I should have read it twice ...
Thanks PN,
Yes he said "Air dropped depth charge"
I was referring to the Air Dropped Nuclear Depth Charge (B-57, US supplied for selected NATO allies)
I said " while the British atomic weapons may have disappeared ..." I wasn't saying that they had. It is well documented that the WE177 was around for quite a while after then, but surely not as a depth charge from fixed wing aircraft. (Although you have to feel for the poor souls delivering one from a Wasp!)
The Smart Mine available to the Nimrod was the Stonefish, not all that blunt an instrument as it is able to detect the acoustic signatures of passing ships to determine their validity as a target.
It would be interesting to speculate the range and types of weapon a Future UK Maritime Patrol Aircraft would carry.