Torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such a device was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive, or fish torpedo; colloquially a fish. The term torpedo originally applied to a variety of devices, most of which would today be called mines. From about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate a self-propelled underwater explosive device.
While the 19th-century
Modern torpedoes are classified variously as lightweight or heavyweight; straight-running, autonomous homers, and wire-guided types. They can be launched from a variety of platforms. In modern warfare, a submarine-launched torpedo is almost certain to hit its target; the best defense is a counterattack using another torpedo.[1][2]
Etymology
The word torpedo was first used as a name for
History
Middle Ages
Torpedo-like weapons were first proposed many centuries before they were successfully developed. For example, in 1275, Arab engineer
In modern language, a "torpedo" is an underwater self-propelled explosive, but historically, the term also applied to primitive naval mines and
In the early 17th century, the Dutchman
In the early 1800s, the American inventor Robert Fulton, while in France, "conceived the idea of destroying ships by introducing floating mines under their bottoms in submarine boats". He employed the term "torpedo" for the explosive charges with which he outfitted his submarine Nautilus. However, both the French and the Dutch governments were uninterested in the submarine. Fulton then concentrated on developing the torpedo-like weapon independent of a submarine deployment, and in 1804 succeeded in convincing the British government to employ his 'catamaran' against the French.[10] An April 1804 torpedo attack on French ships anchored at Boulogne, and a follow-up attack in October, produced several explosions but no significant damage and the weapon was abandoned.
Fulton carried out a demonstration for the US government on 20 July 1807, destroying a vessel in New York's harbor. Further development languished as Fulton focused on his "steam-boat matters". After the War of 1812 broke out, the Royal Navy established a blockade of the East Coast of the United States. During the war, American forces unsuccessfully attempted to destroy the British ship of the line HMS Ramillies while it was lying at anchor in New London, Connecticut's harbor with torpedoes launched from small boats. This prompted the captain of Ramillies, Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, to warn the Americans to cease using this "cruel and unheard-of warfare" or he would "order every house near the shore to be destroyed". The fact that Hardy had been previously so lenient and considerate to the Americans led them to abandon such attempts with immediate effect.[8]
Torpedoes were used by the
On 26 May 1877, during the Romanian War of Independence, the Romanian spar torpedo boat Rândunica attacked and sank the Ottoman river monitor Seyfi.[11] This was the first instance in history when a torpedo boat sank its targets without also sinking.[12]
Invention of the modern torpedo
A prototype of the self-propelled torpedo was created on a commission placed by
In 1866, Whitehead invented the first effective self-propelled torpedo, the eponymous Whitehead torpedo, the first modern torpedo. French and German inventions followed closely, and the term torpedo came to describe self-propelled projectiles that traveled under or on water. By 1900, the term no longer included mines and booby-traps as the navies of the world added submarines, torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers to their fleets.[14][15]
Whitehead was unable to improve the machine substantially, since the clockwork motor, attached ropes, and surface attack mode all contributed to a slow and cumbersome weapon. However, he kept considering the problem after the contract had finished, and eventually developed a tubular device, designed to run underwater on its own, and powered by compressed air. The result was a submarine weapon, the Minenschiff (mine ship), the first modern self-propelled torpedo, officially presented to the Austrian Imperial Naval commission on 21 December 1866.
The first trials were not successful as the weapon was unable to maintain a course at a steady depth. After much work, Whitehead introduced his "secret" in 1868 which overcame this. It was a mechanism consisting of a hydrostatic valve and pendulum that caused the torpedo's hydroplanes to be adjusted to maintain a preset depth.
Production and spread
After the Austrian government decided to invest in the invention, Whitehead started the first torpedo factory in Rijeka. In 1870, he improved the devices to travel up to approximately 1,000 yards (910 m) at a speed of up to 6
Whitehead opened a new factory adjacent to
Whitehead purchased rights to the gyroscope of Ludwig Obry in 1888 but it was not sufficiently accurate, so in 1890 he purchased a better design to improve control of his designs, which came to be called the "Devil's Device". The firm of L. Schwartzkopff in Germany also produced torpedoes and exported them to Russia, Japan, and Spain. In 1885, Britain ordered a batch of 50 as torpedo production at home and Rijeka could not meet demand.
By World War I, Whitehead's torpedo remained a worldwide success, and his company was able to maintain a monopoly on torpedo production. By that point, his torpedo had grown to a diameter of 18 inches with a maximum speed of 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) with a warhead weighing 170 pounds (77 kg).
Whitehead faced competition from the American
The Royal Navy introduced the Brotherhood wet heater engine in 1907 with the 18 in. Mk. VII & VII* which greatly increased the speed and/or range over compressed air engines and wet heater type engines became the standard in many major navies up to and during the Second World War.
Torpedo boats and guidance systems
Ships of the line were superseded by ironclads, large steam-powered ships with heavy gun armament and heavy armor, in the mid 19th century. Ultimately this line of development led to the dreadnought category of all-big-gun battleships, starting with HMS Dreadnought.
Although these ships were incredibly powerful, the new weight of armor slowed them down, and the huge guns needed to penetrate that armor fired at very slow rates. This allowed for the possibility of a small and fast ship that could attack the battleships, at a much lower cost. The introduction of the torpedo provided a weapon that could cripple or sink any battleship.
The first boat designed to fire the self-propelled Whitehead torpedo was HMS Lightning, completed in 1877. The French Navy followed suit in 1878 with Torpilleur No 1, launched in 1878 though she had been ordered in 1875. The first torpedo boats were built at the shipyards of Sir John Thornycroft and gained recognition for their effectiveness.
At the same time, inventors were working on building a guided torpedo. Prototypes were built by John Ericsson, John Louis Lay, and Victor von Scheliha, but the first practical guided missile was patented by Louis Brennan, an emigre to Australia, in 1877.[9]
It was designed to run at a consistent depth of 12 feet (3.7 m), and was fitted with an indicator mast that just broke the surface of the water. At night the mast had a small light, only visible from the rear. Two steel drums were mounted one behind the other inside the torpedo, each carrying several thousand yards of high-tensile steel wire. The drums connected via a differential gear to twin contra-rotating propellers. If one drum was rotated faster than the other, then the rudder was activated. The other ends of the wires were connected to steam-powered winding engines, which were arranged so that speeds could be varied within fine limits, giving sensitive steering control for the torpedo.[18]
The torpedo attained a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) using a wire 1.0 millimetre (0.04 in) in diameter but later this was changed to 1.8 mm (0.07 in) to increase the speed to 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). The torpedo was fitted with elevators controlled by a depth-keeping mechanism, and the fore and aft rudders operated by the differential between the drums.[19]
Brennan traveled to Britain, where the Admiralty examined the torpedo and found it unsuitable for shipboard use. However, the
Use in conflict
The
In another early use of the torpedo, during the
The Chilean
Several western sources reported that the
The
On 27 May 1905, during the
Aerial torpedo
The end of the Russo-Japanese War fuelled new theories, and the idea of dropping lightweight torpedoes from aircraft was conceived in the early 1910s by Bradley A. Fiske, an officer in the United States Navy.[32] Awarded a patent in 1912,[33][34] Fiske worked out the mechanics of carrying and releasing the aerial torpedo from a bomber, and defined tactics that included a night-time approach so that the target ship would be less able to defend itself. Fiske determined that the notional torpedo bomber should descend rapidly in a sharp spiral to evade enemy guns, then when about 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) above the water the aircraft would straighten its flight long enough to line up with the torpedo's intended path. The aircraft would release the torpedo at a distance of 1,500 to 2,000 yards (1,400 to 1,800 m) from the target.[32] Fiske reported in 1915 that, using this method, enemy fleets could be attacked within their harbors if there was enough room for the torpedo track.[35]
Meanwhile, the Royal Naval Air Service began actively experimenting with this possibility. The first successful aerial torpedo drop was performed by Gordon Bell in 1914 – dropping a Whitehead torpedo from a Short S.64 seaplane. The success of these experiments led to the construction of the first purpose-built operational torpedo aircraft, the Short Type 184, built-in 1915.[36]
An order for ten aircraft was placed, and 936 aircraft were built by ten different British aircraft companies during the
On 17 August 1915 Flight Commander Edmonds torpedoed and sank an Ottoman transport ship a few miles north of the Dardanelles. His formation colleague,
World War I
Torpedoes were widely used in
The Royal Navy had been experimenting with ways to further increase the range of torpedoes during World War 1 using pure oxygen instead of compressed air, this work ultimately leading to the development of the oxygen-enriched air
Initially, the Imperial Japanese Navy purchased Whitehead or Schwartzkopf torpedoes but by 1917, like the Royal Navy, they were conducting experiments with pure oxygen instead of compressed air. Because of explosions they abandoned the experiments but resumed them in 1926 and by 1933 had a working torpedo. They also used conventional wet-heater torpedoes.
World War II
In the
The Royal Navy's 24.5-inch oxygen-enriched air torpedo saw service in the two
Many classes of surface ships, submarines, and aircraft were armed with torpedoes. Naval strategy at the time was to use torpedoes, launched from submarines or warships, against enemy warships in a fleet action on the high seas. There were concerns torpedoes would be ineffective against warships' heavy armor; an answer to this was to detonate torpedoes underneath a ship, badly damaging its keel and the other structural members in the hull, commonly called "breaking its back". This was demonstrated by magnetic influence mines in World War I. The torpedo would be set to run at a depth just beneath the ship, relying on a magnetic exploder to activate at the appropriate time.
Germany, Britain, and the U.S. independently devised ways to do this; German and American torpedoes, however, suffered problems with their depth-keeping mechanisms, coupled with faults in magnetic pistols shared by all designs. Inadequate testing had failed to reveal the effect of the Earth's magnetic field on ships and exploder mechanisms, which resulted in premature detonation. The Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy promptly identified and eliminated the problems. In the United States Navy (USN), there was an extended wrangle over the problems plaguing the Mark 14 torpedo (and its Mark 6 exploder). Cursory trials had allowed bad designs to enter service. Both the Navy Bureau of Ordnance and the United States Congress were too busy protecting their interests to correct the errors, and fully functioning torpedoes only became available to the USN twenty-one months into the Pacific War.[52]
British submarines used torpedoes to interdict the Axis supply shipping to North Africa, while Fleet Air Arm Swordfish sank three Italian battleships at Taranto by a torpedo and (after a mistaken, but abortive, attack on Sheffield) scored one crucial hit in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck. Large tonnages of merchant shipping were sunk by submarines with torpedoes in both the Battle of the Atlantic and the Pacific War.
Torpedo boats, such as
Frequency-hopping
During
Post–World War II
Because of improved submarine strength and speed, torpedoes had to be given improved warheads and better motors. During the
Several navies have launched torpedo strikes since World War II, including:
- During the Korean War the United States Navy successfully attacked a dam with air-launched torpedoes.[59]
- Israeli Navy fast attack craft crippled the American electronic intelligence vessel USS Liberty with gunfire and torpedoes during the 1967 Six-Day War, resulting in the loss of 34 crew.
- A Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, with the loss of over 18 officers and 176 sailors.
- The British Royal Navy nuclear attack submarine Mark 8 torpedoes during the Falklands Warwith the loss of 323 lives.
- During the Lebanon War, an unnamed Israeli submarine torpedoed and sank the Lebanese coaster Transit,[60] which was carrying 56 Palestinian refugees to Cyprus, in the belief that the vessel was evacuating anti-Israeli militias. The ship was hit by two torpedoes, managed to run aground but eventually sank. There were 25 dead, including her captain. The Israeli Navy disclosed the incident in November 2018.[61][60]
- The Battle of the Dalmatian channels on 14 November 1991, in the course of the Croatian War of Independence. Three members of the crew were killed. The stranded boat was later recovered by Croatian trawlers, salvaged and put in service with the Croatian Navy as OB-02 Šolta.[62]
- On 26 March 2010 the South Korean Navy ship ROKS Cheonan was sunk with the loss of 46 personnel. A subsequent investigation concluded that the warship had been sunk by a North Korean torpedo fired by a midget submarine.
Energy sources
Compressed air
The Whitehead torpedo of 1866, the first successful self-propelled torpedo, used
At higher pressures the adiabatic cooling experienced by the air as it expanded in the engine caused icing problems. This drawback was remedied by heating the air with seawater before it was fed to the engine, which increased engine performance further because the air expanded even more after heating. This was the principle used by the Brotherhood engine.
Heated torpedoes
Passing the air through an engine led to the idea of injecting a liquid fuel, like kerosene, into the air and igniting it. In this manner, the air is heated more and expands even further, and the burned propellant adds more gas to drive the engine. Construction of such heated torpedoes started circa 1904 by Whitehead's company.
Wet-heater
A further improvement was the use of water to cool the combustion chamber of the fuel-burning torpedo. This not only solved heating problems so more fuel could be burned but also allowed additional power to be generated by feeding the resulting steam into the engine together with the combustion products. Torpedoes with such a propulsion system became known as wet heaters, while heated torpedoes without steam generation were retrospectively called dry heaters. A simpler system was introduced by the British Royal Gun factory in 1908. Most torpedoes used in World War I and World War II were wet-heaters.
Compressed oxygen
The amount of fuel that can be burned by a torpedo engine (i.e. wet engine) is limited by the amount of
Oxygen enriched air
The British approached the problem of providing additional oxygen for the torpedo engine by the use of oxygen-enriched air rather than pure oxygen: up to 57% instead of the 21% of normal atmospheric compressed air. This significantly increased the range of the torpedo, the 24.5 inch Mk 1 having a range of 15,000 yards (14,000 m) at 35 knots (65 km/h) or 20,000 yards (18,000 m) at 30 knots (56 km/h) with a 750 pounds (340 kg) warhead. There was a general nervousness about the oxygen enrichment equipment, known for reasons of secrecy as 'No 1 Air Compressor Room' on board ships, and development shifted to the highly efficient Brotherhood Burner Cycle engine that used un-enriched air.[63]
Burner cycle engine
After the First World War Brotherhood developed a four-cylinder burner cycle engine which was roughly twice as powerful as the older wet heater engine. It was first used in the British Mk VIII torpedoes, which were still in service in 1982. It used a modified diesel cycle, using a small amount of paraffin to heat the incoming air, which was then compressed and further heated by the piston, and then more fuel was injected. It produced about 322 hp when introduced, but by the end of WW2 was at 465 hp, and there was a proposal to fuel it with nitric acid, when it was projected to develop 750 hp.[64]
Wire driven
The
Flywheel
The
Electric batteries
Electric propulsion systems avoided tell-tale bubbles.
Germany introduced its first battery-powered torpedo shortly before World War II, the
The United States had an electric design, the
Modern electric torpedoes such as the
Rockets
Several experimental rocket-propelled torpedoes were tried soon after Whitehead's invention but were not successful. Rocket propulsion has been implemented successfully by the Soviet Union, for example in the
Modern energy sources
Modern torpedoes use a variety of propellants, including electric batteries (as with the French F21 torpedo or Italian Black Shark), monopropellants (e.g., Otto fuel II as with the US Mark 48 torpedo), and bipropellants (e.g., hydrogen peroxide plus kerosene as with the Swedish Torped 62, sulfur hexafluoride plus lithium as with the US Mark 50 torpedo, or Otto fuel II plus hydroxyl ammonium perchlorate as with the British Spearfish torpedo).
Propulsion
The first of Whitehead's torpedoes had a single propeller and needed a large vane to stop it spinning about its longitudinal axis. Not long afterward the idea of contra-rotating propellers was introduced, to avoid the need for the vane. The three-bladed propeller came in 1893 and the four-bladed one in 1897. To minimize noise, today's torpedoes often use pump-jets.
Some torpedoes—like the Russian
Guidance
Torpedoes may be aimed at the target and fired unguided, similarly to a traditional
Unguided
The Victorian era
In larger ships and submarines, fire control calculators gave a wider engagement envelope. Originally, plotting tables (in large ships), combined with specialized slide rules (known in U.S. service as the "banjo" and "Is/Was"),[67] reconciled the speed, distance, and course of a target with the firing ship's speed and course, together with the performance of its torpedoes, to provide a firing solution. By the Second World War, all sides had developed automatic electro-mechanical calculators, exemplified by the U.S. Navy's Torpedo Data Computer.[68] Submarine commanders were still expected to be able to calculate a firing solution by hand as a backup against mechanical failure, and because many submarines existed at the start of the war were not equipped with a TDC; most could keep the "picture" in their heads and do much of the calculations (simple trigonometry) mentally, from extensive training.[67]
Against high-value targets and multiple targets, submarines would launch a spread of torpedoes, to increase the probability of success. Similarly, squadrons of torpedo boats and torpedo bombers would attack together, creating a "fan" of torpedoes across the target's course. Faced with such an attack, the prudent thing for a target to do was to turn to parallel the course of the incoming torpedo and steam away from the torpedoes and the firer, allowing the relatively short-range torpedoes to use up their fuel. An alternative was to "comb the tracks", turning to parallel the incoming torpedo's course, but turning towards the torpedoes. The intention of such a tactic was still to minimize the size of the target offered to the torpedoes, but at the same time be able to aggressively engage the firer. This was the tactic advocated by critics of Jellicoe's actions at Jutland, his caution at turning away from the torpedoes being seen as the reason the Germans escaped.
The use of multiple torpedoes to engage single targets depletes torpedo supplies and greatly reduces a submarine's combat endurance.[69] Endurance can be improved by ensuring a target can be effectively engaged by a single torpedo, which gave rise to the guided torpedo.
Pattern running
In World War II the Germans introduced programmable pattern-running torpedoes, which would run a predetermined pattern until they either ran out of fuel or hit something. The earlier version, FaT, ran out after launch in a straight line, and then weaved backward and forwards parallel to that initial course, whilst the more advanced LuT could transit to a different angle after launch, and then enter a more complex weaving pattern.[70]
Radio and wire guidance
Though Luppis' original design had been rope-guided, torpedoes were not wire-guided until the 1960s.
During the First World War the U.S. Navy evaluated a radio controlled torpedo launched from a surface ship called the Hammond Torpedo.[71] A later version tested in the 1930s was claimed to have an effective range of 6 miles (9.7 km).[72]
Modern torpedoes use an umbilical wire, which nowadays allows the computer processing power of the submarine or ship to be used. Torpedoes such as the U.S. Mark 48 can operate in a variety of modes, increasing tactical flexibility.
Homing
Homing "
Later in the Second World War torpedoes were given acoustic (homing) guidance systems, with the American Mark 24 mine and Mark 27 torpedo and the German G7es torpedo. Pattern-following and wake homing torpedoes were also developed. Acoustic homing formed the basis for torpedo guidance after the Second World War.
The homing systems for torpedoes are generally acoustic, though there have been other target sensor types used. A ship's
Warhead and fuzing
The
Contact detonation
When a torpedo with a contact fuze strikes the side of the target hull, the resulting explosion creates a bubble of expanding gas, the walls of which move faster than the speed of sound in water, thus creating a shock wave. The side of the bubble which is against the hull rips away the external plating creating a large breach. The bubble then collapses in on itself, forcing a high-speed stream of water into the breach which can destroy bulkheads and machinery in its path.[74]
Proximity detonation
A torpedo fitted with a proximity fuze can be detonated directly under the keel of a target ship. The explosion creates a gas bubble which may damage the keel or underside plating of the target. However, the most destructive part of the explosion is the upthrust of the gas bubble, which will bodily lift the hull in the water. The structure of the hull is designed to resist downward rather than upward pressure, causing severe strain in this phase of the explosion. When the gas bubble collapses, the hull will tend to fall into the void in the water, creating a sagging effect. Finally, the weakened hull will be hit by the uprush of water caused by the collapsing gas bubble, causing structural failure. On vessels up to the size of a modern frigate, this can result in the ship breaking in two and sinking. This effect is likely to prove less catastrophic on a much larger hull, for instance, that of an aircraft carrier.[74]
Damage
The damage that may be caused by a torpedo depends on the "shock factor value", a combination of the initial strength of the explosion and the distance between the target and the detonation. When taken about ship hull plating, the term "hull shock factor" (HSF) is used, while keel damage is termed "keel shock factor" (KSF). If the explosion is directly underneath the keel, then HSF is equal to KSF, but explosions that are not directly underneath the ship will have a lower value of KSF.[75]
Direct damage
Usually only created by contact detonation, direct damage is a hole blown in the ship. Among the crew, fragmentation wounds are the most common form of injury. Flooding typically occurs in one or two main watertight compartments, which can sink smaller ships or disable larger ones.
Bubble jet effect
The bubble jet effect occurs when a mine or torpedo detonates in the water a short distance away from the targeted ship. The explosion creates a bubble in the water, and due to the pressure difference, the bubble will collapse from the bottom. The bubble is buoyant, and so it rises towards the surface. If the bubble reaches the surface as it collapses, it can create a pillar of water that can go over a hundred meters into the air (a "columnar plume"). If conditions are right and the bubble collapses onto the ship's hull, the damage to the ship can be extremely serious; the collapsing bubble forms a high-energy jet that can break a meter-wide hole straight through the ship, flooding one or more compartments, and is capable of breaking smaller ships apart. The crew in the areas hit by the pillar are usually killed instantly. Other damage is usually limited.[75]
The
Shock effect
If the torpedo detonates at a distance from the ship, and especially under the keel, the change in water pressure causes the ship to resonate. This is frequently the most deadly type of explosion if it is strong enough. The whole ship is dangerously shaken and everything on board is tossed around. Engines rip from their beds, cables from their holders, etc. A badly shaken ship usually sinks quickly, with hundreds, or even thousands of small leaks all over the ship and no way to power the pumps. The crew fares no better, as the violent shaking tosses them around.[75] This shaking is powerful enough to cause disabling injury to knees and other joints in the body, particularly if the affected person stands on surfaces connected directly to the hull (such as steel decks).
The resulting gas cavitation and
Control surfaces and hydrodynamics
Control surfaces are essential for a torpedo to maintain its course and depth. A homing torpedo also needs to be able to outmaneuver a target. Good hydrodynamics are needed for it to attain high speed efficiently and also to give a long range since the torpedo has limited stored energy.
Launch platforms and launchers
Torpedoes may be launched from submarines, surface ships,
Ships
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
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),[80] making them true turrets and increasing the broadside without adding tubes and top hamper (as the quadruple and quintuple mounts did). Considering that their Type 93s were 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 12.75 in (32.4 cm) homing torpedoes were developed for anti-submarine use consisting of triple launch tubes used on the decks of ships. These were the 1960
Submarines
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.
Early submarines, when they carried torpedoes, were fitted with a variety of torpedo launching mechanisms in a range of locations; on the deck, in the bow or stern, amidships, with some launch mechanisms permitting the torpedo to be aimed over a wide arc. By World War II, designs favored multiple bow tubes and fewer or no stern tubes. Modern submarine bows are usually occupied by a large sonar array, necessitating
Late in World War II, the U.S. adopted a 16 in (41 cm) homing torpedo (known as
Air launch
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.
Handling equipment
Although lightweight torpedoes are fairly easily handled, the transport and handling of heavyweight torpedoes is difficult, especially in the tight spaces in a submarine. After the Second World War, some Type XXI submarines were obtained from Germany by the United States and Britain. 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.[citation needed]
Classes and diameters
Torpedoes are launched in several ways:
- From a armed merchant cruisers) or submarine.
- Early submarines and some drop collars", which simply relied on gravity.
- From shackles aboard low-flying aircraft or helicopters.
- As the final stage of a compound rocket or ramjet powered munition (sometimes called an assisted torpedo).
Many navies have two weights of torpedoes:
- A light torpedo used primarily as a close attack weapon, particularly by aircraft.
- A heavy torpedo used primarily as a standoff weapon, particularly by submerged submarines.
In the case of deck or tube launched torpedoes, the diameter of the torpedo is 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 the diameter has become the most common way of classifying torpedoes.
Length, weight, and other factors also contribute to compatibility. In the case of
As in all
Type | Year | Use | Propulsion | Diameter | Weight | Length | Speed | Range | Maximum depth | Carrier |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 Q | 1924 | Surface | Compressed Air | 550 mm | 1,720 kilograms (3,790 lb) | 7.12 metres (23.4 ft) | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) | 15,000 metres (49,000 ft) | Ships | |
K2 | 1956 | ASM | gas turbine | 550 mm | 1,104 kilograms (2,434 lb) | 4.40 metres (14.4 ft) | 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) | 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) | 300 metres (980 ft) | Ships |
L3 | 1961 | ASM / surface | electric motor | 550 mm | 910 kilograms (2,010 lb) | 4.30 metres (14.1 ft) | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) | 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) | 300 metres (980 ft) | Ships |
L4[note 1] | ASM / surface | electric motor | 533 mm | 540 kilograms (1,190 lb) | 3.13 metres (10.3 ft) | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) | 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) | 300 metres (980 ft) | Planes | |
L5 mod 1 | ASM / surface | electric motor | 533 mm | 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) | 4.40 metres (14.4 ft) | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) | ?? | ?? | Submarines | |
L5 mod 3 | ASM / surface | electric motor | 533 mm | 1,300 kilograms (2,900 lb) | 4.40 metres (14.4 ft) | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) | 9,500 metres (31,200 ft) | 550 metres (1,800 ft) | Submarines | |
L5 mod 4 | 1976 | ASM | electric motor | 533 mm | 935 kilograms (2,061 lb) | 4.40 metres (14.4 ft) | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) | 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) | 500 metres (1,600 ft) | Ships |
F17 | 1988 | surface | electric motor | 533 mm | 1,300 kilograms (2,900 lb) | 5.38 metres (17.7 ft) | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) | ?? | ?? | Submarines |
F17 mod 2 | 1998 | ASM / surface | electric motor | 533 mm | 1,410 kilograms (3,110 lb) | 5.38 metres (17.7 ft) | 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) | 20,000 metres (66,000 ft) | 600 metres (2,000 ft) | Submarines |
Mk 46 | 1967 | ASM | monergol
|
324 mm | 232 kilograms (511 lb) | 2.59 metres (8 ft 6 in) | 45 knots (83 km/h; 52 mph) | 11,000 metres (36,000 ft) | 400 metres (1,300 ft) | Airplanes |
MU 90 impact | 2008 | ASM/surface | electric motor | 324 mm | 304 kilograms (670 lb) | 2.96 metres (9 ft 9 in) | 55 knots (102 km/h; 63 mph) | 14,000 metres (46,000 ft) | 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) | Ships/Airplanes |
F21 | 2017 | ASM/surface | electric motor | 533 mm | 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) | 6.00 metres (19.69 ft) | 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) | 50,000 metres (160,000 ft) | 500 metres (1,600 ft) | SNLE-SNA |
Modern
- DM2A4 heavyweight torpedo
- DM2A3 heavyweight torpedo
- MU 90 lightweight impact torpedo
- Mark 46 torpedo
- Barracuda (supercavitating torpedo)
The torpedoes used by the World War II Kriegsmarine included:
- Takshak (heavy weight torpedo)[85]
- Varunastra (heavyweight torpedo)[86]
- Advanced Light Torpedo Shyena[87]
- S.M.A.R.T.[88]
- Shakti Thermal Torpedo
Torpedoes used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy include:
Torpedoes used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps include:
The Italian Navy uses two types of heavyweight torpedoes, both developed and produced by Leonardo:
- A-184 torpedo on the Sauro-class submarines
- Todaro-class submarines
Modern Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force:
- Type 54 torpedo
- Type 72 torpedo
- Type 73 light weight torpedo
- Type 80 torpedo (G-RX1)
- Type 89 heavy torpedo (G-RX2)
- Type 97 light weight torpedo (G-RX4)
- Type 12 light weight torpedo (G-RX5)
- Type 18 heavy weight torpedo (G-RX6)
The torpedoes used by the Imperial Japanese Navy (World War II) included:
Torpedoes used by the Republic of Korea Navy include:
- K731 White Shark heavyweight torpedo
- K745 Blue Shark lightweight torpedo
- K745A1 Red Shark homing torpedo
- K761 Tiger Shark heavyweight torpedo
Torpedoes used by the Royal Canadian Navy include:
- MK-48 Mod 7 Advanced Technology (AT) Torpedo
The torpedoes used by the Royal Navy include:
- Spearfish torpedo
- Stingray torpedo
- Tigerfish
- Mark 8, designed in 1925, last used in action in 1982
Torpedoes used by the Russian Navy include:
- Type 53 torpedo
- Type 65 torpedo
- APR-3E torpedo
- VA-111 Shkval torpedo
- 65-76A 100 km[89]
In April 2015, the Fizik (UGST) heat-seeking torpedo entered service to replace the wake-homing USET-80 developed in the 1980s[90][91] and the next-gen Futlyar entered service in 2017.[92][90][93]
The major torpedoes in the United States Navy inventory are:
- the Mark 46 lightweight
- the Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo
- the Mark 50 advanced lightweight
- the Mark 54 Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo
- the Mark 60 Encapsulated Torpedo (CAPTOR), a moored anti-submarine mine that releases a torpedo as its warhead
See also
- Anti-submarine weapon
- Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
- Bangalore torpedo
- Human torpedo
- List of torpedoes
- Missile guidance
- Nuclear torpedo
- André Rebouças, who supposedly developed a torpedo in the Paraguayan War (1864–1870)
- Shock factor
- Torpedo defence
- Unmanned underwater vehicle
Footnotes
- ^ Mizokami, Kyle (November 16, 2022). "Why One of the Slowest Weapons in Modern Warfare Is the Toughest to Defend Against". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ Amick, Aaron (April 16, 2020). "Modern Submarine Torpedo Attacks Are Nothing Like What You See In The Movies". The Drive. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ "torpedo (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "torpedo". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "Navy's Use of Torpedoes". Naval History and Heritage Command. U.S. Navy. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "HISTORY OF EARLY TORPEDOES (1800-1870)". San Francisco Maritime National Park Association. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ISBN 0-8018-5954-9
- ^ OCLC 886707577.
- ^ a b Gray 2004
- ^ Davey 2016
- ISBN 978-973-8101-17-3.
- ISBN 978-1-317-86978-8.
- ^ The war nose consisted of a detonator, fuse, and protection mechanism which armed the fuse after the torpedo had traveled a short distance.
- ^ Gray 1975
- ^ Epstein 2014
- ^ "The Whitehead Torpedo, notes on handling etc., U.S.N." maritime.org. 1890. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Artifact Spotlight: Whitehead torpedo" (PDF). navalunderseamuseum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
- ^ National Archive in WO32/6064 In minute to Director of Artillery from Inspector General of Fortifications.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9548453-6-0
- ISBN 0-78674-298-4.
- ^ Avaroa, Eduardo (2013). "El Huáscar Muralla Móvil Del Perú" (PDF). Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ISBN 0-87021-295-8.
- OCLC 10002180.
- ISBN 0-521-22029-7.
- ISBN 962-996-066-4.
- ^ Olender 2010, p. 233
- ^ Olender 2010, p. 236
- ^ Olender 2010, p. 234
- ^ Olender 2010, p. 235
- ^ Olender 2010, p. 225
- ^ "Submersible Dolphin", Hellenic Navy (in Greek)
- ^ a b Hopkins, Albert Allis. The Scientific American War Book: The Mechanism and Technique of War, Chapter XLV: Aerial Torpedoes and Torpedo Mines. Munn & Company, Incorporated, 1915
- ^ US patent 1032394, Bradley A. Fiske, "Method of and apparatus for delivering submarine torpedoes from airships", issued 1912-07-16
- ^ Hart, Albert Bushnell. Harper's pictorial library of the world war, Volume 4. Harper, 1920, p. 335.
- ^ "Torpedo Boat That Flies. Admiral Fiske Invents a Craft to Attack Fleets in Harbors". The New York Times. 23 July 1915. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
- ISBN 978-1-57488-665-8.
- OCLC 463063844.
- OCLC 11494729.. Although the enemy ship was hit and sunk, the captain of a British submarine claimed to have fired a torpedo simultaneously and sunk the ship. It was further stated that the British submarine E14 had attacked and immobilized the ship four days earlier.
The first air attack using a torpedo dropped by an airplane was carried out by Flight Commander Charles H. K. Edmonds, flying a Short 184 seaplane from Ben-my-Chree on 12 August 1915, against a 5,000-ton Turkish supply ship in the Sea of Marmara
- ^ Bruce, J. M. (28 December 1956). "The Short Seaplanes: Historic Military Aircraft No. 14: Part 3". Flight. p. 1000.
- ^ a b "U-boat Losses 1914–1918". uboat.net. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ a b Morison, Samuel Eliot (1950). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier. New York. p. 195.
{{cite book}}
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- ^ "Japan Torpedoes of World War II". NavWeaps.com. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Fumio Aikō (July 25, 1985). Koku Gyorai Note (in Japanese). Privately printed book. p. 13.
- ISBN 0 85177 132 7, pp. 9-10.
- ISBN 0 949756 02 4, pg.140
- ^ On His Majesty's Service, 1940-41, Joseph H. Wellings, http://www.ibiblio.org/anrs/docs/D/D7/1002wellings_onhismajestysservice.pdf
- ^ Ballantyne, p. 142
- ISBN 978 1 84415 983 3, pp. 258–260.
- ISBN 0 00 211739 8
- ^ Brown, Colin; Kim Sengupta (2012-04-03). "Sinking the Belgrano: the Pinochet connection". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
- ^ Blair 1975, p. 20
- ^ a b "Movie Legend Hedy Lamarr to be Given Special Award at EFF's Sixth Annual Pioneer Awards" (Press release). Electronic Frontier Foundation. March 11, 1997. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ^ "short history of spread spectrum". Electronic Engineering (EE) Times. January 26, 2012. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018.
- ^ "Hollywood star whose invention paved the way for Wi-Fi", New Scientist, December 8, 2011; retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ Craddock, Ashley (March 11, 1997). "Privacy Implications of Hedy Lamarr's Idea". Wired. Condé Nast Digital. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ^ "Hedy Lamarr Inventor" (PDF). The New York Times. October 1, 1941. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ^ "Spotlight – National Inventors Hall of Fame". invent.org. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
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- ^ a b "Stichting Maritiem Historische Data - Schip". www.marhisdata.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Israel admits it sank Lebanese refugee boat in 1982 war error, killing 25 — TV". www.timesofisrael.com. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
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- ISBN 0 85177 132 7, pp. 9-10.
- ^ Torpedo: The Complete History of the World's Most Revolutionary Naval Weapon By Roger Branfill-Cook
- ^ "The Development of Rocket-propelled Torpedoes", by Geoff Kirby (2000)
- ^ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. "Bliss-Leavitt", in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 4, p.386.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-68247-167-8.
- ^ The British called theirs the "fruit machine".
- ^ The Attack Submarine suggests shorter patrols actually improve effectiveness.
- ^ "U-boat Archive – Interrogation of U-Boat Survivors – Cumulative Edition". Retrieved 2017-04-13.
- ^ "TO TEST HAMMOND TORPEDO; General Wood Named as Head of Board to Pass Judgment on Invention". The New York Times. 29 August 1916.
- ^ "Torpedo Controlled By Radio After Striking Water". Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines. February 1930.
- ^ Osborn, Kris (28 September 2016). "The US Navy's Master Plan to Save Aircraft Carriers from Lethal Torpedo Attacks". nationalinterest.org. The National Interest. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1848322158.
- ^ a b c Reid, Warren D. (September 1996). "The Response of Surface Ships to Underwater Explosions" (PDF). Ship Structures and Materials Division, Aeronautical and Maritime Research Laboratory, Defence Science and Technology Organisation. Department of Defence. DSTO-GD-0109. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2020.
- ^ "Investigation Result on the Sinking of ROKS "Cheonan" by The Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group" (PDF). BBC News. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (25 April 2010). "South Korea Cites Attack in Ship Sinking". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ^ Cudahy, E; Parvin, S (2001). The Effects of Underwater Blast on Divers (Report). US Naval Submarine Medical Research Lab Technical Report. NSMRL-1218. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
{{cite report}}
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Never fired in anger, a fixed torpedo tube battery was built on the east of the harbor mouth, just upriver from Kingswear Castle. The intent was to defend the river Dart.
- ^ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 10, p. 1040, "Fubuki"; Preston, Antony. Destroyers.
- ^ Blair 1975, p. [page needed].
- ISBN 978-0-359-05709-2.
- ^ "Les torpilles françaises". Net marine. Archived from the original on 2003-03-02. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
- ISBN 2-90967529-7.
- ^ SUBRAMANIAN, T. S. "Underwater might". Frontline. Archived from the original on 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ^ Kumar, V. Rishi (21 November 2020). "DRDO flags off first Varunastra, a heavy weight torpedo". @businessline. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
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References
- Blair, Clay (1975). Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. Lippincott. ISBN 978-0-397-00753-0.
- Boyne, Walter J. (1995). Clash of Titans. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80196-5.
- Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-802-8.
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, online.
- Crowley, R. O. (June 1898). "Confederate Torpedo Service". The Century. 56 (2). The Century Company.
- Davey, James (2016). In Nelson's Wake. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300200652.
- Epstein, Katherine C. (2014). Torpedo. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72740-3.
- Gibbs, Jay (2001). "Question 25/00: Defective Torpedoes of WW II". Warship International. XXXVIII (4): 328–329. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Gray, Edwyn (1975). The Devil's Device: The story of Robert Whitehead, Inventor of the Torpedo. Seeley. ISBN 978-0-85422-104-2.
- Gray, Edwyn (2004). Nineteenth-Century Torpedoes and Their Inventors. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-341-3.
- Lyon, David (1996). The First Destroyers. Chatham. ISBN 1-55750-271-4.
- Milford, Frederick J. (April 1996). "U.S. Navy Torpedoes: Part One—Torpedoes through the Thirties". The Submarine Review. Annandale, VA: Naval Submarine League. OCLC 938396939.
- Milford, Frederick J. (October 1996). "U.S. Navy Torpedoes: Part Two—The Great Torpedo Scandal, 1941–43". The Submarine Review.
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- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from Overland monthly and Out West magazine, by Bret Harte, a publication from 1886, now in the public domain in the United States.
External links
- "Modern Torpedoes And Countermeasures", by Austin Joseph, Bharat Rakshak Monitor, Volume 3(4) January–February 2001.
- Navy Fact File Torpedoes: Mark 46, Mark 48, Mark 50, the source of the US Navy torpedo data (via the Internet Archive)
- The US Navy – Fact File: Torpedo – Mark 46 Archived 2019-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
- The US Navy – Fact File: Heavyweight Torpedo – Mark 48 Archived 2020-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
- The US Navy – Fact File: Torpedo – Mark 50 Archived 2020-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
- The US Navy – Fact File: Torpedo – Mark 54 Archived 2013-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
- "A History of the Torpedo The Early Days"
- "Torpedo History" Geoff Kirby (1972)
- "Development of Rocket Torpedoes" Geoff Kirby (2000)
- Torpedo Display, US Naval Undersea Museum
- Torpedo Collection, US Naval Undersea Museum
- Super Cavitation Torpedo 'Barracuda' Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine
- 1890-07-26: THE SIMS – EDISON ELECTRIC TORPEDO – THE TORPEDO AT FULL SPEED – SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE TORPEDO
- "Our New Torpedo Bombers to Batter the Axis", Popular Science, September 1942; illustration at bottom of page 94 shows how Whitehead's so-called "secret unit" (i.e., the Pendulum mechanism) kept a torpedo level after entering the water, which made the self-propelled torpedo possible
- "Torture Test for Tin Fishes"—August 1944 Popular Mechanics article on testing US torpedoes – detailed photos