Coontz Admiral Edward W. Eberle Admiral Charles F. Hughes Admiral William V. Pratt Admiral William H. Standley Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy Admiral Harold R. Stark Fleet Admiral Ernest J.
King Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Admiral Louis E. Denfeld Admiral Forrest P. Sherman Admiral William M. Fechteler Admiral Robert B.
Carney Admiral Arleigh A. Burke Admiral George W. Anderson Jr. Admiral David L. McDonald Admiral Thomas H. Moorer Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. Admiral James L. Hayward Admiral James D. Watkins Admiral Carlisle A. Trost Admiral Frank B. Boorda Admiral Jay L. Johnson Admiral Vernon E. Clark Admiral Michael G.
Greenert Admiral John M. Campa Jr. Beldo Carl M. Brashear Jesse L. Brown Samuel L. Gravely Jr. Rosemary Mariner Bernice R.
Walters Nordstrom M. Elaine Toms Chancellor A. Upshur - David Henshaw - Thomas W. Gilmer John Y. Mason George Bancroft - William B. Preston - William A. Graham - John P. Kennedy - James C. Robeson - Richard W. This engine driven torpedo travelled at speeds of 15 to 20 knots. The device was self-propelled through compressed air.
The British first starting buying Whitehead's torpedoes in The first time one of Whitehead's torpedoes were used during a war was on 25th January , when the Russian navy sank a Turkish steamer. The homing systems for torpedoes are generally acoustic, though there have been other target sensor types used. A ship's acoustic signature is not the only emission a torpedo can home in on: to engage U. The warhead is generally some form of aluminised explosive, because the sustained explosive pulse produced by the powdered aluminium is particularly destructive against underwater targets.
Torpex was popular until the s, but has been superseded by PBX compositions. Nuclear warheads for torpedoes have also been developed, e. In lightweight antisubmarine torpedoes designed to penetrate submarine hulls, a shaped charge can be used. Control surfaces are essential for a torpedo to maintain its course and depth. A homing torpedo also needs to be able to outmanoeuvre a target. Good hydrodynamics are needed for it to attain high speed efficiently and also to give long range, since the torpedo has limited stored energy.
Torpedoes may be launched from submarines, surface ships, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned naval mines and naval fortresses. Originally, Whitehead torpedoes were intended for launch underwater and the firm was upset when they found out the British were launching them above water, as they considered their torpedoes too delicate for this.
However, the torpedoes survived. The launch tubes could be fitted in a ship's bow, which weakened it for ramming, or on the broadside; this introduced problems because of water flow twisting the torpedo, so guide rails and sleeves were used to prevent it. The torpedoes were originally ejected from the tubes by compressed air but later slow burning gunpowder was used.
Torpedo boats originally used a frame that dropped the torpedo into the sea. Royal Navy Coastal Motor Boats of World War I used a rear-facing trough and a cordite ram to push the torpedoes into the water tail-first; they then had to move rapidly out of the way to avoid being hit by their own torpedo.
Developed in the run up to the First World War, [ citation needed ] multiple-tube mounts initially twin, later triple and in WW2 up to quintuple in some ships for 21 to 24 in 53 to 61 cm torpedoes in rotating turntable mounts appeared.
Destroyers could be found with two or three of these mounts with between five and twelve tubes in total. The Japanese went one better, covering their tube mounts with splinter protection and adding reloading gear both unlike any other navy in the world , [37] making them true turrets and increasing the broadside without adding tubes and top hamper as the quadruple and quintuple mounts did. Considering their Type 93s very effective weapons, the IJN equipped their cruisers with torpedoes.
The Germans also equipped their capital ships with torpedoes. Smaller vessels such as PT boats carried their torpedoes in fixed deck mounted tubes using compressed air.
These were either aligned to fire forward or at an offset angle from the centerline. Later, lightweight mounts for Later a below-decks launcher was used by the RN. This basic launch system continues to be used today with improved torpedoes and fire control systems.
Modern submarines use either swim out systems or a pulse of water to discharge the torpedo from the tube, both of which have the advantage of being significantly quieter than previous systems, helping avoid detection of the firing from passive sonar.
Earlier designs used a pulse of compressed air or a hydraulic ram. Originally, torpedo tubes were fitted to both the bow and stern of submarines. Modern submarine bows are usually occupied by a large sonar array, necessitating midships tubes angled outward, while stern tubes have largely disappeared. The first French and Russian submarines carried their torpedoes externally in Drzewiecki drop collars.
These were cheaper than tubes, but less reliable. External tubes offered a cheap and easy way of increasing torpedo capacity without radical redesign, something neither had time or resources to do prior to, or early in, the war. British T class submarines carried up to 13 torpedo tubes, up to 5 of them external.
America's use was mainly limited to earlier Porpoise -, Salmon -, and Sargo -class boats. Until the appearance of the Tambor s , most American submarines only carried 4 bow and either 2 or 4 stern tubes, something many American submarine officers felt provided inadequate firepower. It was basically a modified Mark 24 Mine with wooden rails to allow firing from a 21 in 53 cm torpedo tube. Aerial torpedoes may be carried by fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters or missiles. They are launched from the first two at prescribed speeds and altitudes, dropped from bomb-bays or underwing hardpoints.
Although lightweight torpedoes are fairly easily handled, the transport and handling of heavyweight ones is difficult, especially in the small space of a submarine. One of the main novel developments seen was a mechanical handling system for torpedoes. Such systems were widely adopted as a result of this discovery. In the case of deck or tube launched torpedoes, the diameter of the torpedo is obviously a key factor in determining the suitability of a particular torpedo to a tube or launcher, similar to the caliber of the gun.
The size is not quite as critical as for a gun, but diameter has become the most common way of classifying torpedoes. Length, weight, and other factors also contribute to compatibility. In the case of aircraft launched torpedoes , the key factors are weight, provision of suitable attachment points, and launch speed.
Assisted torpedoes are the most recent development in torpedo design, and are normally engineered as an integrated package. Versions for aircraft and assisted launching have sometimes been based on deck or tube launched versions, and there has been at least one case of a submarine torpedo tube being designed to fire an aircraft torpedo. As in all munition design, there is a compromise between standardisation, which simplifies manufacture and logistics, and specialisation, which may make the weapon significantly more effective.
Small improvements in either logistics or effectiveness can translate into enormous operational advantages. A French Lynx helicopter carrying a mk46 torpedo. A Malafon torpedo-carrying missile of the s. Torpedoes used by the Russian Navy include:. It was reported on 20 May that the Russian Navy did not have enough torpedoes for training or testing purposes. An unnamed source in the Navy said that "Our manufacturers make obsolete torpedoes that were developed back in the s and we don't even have enough of them for testing when building or refitting ships and submarines.
The torpedoes that we have in storage are out of their service lives and can't be used. It is expected that the Navy will only start getting modern fifth-generation torpedoes in The Fizik-1 or "product " was ready five years ago but has still not been cleared for service while the next version, the Fizik-2 , has already appeared. The major torpedoes in the United States Navy inventory are:. Military Wiki Explore.
Popular pages. Project maintenance. Register Don't have an account? Edit source History Talk 0. This article is about the self-propelled weapon. For the pre naval meaning of "torpedo", see naval mine. For other uses, see Torpedo disambiguation. Further information: Torpedo tube. Main article: list of torpedoes by diameter. See also: List of torpedoes. Torpedoes of the People's Republic of China.
Yu Yu-9 Yu-7 ET Type Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN David G. Jacobs, Philadelphia. The torpedoes were:. Except for the Bliss-Leavitt Mk 1 and the Whitehead Mk 5 torpedoes, both of which had a device for azimuth control, all were "cold running. The Mk 2 and Mk 3 were similar but had slight differences in performance; both did have two-stage, contrarotating turbines which drove contrarotating propellers, thus eliminating the roll tendency found in the Bliss-Leavitt Mk 1.
The Bliss-Leavitt Torpedo Mk 4 was an inch torpedo utilized in the torpedo boats and submarines of the period around There is no indication that there ever was a Bliss-Leavitt Mk 5 torpedo. The absence of a mark number then does not indicate a lapse in an evolutionary process, but merely a halt to the early practice of assigning the same mark number to two devices differentiated only by the developer's name. These devices used percussion caps to initiate the detonation of the explosive train, and, where used, the primers boosters were dry guncotton placed bare in the primer case exploder cavity prior to installation of the mechanism.
The detonating mechanisms were called "war noses. The war nose was mounted in the primer case exploder cavity in the forward end of the warhead, on the longitudinal centerline of the torpedo. A firing pin capable of longitudinal motion within the body of the war nose was held in place away from the percussion cap by a shear pin made of tin. Upon impact with the target, the shear pin would be cut and the firing pin would impact the percussion cap initiating detonation of the explosive train.
To prevent accidental detonation during handling, war nose installation, tube loading, etc. A screw fan propeller located on the forward end of the war nose figure 13 , had to be rotated about 20 revolutions equivalent to about 70 yards of torpedo travel through the water before the firing pin was free to move and impact the percussion cap. A very simple device, the war nose was sensitive only when impact with the target was directly on the war nose along the torpedo longitudinal axis.
War Nose Mk 2 Mod 0 was slightly larger than the Mk 1. The main advantage of the Mk 2 war nose was that it had four levers whiskers extending outward from the body casting which would, if struck, cause the firing pin to impact the detonator. This war nose would cause warhead detonation if struck with something less than a direct blow on the end of the war nose. War Nose Mk 2 had the same safety features as did the Mk 1.
War Nose Mk 2 Mod 1 weighed 8 pounds, was 8 inches long, and 4 inches in diameter. Identical to War Nose Mk 2 Mod 0 except for minor mechanical details, the Mod 1 had longer whiskers and thus would fire on a more glancing blow.
War Noses Mk 3 and Mk 4 never materialized beyond the experimental stage. The Mk 3 was a Mk 2 Mod 1 version with longer whiskers. It was also the first to have a safety device that kept the screw fan from turning while in a submerged tube. In addition, the Mk 5 incorporated a multiple detonator system to eliminate failures from this aspect. Designed for use with slow speed torpedoes, War Nose Mk 5 was unsatisfactory when torpedo speeds approached 30 knots because the releasing pin plate, which prevented the screw fan from turning prior to torpedo launch, bound due to frictional forces.
The Mk 5, which was about 11 inches long, 2 inches in diameter, and weighed about 5 pounds, employed a complicated firing mechanism that downgraded its reliability.
The war noses already noted were designed and reportedly used in torpedoes up until There is no indication that detonating devices subsequent to the war noses were interchangeable with their earlier counterparts; consequently, it may be reasonably assumed that war noses continued in use until the torpedoes that utilized them were condemned around This was a change in nomenclature.
With the war noses, "exploders" was the nomenclature associated with what are now called detonators. Exploder Mk 1 had several mechanical defects and was replaced by Exploder Mk 2; however, improvements to the Mk 2 brought about the Mk 3 before manufacture of the Mk 2 was completed. Consequently, the first U. Navy exploder mechanism was the Mk 3 "simple exploder.
It is interesting to note that the anticircular run ACR feature, now incorporated in most torpedo course gyros, was initially a part of the exploder mechanism.
This device sterilized the exploder prevented detonation if the torpedo turned degrees from the original course. Like modern ACR devices, it was operable only during the initial part of the run.
With much emphasis on devices that cause detonation of the warhead if the torpedo passes under the target, approximately 20 different types of exploders have been developed with varying degrees of success. At that time it was planned to use TNT Trinitrotoluol for all future warheads.
Indications are that the use of TNT started around and was continued until the introduction of Torpex in Torpex was replaced by HBX in the 's, followed by H-6 in the 's. PBX, the explosive currently in use, evolved in the early 's.
Consistent with its established purpose, much of the production effort in the early days of the Torpedo Station at Newport was concentrated on manufacturing main charge explosives and explosive components primers and detonators.
From the first, torpedo acceptance by the U. Navy was on the basis of in-water performance. Early in , explosive main charge manufacturing and all equipment for that purpose were transferred to Indian Head, Md. Navy Torpedo Factory at Newport, R. He was apparently successful, for construction of the factory began on July 1, , and in , the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport the torpedo factory received an order for 20 Whitehead Mk 5 torpedoes.
In the light of establishing a competitor to E. Navy, the climate was probably more favorable for dealing with Whitehead rather than Bliss for manufacturing rights, tooling, etc. At the same time, an order for additional Whitehead Mk 5 torpedoes was placed with Vickers Ltd.
Navy and the Bliss Co. Bliss staged a comeback with the Bliss-Leavitt Mk 6 torpedo in which used horizontal turbines spin axis at right angles to the longitudinal centerline. An inch diameter torpedo intended for above-water launching, this weapon could obtain a speed of 35 knots but a range of only yards.
A water spray was introduced into the combustion pot along with the fuel spray and the "steam" torpedo came into being. Torpedo Mk 7, with a range of yards at 35 knots, was introduced into the Fleet about and was in use for 33 years up to and including World War II when it was used in reactivated World War I destroyers with inch torpedo tubes.
In the "steam" torpedo, air, fuel, and water are simultaneously fed into the combustion pot. The fuel burns and the water reduces the temperature of the gases produced by combustion. The water turns into steam, thus increasing the mass of the gas. The gases generated by combustion and the steam provide the motive power to the engine. Although only a fraction of the gases is steam, the term "steam" torpedo has been generally used throughout the years figure Navy inventory of torpedoes included both "hot" and "cold" running Whitehead and Bliss-Leavitt design torpedoes, with some identified by the same Mark.
Consequently, new designations were formulated as shown in tables 1 and 2. All other torpedoes in the inventory i. Navy's new class of torpedo boats, was commissioned and assigned to Newport. Torpedo boats of the CUSHING class were feet long, displaced tons, had a top speed of 23 knots, and were equipped with two or three inch torpedo tubes.
Fletcher, U. Each year larger and faster torpedo boats were developed. In , Japanese torpedo boats attacked the Chinese fleet at anchor with a loss to the Chinese of 14, tons. This action appears to have been a major factor in development of the torpedo boat countermeasure - the torpedo boat destroyer. Navy torpedo boat destroyer. In a few years, ships of this type became known simply as destroyers.
These destroyers of torpedo boats were, in fact, torpedo boats as well. Of far reaching significance, the advent of the DD 69 also introduced the standard inch surface torpedo tube. With tubes installed in triple mounts, four mounts per ship 12 tubes in all , these ships fired the Bliss-Leavitt Mk 8, the U.
Navy's first inch by foot torpedo, with a range of 16, yards at a speed of 27 knots. Harry H. Caldwell, who is believed to be the U. Navy's first. Navy submarines in tests and experiments at Newport. During the submarine's days of infancy, later classes had two or four inch torpedo tubes installed and carried a total complement of four to eight torpedoes on board. The exception was the G-3 which had six inch torpedo tubes installed and carried a total complement of ten torpedoes.
The ultimate torpedo for these early submarines was the Bliss-Leavitt Mk 7. Like the surface Navy, submarines were standardized with inch torpedo tubes beginning in with the "R" class. Submarines equipped with the inch torpedo tubes used Torpedo Mk 10, which had the heaviest warhead of any torpedo up to that time, pounds, with a speed of 36 knots, but a range of only yards.
It was intended to replace Bliss-Leavitt Mk 3-type torpedoes in battleships. When use of torpedoes in battleships was discontinued in , the Mk 9 was converted for submarine use and was used in the early days of World War II to supplement the limited stock of Mk 14's. The last of the Bliss-Leavitt torpedoes, the Mk 9 appears to have been a misfit in the evolutionary process. It was slow, had a short range for a surface ship torpedo, carried a small explosive charge and air flask pressure was reduced to psi from psi.
There was apparently some effort to improve Mk 9 capability, for in follow-on mods, its speed was unchanged and range in some cases reduced, while the explosive charge was increased to around pounds and air flask pressure was increased to psi indicating use of a new air flask.
By the spring of , the German U-boat menace had become so great that it overshadowed all other enemy threats. Torpedo research and development was practically discontinued in favor of the development of depth bombs, aero bombs, and mines, which were the antisubmarine warfare weapons of that era.
The resources of the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport were redirected to this end and played an important role in wartime development, particularly in the development of the U. The use of the torpedo by the U.
Navy and the Allies in World War I was a negligible factor specific data are not available ; on the other hand, German submarines are credited with sinking 5, ships for a total of 11,, tons.
The characteristics were as follows:. The propulsion motor of the proposed electric torpedo was to act as a gyroscope to stabilize the torpedo in azimuth, as in the old Howell Torpedo. This development was terminated in with no torpedoes having been produced. Navy interest in the development of an electric torpedo, prompted by the successful development of one during World War I in Germany, continued after termination of the Sperry contract.
Navy in-house development of an electric torpedo of conventional size continued at the Navy Experiment Station, New London, Conn. This design was designated the Type EL, then the Mk 1. Development continued sporadically over the next 25 years on the Mk 1 and Mk 2 electric torpedoes culminating finally with the Mk In the same wave of economy, development and manufacture of torpedoes for the U.
Navy at the E. Disputes over patent rights, and also the fact that the USNTS, Newport, with 15 years of experience in torpedo manufacture was considered capable of providing for the Navy's needs, were cited as factors influencing termination of work with the Bliss Co.
Economy seems to have been the primary motivation, for at the same time, torpedo manufacturing activities at the Washington Navy Yard and the Naval Torpedo Station in Alexandria, Va. The Newport Torpedo Station became the headquarters for torpedo research, development, design, manufacture, overhaul, and ranging. In , in a move to reduce maintenance costs, all torpedoes of design prior to the Bliss-Leavitt Torpedo Mk 7 were condemned withdrawn from service and probably scrapped in favor of more modern torpedoes.
With this move, the U. Navy inventory of torpedo types then consisted of four models:. Torpedo Mk 8 - used by destroyers with inch tubes, 3. Torpedo Mk 9. Torpedo Mk 10 - used by submarines with inch tubes. In the mid's, manufacturing efforts were minimal, and the efforts were mainly concerned with improving the existing torpedo inventory.
Cruiser use of torpedoes was discontinued in Production of Torpedo Mk 11 started in ; however, in , the Mk 11 was succeeded by the Mk 12, which was similar but refined in many details. About Mk 12's were produced. It involved two Navy Bureaus - Ordnance and Aeronautics the latter due to the necessity of parallel development of a satisfactory torpedo plane. Air speed for these drops is believed to have been 50 to 55 knots at altitudes of 18 and 30 feet.
It was found that the torpedo dropped from 30 feet was badly damaged while the one dropped from 18 feet was not. The prime mover in the early days of Naval aviation, particularly with respect to the use of the torpedo as an aircraft strike weapon, was Rear Adm. Bradley A. Fiske, U. He was granted a patent for the torpedo plane in Included in his patent were proposed methods for the tactical use of the aircraft torpedo, which were used by the U. Navy for many years. A degree of the interest in the aircraft torpedo is evidenced by the fact that an Aviation Unit for the Newport Torpedo Station was established at Gould Island, R.
It was at this facility that the bulk of the testing that ultimately resulted in the aircraft torpedo was accomplished. By , Torpedoes Mk 7 were being launched successfully from DT 2 torpedo planes at air speed of 95 knots from an altitude of 32 feet. An air-dropped Mk 7 is shown in figure In February , BuOrd initiated "Project G-6" to develop a torpedo specifically for aircraft launching with the following specifications:. The torpedo was also to withstand launching speed of mph from an altitude of at least 40 feet.
In , Project G-6 was discontinued in favor of adapting existing inch torpedoes. The moratorium was short-lived and Project G-6 was revived in upon the urging of the Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. The intent was to develop a torpedo designed to meet aircraft requirements, in order that production could be started before the existing stock of inch torpedoes was depleted. After a period of vacillation, specifications were revised in The torpedo was to be capable of launch at knots ground speed from an altitude of 50 feet.
Other specifications included:. The design that evolved from these specifications was the foot, 6-inch by In March , the question of whether or not there would be a torpedo plane was aired. These two factors tended to result in tactical ineffectiveness and large losses of material.
The Bureau of Aeronautics, in essence, withdrew support for the Mk 13 type torpedo, favoring instead the development of a pound torpedo for use from bombing aircraft with these specifications: 1 capable of launching at knots from an altitude of 50 feet; 2 range, yards; and 3 speed, 30 knots.
At the time, BuOrd considered that the development of the pound torpedo was practically impossible within the state of the art and continued with the development of the Mk Torpedo Mk 13 was available, although in limited numbers, when the United States entered the war in With Mk 14 development completed and production started prior to the start of the second World War, approximately 13, torpedoes of this type were manufactured during the war years.
The mainstay of the submarine force in the war until the advent of the wakeless, electric Torpedo Mk 18 about , the Mk 14 is credited with sinking approximately 4,, tons of Japanese shipping. Originally designed and produced for mechanical fire control setting, Torpedo Mk 14 was modified to be compatible with modern electrical-set fire control systems, and continues in service in today's submarine forces.
Wartime service demands for more torpedoes and scarcity of materials in led to development and manufacture of Torpedo Mk 23, a short-range, high-speed torpedo yards at 46 knots. Identical to the Mk 14 without the low-speed feature, this torpedo was not favored by the operating forces since the multispeed option of the Mk 14 permitted greater tactical flexibility, especially during the latter stages of World War II, when more sophisticated escorts and ASW tactics forced firing from longer ranges.
No new destroyers were commissioned in the years between and The modern destroyer of this and later classes was equipped with multiple-mount, inch torpedo tubes.
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