Type 53 torpedo
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Type 53 is the common name for a family of 53 cm (21 inch) torpedoes manufactured in Russia, starting with the 53-27 torpedo and continuing to the modern UGST (Fizik-1), which is being replaced by the Futlyar.
With the exception of the UGST which uses Mark 48 style monopropellants, Soviet 53 cm torpedoes generally use electric power (since middle of World War II), or kerosene mixed with various oxidizers for propulsion. Russian torpedoes are often named descriptively for their characteristics – examples include "acoustic homing" or "electric torpedo", all in Russian acronyms.
History
Early history
Model 53-27 (1927) with 265 kg (584 lb) of
World War II
The 53-38/53-38U, which had entered service in 1938–1939, were the main Soviet torpedoes in
Another notable sinking with 53-38/53-38Us was the 14,660-ton
The new 53-39 (entering service in 1941) was very fast and effective but only available in limited numbers, while the ET-80 (1942–1943) was the first Soviet electric torpedo and crews did not trust it because of its teething and rushed induction problems.
Cold War
The first Soviet torpedo with passive-homing capability was the SAET-50 (1950), which was an anti-ship weapon used on submarines. The 53-61 was the first Soviet homing torpedo to exceed 40 knots.
The 53-65 torpedo family are Russian made,
The Type 53 torpedo is carried by almost all Russian submarines, including the Kilo class and the Akula-class submarine.
The Type 53-65 torpedo is considered a significant threat by the United States Navy because they do not respond to usual torpedo countermeasures; typical torpedo countermeasures are decoys that use noise to distract homing torpedoes, analogous to an aircraft's flare or chaff systems, but the Type 53-65 uses sensors that follows the wake of a moving ship, snaking through the ship's trail until impacting it, from up to 19.0 km (10.3 nmi) away. The threat of wake homing torpedoes influenced the U.S. Navy to develop the Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) system that employs a maneuvering Countermeasure Anti-Torpedo (CAT) that seeks and intercepts an incoming torpedo.[1]
UGST
The last entry in the class is the
Variants
- 53-27L (First produced variant)
- 53-38/53-38U/53-59/53-56V and -56VA (Standard straight-running Soviet torpedo of WWII)
- 53-51 (First Soviet torpedo with pattern-running ability)
- 53-57/53-58/53-61 (Primary torpedo development family in the post-war era)
- 53-65/53-65K and -65KE/TT-3 (First mass-produced wake homing Soviet torpedo, included engine improvements)
- SAET-50 (First Soviet anti-ship homing torpedo)
- SET-53/SAET-53 (First Soviet anti-submarine homing torpedo)
- SAET-60/SAET-60M (Anti-ship homing torpedo, improvement over the SET-53 development)
- SET-65 Enot/SET-65M Enot 2 (First effective Soviet anti-submarine homing torpedo, active/passive homing)
- TEST-71 (Standard Soviet/Russian wire guided torpedo, active/passive homing)
- UGST (A 'universal' thermal torpedo, with pumpjet propulsor, active/passive homing)
- USET-80 (Current Russian submarine and surface ship torpedo, active/passive/wake homing)[5]
53-65 specifications
- Primary function: ASUW torpedo
- Power plant:
- Length: 7.2 m (24 ft)
- Weight: 2,070–2,300 kg (4,560–5,070 lb)
- Diameter: 533 mm (21.0 in)
- Range:
- 53-65: 18,000 metres (20,000 yd)
- 53-65K: 19,000 metres (21,000 yd)
- 53-65M: 22,000 metres (24,000 yd)
- Speed:
- 53-65 and 53-65K: 45 kn (83 km/h)
- 53-65M: 44 kn (81 km/h)
- Guidance system: Wake homing
- Warhead: 307.6 kilograms (678 lb) high explosive
- Operational since:
- 53-65: 1965
- 53-65K and 53-65M: 1969
References
- ^ Navy Develops Torpedo Killing Torpedo - News.USNI.org, 20 June 2013
- ^ "Torpedoes of Russia/USSR". Tass. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Improved UGST / Fizik Torpedo "Futlyar" to Enter Russian Navy Service in 2018". Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Russian Navy to receive advanced Futlyar torpedoes". Tass. 22 June 2016.
- ISBN 1557502625.