Originally Posted by
alfred_the_great
And the last time a Nimrod dropped a torpedo in anger was?
And the last time any MPA dropped a torpedo in anger was?
The
possibility that an aircraft carries weapons has a deterrent effect all its own. V-bombers, Canberras and Buccaneers could all provide a deterrent effect as they had the capability to drop bombs and you would not know until they dropped them.
Originally a Nimrod had the limited ability for dropping torpedoes but not to attack a surfaced submarine. When it was cleared to drop BL755 around the same time it was known that submarines started to carry SAN as it would be daft to be stuck on the surface and powerless to defend.
You can declare that an economic success as the Nimrod didn't need to carry BL755 but the submarine had to find space to carry the missiles.