Underwater warfare

• Actions by submarines actions, and anti-submarine warfare, i.e. warfare between submarines, other submarines and surface ships; combat airplanes and helicopters may also be engaged when launching special dive-bombs and torpedo-missiles against submarines;
• Underwater special operations, considering:
  • Military diving sabotage against ships and ports.
  • Anti-frogman techniques.
  • Reconnaissance tasks.

History

In the 20th century underwater warfare was dominated by the submarine. They first came to prevalence during the First World War, when German U-boats attacked and sank many allied vessels, such as the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. A similar scenario occurred during the Second World War, when German U-boats launched a prolonged campaign against Allied shipping, especially in the mid-Atlantic. Japanese submarines also played a minimal role on the Pacific front, and American submarines sank a total of 5.3 million tons of Axis shipping throughout the war, most of which was scored against the Japanese. In the 21st century unmanned underwater vehicles are coming to play a significant part in underwater warfare.

The first combat submarine was the "Turtle" created by David Bushnell in 1776 and was used during the revolutionary war in an attempt to attach a bomb to a British Flagship.