as someone who grew up in the UK during the “post war period”. When I grew up in the 80s and 90s referring to post war was universally understood to mean post 1945. Not just in military history, economics, sports, politics would all use the term to mean the “modern era after WW2”. And of course prior to 1939 would have meant post 1918 after WW1. I’ve not thought about whether it’s universally referred to as that in other countries or if it’s still commonlyused that way (possibly “after the fall of the iron curtain” has replaced it somewhat as an indicator of the modern era) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/8 "2020-10-05T01:44:45Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Yes, in [the Falklands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_Santa_Fe_(S-21)#Argentine_service). Oh wow yeah, there was pretty active anti submarine warfare. The sister ship of that one would probably be more well known if they hadn’t installed the torpedoes incorrectly. > **[ARA San Luis (S-32)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_San_Luis_(S-32))** > > ARA San Luis (S-32) was a Type 209 diesel-powered submarine of the Argentine Navy. Built in Germany, San Luis has a displacement of 1,285 tonnes (1,265 long tons; 1,416 short tons) and was commissioned in 1974. The submarine operated against the Royal Navy during the Falklands War without any noticeable success, but survived a number of anti-submarine sweeps carried out by British frigates. San Luis was struck in 1997 after an incomplete overhaul. > San Luis is best known for serving in the Falkla... ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/9 "2020-10-05T14:32:16Z")
The loss of [PNS _Ghazi_](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNS_Ghazi) seems like a possibility. Or it just blew up like so many other submarines have done, e.g., _[Kursk](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_submarine_disaster)_ The linked upthread APA _San Luis_ hunt is just amazing to read. **50** Mark-46s got dropped, and no dead sub? Hell of an expensive way to go whaling… ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/10 "2020-10-05T18:54:50Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > **50** Mark-46s got dropped, and no dead sub? Did the Soviet Union feel a bit better after seeing that? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/11 "2020-10-05T19:21:30Z")
You’d like to think so… OTOH, you can’t kill something that isn’t there, and it sounded like the RN ASW screen was shooting at anything that moved. Jeez, they must have really wanted that sub dead, and were really confident that _Conqueror_, _Spartan_, or _Splendid_ weren’t in that OpArea. Incredible that improper torpedo maintenance caused those warshots to not work. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/12 "2020-10-06T01:52:18Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Incredible that improper torpedo maintenance caused those warshots to not work. Assuming the engineers/designers knew of the possibility, there should have been a ‘forcing function’ to prevent the reversal of the polarity of the power cables (or even color-coding for godsakes). And if they didn’t know about it, improper maintenance wasn’t the problem. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/13 "2020-10-06T02:25:15Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > You’d like to think so… OTOH, you can’t kill something that isn’t there, and it sounded like the RN ASW screen was shooting at anything that moved. Jeez, they must have really wanted that sub dead, and were really confident that _Conqueror_ , _Spartan_ , or _Splendid_ weren’t in that OpArea. Yeah for all the supposedly darwinian evolution of submarine/anti-submarine warfare in the intervening four decades, anti-submarine action in the Falklands war went down exactly how anti-submarine action went down in WW2. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/14 "2020-10-06T12:32:52Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > The loss of [PNS _Ghazi_](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNS_Ghazi) seems like a possibility. Or it just blew up like so many other submarines have done, e.g., _[Kursk](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_submarine_disaster)_ > > The linked upthread APA _San Luis_ hunt is just amazing to read. **50** Mark-46s got dropped, and no dead sub? Hell of an expensive way to go whaling… Yes, the _Ghazi_ was probably an accident. During the same war the PNS _Hangor_ was subjected to heavy attack by the Indian Navy ASW assets after her attacks on INS _Khurki_ & INS _Kirpan_ and only just got away…and its only been recently that it has emerged how she escaped, by turning back into Indian waters. A lot of submarine operations remain classified to this day, even from decades ago. Royal Navy submarine operations in the Korean War have only just been declassified and only some. Their operations off Indonesia during the Malayan Emergency remain so, only coming to light since an Indonesian Admiral recently wrote about them in his memoirs. One of the few conspiracy theories of any type that has merit is that the USS Scorpion was sunk by the Soviet Navy. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/15 "2020-10-06T13:06:11Z")
North Korea has been involved in submarine attacks in the last years - one of their subs sank a S Korean warship in 2010. They also lost a sub in 2016 - but no-one seems to be saying how it happened, I would not be surprised if there had been other incidents that have not been publicised due to the inconvenience of publicity to either side. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/16 "2020-10-06T13:10:29Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > In the UK at least, ‘post-war’ refers to a date after VE Day ( 8 May 1945) Not 2 Sept. 1945? > **[British Pacific Fleet | Operations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Pacific_Fleet#Operations)** > > Major actions in which the fleet was involved included Operation Meridian, air strikes in January 1945 against oil production at Palembang, Sumatra. These raids, conducted in bad weather, succeeded in reducing the oil supply of the Japanese Navy. A total of 48 FAA aircraft were lost due to enemy action and crash landings against claims of 30 Japanese aeroplanes destroyed in dogfights and 38 on the ground. > The United States Navy (USN), which had control of Allied operations in the Pacific Ocean A... ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/17 "2020-10-06T14:58:46Z")
Not really - As any veteran of the war in the Pacific would ruefully confirm, the general population considered that once Germany surrendered the war was over. When I wrote my comment I knew that someone would probably bring VJ day (15th August 1945) up, but as I say, most people were not really aware at the time that we were still fighting on the other side of the world. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-anti-submarine-weapons-were-used-in-anger/922179/18 "2020-10-06T15:14:28Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > When I wrote my comment I knew that someone would probably bring VJ day (15th August 1945) up, but as I say, most people were not really aware at the time that we were still fighting on the other side of the world. I don’t think that’s true at all. Clearly the European theater was much closer to everyone’s heart for a whole bunch of reasons (the British population actually living in it for starters). But there were enough British troops (my grandfather included) and British interests at stake for most people to be aware there was still a war going on in the far east, even if it was way down on everyone priority list after the war in Europe.