TORPEDO

[PARIKRAMA]

Thread Type:
Maxi

Objective:
Introductory details about Torpedo

Introduction:

• The torpedo was the great leveller of the age of the ironclad, and the principal weapon of the U-boat forces that nearly secured victory for Germany in both world wars.
• Winston Churchill said that during the whole of the Second World War the only threat he really feared was the U-boat offensive in the Atlantic.
• In the Pacific, the torpedo was the weapon used by the US Navy to sink the majority of Imperial Japan’s warships and virtually all of her merchant fleet between 1941 and 1945, isolating her island garrisons and strangling the Home Islands themselves.
• It was torpedoes which sealed the fate of the Bismarck, crippled the Italian battle fleet at Taranto, sank most of the battleship casualties at Pearl Harbor and finally put down the largest dreadnoughts ever built.
• Hundreds of warships and tens of thousands of merchant ships have been sunk by torpedoes, or were so severely damaged that they were knocked out of action for months, if not years.
• In the modern age, the torpedo continues to be the major arbiter of potential naval actions worldwide, some 150 years after Robert Whitehead’s invention first took to the water.

The thread is divided into multiple sections dealing with the subject in hand

1. What is a Torpedo
2. Science behind Torpedo
3. History
4. Early Torpedo Development
5. World War II Torpedo
6. Modern Torpedo and ASW
7. Submarine Launched Torpedo
8. World's deadliest torpedo
9. References

As the subject has more public information available from USA torpedoes, most places the sections use the US Navy torpedoes to aid explanations.

1. What is a Torpedo
" The torpedo is a self‐propelled and self‐guided underwater explosive device. "

As simple as it sounds, the part self propelled implying production of energy via a motor and fuel stored on board in a battery and self guiding implying navigating to a pre-directed target in underwater environment coupled with a explosive device which is designed to explode on contact or in proximity all of that are marvels of modern science.

Torpedo as per Encyclopedia Britannia is defined as

• A cigar-shaped, self-propelled underwater missile, launched from a submarine, surface vessel, or airplane and designed for exploding upon contact with the hulls of surface vessels and submarines.
• A modern torpedo contains intricate devices to control its depth and direction according to a preset plan or in response to signals received from an outside source, as well as a device that detonates the explosive-filled warhead when it strikes its target or comes close to it.

1.1 How does a torpedo look

Well a basic schematic of a old torpedo is like this

Drawing From The January 1946 Report By The Naval Technical Mission To Japan, Index No S-91(N): The Fukuryu Special Harbor Defense And Underwater Attack Unit — Tokyo Bay.

Another example

Kaiten Type 1
Specifications:
Length: 14.5m (45ft)
Diameter: 1m (3.05ft)
Payload: 1550kg (3410lbs) HE
Total weight: 8 tonnes (8.05 long tons)

Speed/Range:
78,000m (85,332yds) at 12 knots
43,000m (47,042yds) at 20 knots
23,000m (25,162yds) at 30 knots



A more modern torpedo is like this

You can see a basic evolution terms of design, refinement and use of modern science, the fuel on board, to guidance to the fuse and explosives.

1.2 So what is a torpedo - ask again

• Torpedo, an underwater, self-propelled, explosive weapon that can be launched from a submarine, a surface ship, an airplane, or a helicopter.
• It is a major naval weapon for use against warships, merchant vessels, and submarines.
• Torpedoes can also be used against fixed targets, such as harbor installations.
• Torpedoes explode below the waterline.
• Torpedoes designed for use against surface ships generally travel just below the surface of the water to avoid passing under the hull of the target.
• Those designed for use against submarines can follow and strike a target at depths of up to 2,500 feet (760 m).
• Many torpedoes travel at speeds of 40 to 50 knots.
• Some conventional torpedoes have ranges of less than 2,000 yards (1,800 m)
• Some rocket-assisted torpedoes are capable of striking targets more than 10 miles (16 km) away.
• Some torpedoes have larger dimensions and much larger range upto 50 kms or more too.

2.Science behind Torpedo

• We know so far that a torpedo is a cigar-shaped device that contains an explosive with a detonating system, a guidance system, and a propulsion system.
• So lets divide the sub parts and understand those one by one

2.1 Torpedo Explosives

• Most torpedoes contain conventional high explosives; a few carry nuclear warheads.
• The largest United States torpedoes carry about 650 pounds (295 kg) of conventional explosive.
• Torpedoes are detonated by contact detonators, which set off the explosive when the torpedo strikes the target, or
• by magnetic detonators, which set off the explosive when the torpedo enters the magnetic field of a steel ship. (proximity detonation)

2.2 Torpedo Guidance System

• Torpedoes are guided by any of several systems.
• The simplest is used in the straight-running torpedo, which is held on a straight course by a gyrocompass and must be aimed in the correct direction at the time it is launched.
• Acoustic, or homing, torpedoes guide themselves to their targets by sound.
• A passive acoustic torpedo follows sounds made by the target ship—usually propeller noises.
• An active acoustic torpedo is equipped with a sonar device that sends out sound waves and homes in on the echoes from the target.
• Wire-guided torpedoes are electrically guided from the attacking vessel and cannot be jammed or driven off course by the target vessel.
• Most modern torpedoes are built with more than one guidance system; most combine active and passive acoustic homing capabilities.
• The United States Mk-48 heavy torpedo has not only active and passive acoustic homing guidance but also provisions for wire guidance.

2.3 Torpedo Launch system

• On most new submarines torpedoes are launched through torpedo tubes along the sides near the bow.
• Older submarines have tubes located in the bow and stern.
• Surface ships launch torpedoes from tubes on the deck.

2.4 Torpedo Propulsion System

• Compressed air is used to propel the torpedo free of the tubes before its own propulsion and guidance systems take over.
• Most torpedoes are propelled by jet turbines but some use battery-powered electric motors.
• Any deviation from the set course caused the gyroscope (guidance) to apply corrective movement to the vertical rudders to use the turbine generated thrust to change directions.
• Further modifications permitted the introduction of a set angle (up to 90°) into the torpedo’s course before the steering rudders took full control.
• This feature allowed a ship to launch torpedoes without having to face broadside to the target, greatly opening up the field of torpedo tactics
• Modern torpedoes are grouped according to source of propulsive power, method of control during water travel, type of target, and type of launching craft.
• Most modern torpedo propulsion is usually by battery-powered electric motors.
• Some uses oxidizer carried on board and oxidizer mixed with fuel coupled with engine.
• Some fuel like Hydrogen Peroxide does not need any oxidizer.

3. History

• The torpedo is a descendant of the floating mine.
• To identify the historical track of the torpedo, one must first learn of its different stages of evolution.
• The earliest documentation to support the torpedo’s first use dates back as early as 1585 by the Dutch, where torpedoes were actually a ship packed with explosives. The ships moored alongside their potential victims.
• Floating kegs of gunpowder took the place of ships in the Battle of the Kegs at Philadelphia in 1778 during the Revolutionary War. These floating mines were uncontrollable; they had no anchor and drifted downstream with the current. The primary purpose of these weapons was to attack a ship at its most vulnerable point, the waterline.
• The torpedo in its present state, a self‐propelled and self‐guided underwater explosive device, was invented in 1866 by Robert Whitehead, a British engineer working for the Austro‐Hungarian Navy.
• In 1864 the Austrian Navy asked him to work out an idea for an explosive-carrying, self-propelled boat that could be steered from its launching site by long yoke lines.
• After building a model of the device, Whitehead rejected the scheme as impracticable and began work on an idea of his own.
• By 1866 he had a successful torpedo.
• The Whitehead torpedo was straight-running and propelled by compressed air. It was the model for most later torpedoes.
• One model of the Whitehead weapon—measuring about 14 feet (4 meters) in length and 14 inches (36 centimeters) in diameter, weighing about 300 pounds (including an 18-pound charge of dynamite in its nose)—was powered by a compressed-air engine driving a single propeller.
• Depth was controlled by a hydro static valve that operated rudders on the horizontal tail surfaces; there was no provision for lateral steering.
• Its speed was 6 knots (7 miles per hour), and its range was between 200 and 700 yards (180 and 640 m).
• In 1895 when Gyroscope was invented, slowly the whole hydro static valve system was replaced via gyroscope for better control mechanism

4 Early Torpedo Development

• The use of the early torpedo in the United States dates as far back as 1775. Torpedo development actually came via Mine warfare.
• This section will focus on connecting these dots to understand how things developed.
• David Bushnell of Connecticut possesses the title of “Father of the Torpedo and Mining Warfare”. His approach to underwater warfare was the beginning of American torpedo and mine warfare.
• He discovered that gunpowder could be detonated underwater.
• He designed a one-man submarine boat that would submerge and attach a gunpowder magazine to the hull of a ship.
• His submarine boat, the Turtle, was not the first submersible craft, but it was the first to employ a weapon.
• The Turtle made its pioneering first attack in 1776 against the blockading squadron of the English fleet in New York harbor.

David Bushnell Turtle Submarine

• Sergeant Ezra Lee piloted the Turtle; his attempt to fasten a 150-lb mine to the hull of Lord Howe’s flagship was unsuccessful.
• Due to monetary constraints, no further improvements came about.
• Robert Fulton continued the development of the floating mine in 1797.
• Fulton’s ideas were not intended for wartime use, but to prevent war at sea by rendering the worlds naval fleets obsolete.
• His first attempt came in 1797 during the French Revolution. The results were questionable.
• The weapon was a rudimentary locomotive torpedo.
• After several attempts to persuade the French and Dutch into purchasing the mines, Fulton sold the ideas to the English to use against the French.
• It was after many experiments for the British that Fulton realized the notion of the floating mine.
• In 1810, he perfected the floating mine with a copper case and safety lever for maintenance for the American Navy. These mines, anchored to the ocean floor, could stay in place indefinitely.
• Robert Fulton’s attempts at preventing war did nothing but hasten the world’s need to perfect this style of warfare.

4.1 the Automobile Torpedo

• Robert Whitehead in 1866 designed the first “automobile” torpedo.

Picture of Whitehead torpedo

• It was self-propelled and would attack its target rather than wait for the enemy to come to it.
• His design was the point from which all other concept designs would begin.
• The first Whitehead torpedo used a two cylinder, compressed air engine that gave it a speed of 6.5 knots for a distance of 200 yards.
• Whitehead then developed two more models and began selling these weapons to the navies of the world.
• The first model had a length of 11 feet, 7 inches and a diameter of 14 inches. It weighed 346 pounds and had an explosive charge of 40 pounds of gun cotton.
• The second model was 14 feet in length, 16 inches in diameter and weighed 650 pounds. This model carried a 60-pound explosive guncotton
• In 1869, the US Navy established a torpedo station at Newport, Rhode Island. The station had the assignment of designing and building a torpedo using the Whitehead scheme, despite its criticized design, as a starting point.
• What NTS (Naval Torpedo Station) developed was a weapon similar to the Whitehead. It was 12 feet, 5 inches long, with a 14-inch diameter and weighed 450 pounds. It carried 80-90 pounds of guncotton and had a speed of 6-8 knots for a 400-yard range.
• The torpedo never left the test stage, because the air flask and hull did not maintain watertight integrity; the engine was also flawed.
• Corrections were made and plans were submitted to the Bureau of Ordnance for production. Only two test torpedoes were ever manufactured. The NTS Fish torpedo program terminated in 1874.
• The Howell torpedo, the first successful torpedo development program by the U.S. Navy, began in 1870. Lieutenant Commander John A. Howell created a torpedo driven by a 132-pound flywheel that spun to 10,000 revolutions per minute.

Howell Torpedo

• A steam turbine housed on the torpedo tube spun the flywheel before launch.
• The US Navy only produced 50 for tactical use.
• The Howell torpedo remained in service until 1896 when the United States decided to purchase the Whitehead and Bliss-Leavitt torpedoes.
• The United States purchased the Whitehead torpedo out of fear of falling behind in the world. Almost all other nations owned some version of the Whitehead torpedo.

4.2 The World War 1 and the interwar period upto World War 2

• As the torpedo increased in capability, it naturally grew in size
• By 1912, the 18‐inch Mark 7 measured 17 feet in length, weighed 1,628 pounds, and carried a warhead of 326 pounds of TNT to a range of 6,000 yards at 35 knots.
• In 1914, the US navy settled on a diameter of 21 inches for most of its new torpedoes—a standard that endured for the rest of the century.
• Torpedo development during the World War I was minimal.
• Over the interwar period, Newport, under the guidance of the talented mechanical engineer and submariner Ralph Waldo Christie, pushed ahead with a number of advanced concepts.
• These included
  • exotic propulsion systems using oxygen,
  • hydrogen peroxide,
  • electric motors to give wake-less runs;
  • large, air‐dropped torpedoes;
  • and magnetic exploders to increase lethality by detonating the torpedo under its target.
• As financial constraints prevented from pursuing all of these promising leads,concentration was placed on the last two.
• Introduced in 1936 was the Mark 13 air‐dropped weapon, which imposed severe speed and altitude restrictions on the aircraft carrying it.
• Also flawed was the new Mark 6 magnetic exploder. Expensive and highly secret, it entered the inventory in the 1930s, but was neither tested extensively nor issued to the fleet until 1941.

5. World War II Torpedo

5.1 The time of "issues"

• World War II put U.S. torpedoes to the operational test for the first time, and they were found wanting.
• Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. destroyers, submarines, and aircraft were all hobbled by torpedo problems.
• American torpedo bombers at Midway suffered appalling losses as they made their low‐level attacks.
• The Mark 6 exploder frequently failed, and its backup contact pistol proved too fragile.
• The Mark 14 submarine torpedo, introduced in 1931, left a prominent wake, tended to run deep, and sometimes even circled.
• A series of distressing incidents highlighted the problems.
• Tang, one of the most successful submarines, was sunk by its own weapon.
• Two destroyers, ordered to scuttle the damaged Hornet after the Battle of Santa Cruz, fired sixteen torpedoes at the carrier without sinking it.
• In a particularly damning episode on 24 July 1943, the submarine Tinosa shot fifteen torpedoes into the largest tanker in the Japanese merchant fleet; only four exploded.

5.2 The time of remedial measure - the ELECTRIC TORPEDO

• Hurried remedial measures developed by the navy, the scientific community, and industry resolved the difficulties.
• Aircraft torpedoes were modified so that they could be dropped at much faster speeds and higher altitudes.
• The Mark 6 magnetic exploder was deactivated.
• New types of torpedoes were hurried into production, the most important being the Mark 18 electric and the homing types.
• The former, built by Westinghouse and introduced in September 1943, offered the great advantage of leaving no bubble trail.
• By 1945, 65 percent of all shots were by electrics.
• Also strikingly successful was the acoustic homing torpedo developed by Bell Labs, General Electric, and Harvard for antisubmarine work.
• Dubbed for security reasons the Mine Mark 24, the torpedo followed sound pulses to its underwater target.
• Beginning in May 1943, the air‐dropped Mark 24, nicknamed “Fido,” sank thirty‐one submarines; its surface ship variant claimed thirty‐three additional victims.

5.3 The torpedo cost issue

• Wartime expenditure of torpedoes was humongous.
• Historical facts list says U.S. submarines fired 14,748 torpedoes, sinking 214 warships and 1,178 merchant vessels. U.S. aircraft made 1,287 attacks, scoring 514 hits.
• Overall, about 33 percent of torpedoes fired hit their targets.
• The navy kept up with mushrooming demand by reopening its World War I facility at Alexandria, Virginia, and by contracting with private firms (Bliss, Pontiac, and Westinghouse).
• Overall production totaled 57,655 torpedoes between 1 January 1939 and 1 June 1946.
• Although the last U.S. operational use of torpedoes came on 1 May 1951, when navy planes breached the Hwachon dam in North Korea during the Korean War, development of the weapon continued apace, largely to match increasingly capable Soviet nuclear submarines.

 

[PARIKRAMA]

5.4 Notable Torpedo of that era

5.4.1 MK 13
American airdrop torpedo test was conducted in 1920. Three weapons stand out from that era.

• The Mk 13, the aircraft launched torpedo, was a 13 ½ feet long torpedo with a range of 7000 yards
• It had a speed of 30 knots

MK 13 Torpedo

5.4.2 MK 14

• The Mk 14 torpedoes deployed from submarines.
• The Mk 14 is responsible for sinking over four million tons of Japanese shipping during World War II.

MK 14 torpedo

5.4.3 MK 15 Torpedo

• The Mk 15, the destroyer-fired torpedo, had an 825-pound warhead and remained in service until the 1950’s when 21-inch torpedo tubes were removed from destroyers.
• The United States and allied forces utilized these three weapons extensively during World War II.

MK 15 Torpedo

5.4.4 German G7e and MK 18

• Around 1941, upon successful seizure of the U-570 by the British, the United States began designing an electric torpedo to copy the Germans’ latest technological advancement
• The Mk 18 torpedo was available for fleet use within a year of the capture of its German predecessor.
• The electric torpedo had a battery compartment instead of an air flask.
• An electric motor replaced the engine, but pneumatic controls remained because of their tested reliability.
• The electric torpedo had two distinct advantages: the weapon was wake-less. It did not warn of an attack or a location from which it was launched and it required less manufacturing effort.
• The World War II electric weapons used a lead acid battery that required maintenance often.
• This proved to be a problem for the submarine fleet; hydrogen would expel during the maintenance process or by self-discharge.
• Purging the torpedo room on a regular basis was required.

German G7e

Mark 18 Torpedoes

 

[PARIKRAMA]

5.4.5 The Homing Torpedo

• An idea to develop a weapon that “attacks what it hears” originated during World War II.
• The theory is that the weapon would home in on an underwater noise such as the propeller of a destroyer. The weapon would then arm and attack the source of the noise.
• This concept of a homing torpedo had its drawbacks. A submarine sitting on the bottom of a harbor or a ship moving slowly would be quiet, making it difficult for a homing weapon to find its target.
• The Office of Scientific Research and Development and its subsidiary the National Defense Research Committee had complete control over this project. They developed the Mine Mk 24.
• The term mine was to mislead enemy intelligence.
• The Mk 24, nicknamed “Fido”, was a small, stubby torpedo with an electric motor.
• A conscious decision to design a weapon that was not extremely fast (10-12 knots) was made considering its prey, a submerged enemy submarine, would only travel at a speed of 3-5 knots.
• Fido was airdropped with a 10-15 minute run time on a 48-volt battery.
• The Mk 24 was responsible for sinking approximately 15 percent of enemy submarines sunk by air escorts from 1943 through the end of the war.

Mark 24 Torpedo

• The Mk 27 torpedo, nicknamed “Cutie”, was developed late in the war.
• The Cutie was a modified Mk 24 that was launched from a submarine.
• The Mk 27 was the first torpedo to leave the tube under its own power.
• It swam out; other torpedoes were fired by a charge of compressed air.
• The Mk 27 proved useful in the Pacific by hunting down sampans that were tracking Allied submarines near the coastlines.

Mark 27 Torpedo



6 Modern Torpedo and ASW (Anti Submarine Warfare)

• By the end of World War II, the United States had seven torpedoes in active service with twenty-four in design and development. Most of the weapons in the design and development stage never acquired active service stature.
• Torpedo research turned from attacking surface vessels to focusing on anti-submarine warfare.
• Technological advancements in sonar systems allowed the United States to detect an enemy submarine at a greater distance than it had a weapon capable of attacking it.
• This led to the development of the “thrown torpedo” in the early 1950’s. It would be used in ASW to prevent enemy submarines from coming too close to ship convoys or to ports of United States naval vessels.
• This was the initial format from which the ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket) was based on.
• In 1956, the program to build the ASROC started.
• A direct descendant of the RAT (Rocket Assisted Torpedo) program of 1953, the ASROC program became operational in 1962 with a Mk 44 torpedo as the initial payload of an intermediate-range missile fired from a launcher on a destroyer.
• The Mk 46 torpedo replaced the Mk 44 as the payload of the ASROC during the mid 1960’s.
• The MK 46 Mod 5 is the most recent U.S. Navy destroyer-launched ASW weapon capable of being fired from surface vessel torpedo tubes or from the ASROC.
• Designed for a rapid response, all weather delivery, the Mk 46 is 16 feet in length and has a search range of over 3000 yards and depths of 1500 feet.
• The Mk 46 ASROC classifies as an intermediate range ASW weapon. It is the currently employed standard NATO lightweight torpedo.

Mark 46 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.

7. Submarine Launched Torpedo

• 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. Both Britain and America experimented with external tubes in World War II.
• 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 Tambors, most American submarines only carried 4 bow and either 2 or 4 stern tubes, something many American submarine officers felt provided inadequate firepower. This problem was compounded by the notorious unreliability of the Mark 14 torpedo.
• The US Navy experimented in the 1950’s and early 1960’s with a wire guided torpedo as well as a torpedo that would run a set pattern or would zigzag to its potential target.
• Both concepts became obsolete with the development of the Mk 37, the first successful U.S. wire-guided, active homing ASW weapon.
• The Mk 37 had an acquisition range of 1000 yards and a maximum speed of 24 knots. It could find and attack a submarine down to 1000 feet.

Mark 37 Torpedo

• In the 1950’s, submarines acquired nuclear propulsion and became capable of speeds of well over 20 knots submerged. The Navy needed a faster torpedo to hunt down faster submarines.
• The Research Torpedo Re-Configuration (RETORC) program began in 1956 to develop faster and more accurate torpedoes than the Mk 37.
• The Mk 45 was delivered to the fleet in 1963. It had a speed of 40 knots and a range of 11,000 to 15,000 yards. The payload of the Mk 45 was a nuclear warhead.

• The Mk 45 had a seawater-activated battery with no homing capability.
• The detonation command via wire guidance satisfied the requirement of positive control.
• The Mk 45 tenure ended in 1976 with the non-nuclear Mk 48 replacement.
• The Mk 48 torpedo is wire-guided, acoustic homing weapon built to cover long distance at
  high speed.
• Development began in 1963 as part of RETORC II and the Mk 48 was released to the fleet in 1971.
• Today the Mk 48 is the primary active service torpedo in the United States submarine arsenal.

8. World's deadliest Torpedo
Torpedoes are the most preferred lethal underwater weapons for naval platforms such as submarines, surface vessels, aircraft and helicopters. Naval-technology.com lists the world’s most advanced torpedoes based on performance characteristics such as speed, range and operating depth.

8.1 Black Shark Torpedo

• The Black Shark Advanced (BSA), a new generation multi-role heavyweight torpedo fired from submarines or surface ships, is designed to counter threats from all surface and underwater platforms.
• The Black Shark is intended to replace the ageing A-184 heavyweight torpedo used by the Italian Navy.
• The Black Shark is currently being produced by Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) for several major naval forces and has been integrated into Scorpene, U209, U214 and U212 submarines.
• The wire guided, self-homing torpedo has 21-inch diameter and integrates an ASTRA (Advanced Sonar Transmitting and Receiving Architecture) and high explosive warhead.
• The propulsion system with Al-AgO battery, contra-rotating brushless motor and skewed propellers ensures a maximum speed of 50kt and range of 50km.

 

[PARIKRAMA]

8.2 F21 Heavyweight Torpedo

• The F21 heavyweight torpedo from DCNS is a dual-purpose torpedo that is effective against submarines and surface vessels.
• It will replace F17 mod2 torpedo aboard the French Navy's submarine fleet.
• The 1.3t F21 can be integrated into all types of submarines including nuclear-powered SSBNs and SSNs as well as diesel-electric types, and can be launched in swim-out or push-out modes.
• It incorporates a new-generation acoustic head from Thales Underwater System, in addition to an impact/acoustic fuse warhead.
• The F21 can be operated in depth ranging from 10m to 500m and is driven by electric propulsion based on the silver oxide-aluminium (AgO-Al) primary battery providing a speed of 25kt to 50kt, range of over 50km and endurance of one hour.

8.3 Spearfish Heavyweight Torpedo

• The Spearfish advanced heavy weight torpedo from BAE Systems is effective against submarine and surface threats in oceanic and coastal waters.
• The 1.85t torpedo is in service with the submarine fleet of the UK Royal Navy.
• The Spearfish carries Aluminised PBX explosive warhead of 300kg and is directed towards the target by high-capacity guide wire system and passive and active sonar.
• Its power plant is composed of a gas turbine engine using Otto Fuel as a liquid monopropellant, and Hydroxyl Ammonium Perchlorate (HAP) as oxidant.
• The propulsion system allows the Spearfish to engage targets within 48km at low speed.

8.4 Torpedo 62 (Torpedo 2000)

• The Torpedo 62 (Export designation: Torpedo 2000) from Saab is a dual-purpose heavy weight torpedo system in use with the submarine fleet of the Royal Swedish Navy.
• It can be effectively launched against all types of submarines and surface ships.
• The Torpedo 62 has a launch weight of 1,450kg and can carry high explosive warhead.
• The torpedo operates at depths of 500m and is guided by active/passive homing system.
• The torpedo is propelled by an advanced pump jet engine and can engage targets within the range of over 40km, at a maximum speed of 40kt.

8.5 DM2A4/SeaHake mod 4

• The DM2A4 Seehecht (Export Name: SeaHake mod 4) is the main under water weapon of the German Navy's Type 212 submarines.
• The heavyweight torpedo, weighing 1.37t, can be launched from both submarines and surface ships.
• Developed by Atlas Elektronik, the SeaHake mod 4 torpedo employs fibre optic wire guidance to accurately engage underwater and above-water targets, and carries a 255kg warhead.
• The torpedo is equipped with a high frequency permanent magnet motor and silver zinc battery modules ensuring a maximum speed of 50kt and a range of over 50km (27nmi).

8.6 Shkval-E

• The Shkval-E is a high-speed unguided underwater missile produced by "Region" State Research & Production Enterprise of Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC.
• The weapon system can be installed on surface vessels and submarines, and can be launched at up to Sea State 4 from a water depth of 30m.
• The underwater weapon weighs 2,700kg and carries high-explosive warhead (210kg TNT equivalent) with an impact proximity fuse.
• The propulsion system consisting of hydro-reactive jet and solid-fuel rocket booster provides a high speed of over 200kt. The torpedo has an effective launch range of 7km and cruising range of 10km.

8.7 Mk48 ADCAP Mod 7 CBASS

• The Mk48 ADCAP Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) developed by Lockheed Martin uses active and/or passive homing, broadband sonar guidance and advanced counter-countermeasures to detect, track and engage targets in deep and shallow waters.
• It is the most advanced heavyweight torpedo in use with the submarine fleet of the US Navy and allied nations.
• The torpedo has a launch weight of 1,676kg and can hold a 292.5kg high explosive warhead, and is powered by a piston engine using Otto Fuel II mono propellant.
• The maximum speed and range of the torpedo are over 28kt and 8km respectively.

8.8 MU90/Impact

• The MU90/IMPACT advanced lightweight torpedo produced by EuroTorp, a consortium of WASS, DCNS International and Thales, is fully interoperable with NATO standard torpedo tubes and airborne bomb racks.
• This third generation torpedo, weighing 304kg and operating at depths of more than 1,000m, is intended to fulfil the anti-submarine warfare operational requirements of the 21st century.
• It is being used by the naval forces of France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Poland and Australia.
• The electrically-propelled underwater weapon is powered by Aluminium-Silver Oxide sea water battery.
• The propulsion system ensures a maximum speed of 50kt and range of over 23km at minimum speed.

 

[PARIKRAMA]

8.9 MK 54 Lightweight Torpedo

• The MK 54 built by Raytheon is the most used light weight torpedo platform in the word and utilises the proven technologies of MK 50 and MK 48 ADCAP torpedoes.
• The torpedo can be fired from over 20 launch platforms and can be effectively launched from surface vessels, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft against any current submarine navigating at its full operating depth.
• The torpedo weighs 276kg and can be integrated with a 44kg high-explosive warhead and with the AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar.
• The propulsion system powered by liquid propellant provides the torpedo a maximum speed of 40kt.

8.10 A244/S Mod 3 Lightweight Torpedo

• The A244/S Mod 3 lightweight torpedo from EuroTorp is the latest member in the A244/S family of fire-and-forget ASW torpedoes used by more than 16 Navies.
• It has been designed to counter any conventional and nuclear submarines with advanced anti-torpedo countermeasures.
• The torpedo weighs 254kg and incorporates sophisticated acoustic seeker, advanced counter-counter measures capability and a blast type warhead.
• The maximum operating depth of the A244/S Mod 3 is over 600m.
• The A244/S Mod 3 is powered by a DC motor driving two counter-rotating propellers, ensuring a top speed of 36kt and a maximum range of 13.5km at low speed.

9. References

• Torpedo | HowStuffWorks
• torpedo | weapon | Britannica.com
• Torpedo (weapon) Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Torpedo (weapon)
• The world’s deadliest torpedoes - Naval Technology
• The history of Torpedo by Russel Thomas

@Icarus @Gufi @Slav Defence @WAJsal @Manticore @AUSTERLITZ @Vauban @SpArK @MilSpec @nair @Nihonjin1051 @jhungary @Penguin @anant_s @Abingdonboy @Irfan Baloch @Khafee @Oscar @Capt.Popeye @Horus @others

Request your comments and additions so that we can expand the article for better understanding.

 

[knight11]

Excellent Post. Could you post some comparitive information of the Black Shark Torpedo.

 

[PARIKRAMA]

Excellent Post. Could you post some comparitive information of the Black Shark Torpedo.

This is the best i could make from google searching

Not direct comparison sources.. Most articles is about SEA1000 and Australian Navy subs plan where heavyweight torpedoes planned was direct competition between the 3 below. Mind you there is an incremental development plan for each one of them. For example Black Shark is now being incremented to Black Shark Advance. Mk48 is a continuous evolutionary platform. SO this comparison may be a bit old by say 3-4 years.

 

[Bornubus]

The newest induction to Indian Navy - The Mk-54 “MAKO” Lightweight Torpedo



Surface Combatant Weapon System
Mk-54 Torpedo

The Mk-54 “MAKO” Lightweight Torpedo was previously known as the Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo (LHT).

The Mk-54 Lightweight Torpedo integrates existing torpedo hardware and software from the Mk-46, Mk-50 and Mk-48 torpedo programs with state-of-the-art commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) digital signal-processing technology. It incorporates an advanced guidance and control (G&C) section employing COTS processing technologies and tactical software improvements to significantly increase shallow water counter-countermeasure capability at reduced lifecycle costs. These features provide performance improvements in the most challenging littoral scenarios. Future development will continue to provide improvements to shallow water performance via software Advanced Processor Build (APB) upgrades, and the Tech Insertion (TI-1) of a new array assembly. The MK 54 Lightweight Torpedo reached Initial Operational Capability in 2004.

General Characteristics:
Primary Function: Lightweight Torpedo
Contractor: Raytheon
Propulsion: liquid propellant
Length: 106.9 inch (272 cm)
Diameter: 12.75 inch (324 mm)
Weight: 608 pounds (276 kg)
Warhead: 96.8 pounds, high-explosive


images

IN to get more Mk 54 lightweight torpedo kits | IHS Jane's 360

 

[dadeechi]

This is the best i could make from google searching

Not direct comparison sources.. Most articles is about SEA1000 and Australian Navy subs plan where heavyweight torpedoes planned was direct competition between the 3 below. Mind you there is an incremental development plan for each one of them. For example Black Shark is now being incremented to Black Shark Advance. Mk48 is a continuous evolutionary platform. SO this comparison may be a bit old by say 3-4 years.
View attachment 286205

Very informative posts

 

[Super Falcon]

Most informative for a weapon which devestated the world but no one talks about it

 

[Penguin]

5.4 Notable Torpedo of that era

Type 93 torpedo "the most advanced naval torpedo in the world at the time"

The Type 93 had a maximum range of 40 km (21.6 nmi; 24.9 mi) at 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) with a 490 kg (1,080 lb) high explosive warhead. Its long range, high speed, and heavy warheads provided a very formidable punch in surface battles. In contrast, the U.S. Navy's standard surface-launched torpedo of World War II, the 21 in (53 cm) Mark 15 had a maximum range of 15,000 yd (14 km; 7.4 nmi) at 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph), or 6,000 yd (5.5 km; 3.0 nmi) at 45 knots (83 km/h; 52 mph), with a significantly smaller 375 kg (827 lb) warhead; torpedoes of other Allied nations did not have longer range.

The Type 93 was launched from 61 cm (24 in) torpedo tubes mounted on the decks of IJN destroyers and cruisers; some Japanese destroyers, unlike ships of other navies, mounted their banks of torpedo tubes in turrets offering protection against splinters, and had tube loaders. The IJN armed nearly all of its cruisers with Type 93 torpedoes.

In the early surface battles of 1942–43, Japanese destroyers and cruisers were able to launch their torpedoes from about 20 km (11 nmi; 12 mi) at the unsuspecting Allied warships attempting to close to gun range.

Some specification examples of ranges by speed:

22,000 m (24,000 yd) at 48 to 50 kn (89 to 93 km/h; 55 to 58 mph)
33,000 m (36,000 yd) at 37 to 39 kn (69 to 72 km/h; 43 to 45 mph)
40,400 m (44,200 yd) at 33 to 35 kn (61 to 65 km/h; 38 to 40 mph)

The stated range of over 10 km (5.4 nmi; 6.2 mi) was effective when the targeted warship steamed straight for more than a few minutes while the torpedo approached. This sometimes occurred when USN cruisers chased IJN destroyers breaking away from the scene of the battle at high speed during the night, or when American fleet carriers, engaged in flight operations, were targeted by IJN submarines in the South Pacific in 1942–43.

Type 93 torpedo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Russian Heavies:

Type 53 torpedo
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.


With the exception of the UGST which uses Mark 48 style monopropellants, Soviet 53 cm torpedoes generally use electric power (since middle of WWII), 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.


Model 53-27 with 265 kg of TNT was developed domestically in the so-called Ostekhbureau (other languages), and it has poor 3.7-km range (45 kts). In 1932 USSR bouth in Italy several types of torpedoes, and the 21-inch model of Whitehead plant in Fiume (in the Soviet Union it was designated 53F) was considered superiour. After adapting several features from the latter in unsuccessful 53-36 the decision was made to copy 53F. Resulting 53-38 (3 speed regimes, range up to 10 km, 300 kg of trotyl in warhead) was later upgraded to 53-38U (400 kg of TNT, roughly the same characteristics) and then redesigned in 53-39 (317 kg, up to 51 kt), considered to be one of the fastest in the world at the time (another were secret Japanese oxygen torpedos and the Italian Silure Tipo W. 270/533,4 × 7,20 Veloce).


The first Soviet torpedo with homing capability was the SAET-50. The 53-61 was the first Soviet homing torpedo to exceed 40 knots.


The 53-65 torpedo family are Russian made, wake-homing torpedoes designed to destroy surface ships. The 53-65 became operational in 1965, while the 53-65K and 53-65M both became operational in 1969. The 53-65KE is an exported version. China received an unknown number of 53-65KE torpedoes from Russia after purchasing 4 Kilo class submarines in the 1990s.


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 especially threatening by the United States Navy because they do not respond to usual torpedo countermeasures. Normal countermeasures are decoys that use noise to divert homing torpedoes, but the Type 53-65 uses sensors that detect the churn made by ships moving, then follows the chopped water in an S-pattern between the wakes until impact from up to 11.8 mi (19.0 km; 10.3 nmi) away. Wake homing torpedoes have caused 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]


53-65 specifications

• 
  
  
  • Primary function: ASUW torpedo
  • Power plant:
    • 53-65 and 53-65M: Kerosene-hydrogen peroxide turbine
    • 53-65K: Kerosene-oxygen turbine
  • 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 kt (52 mi/h, 83 km/h)
    • 53-65M: 44 kt (51 mi/h, 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

Type 65 torpedo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Type 65 is a torpedo manufactured in the Soviet Union/Russia. It was developed to counter the US Navy's aircraft carrier battle groups as well as to be used against large merchant targets such as supertankers and also advanced enemy submarines . It is now typically fitted to newer Russian vessels, but often the 650 mm torpedo bay is fitted with a 533 mm converter to enable firing of SS-N-15 missiles or Type 53 torpedoes.

Russian officials have stated that a 65-76A modification of this torpedo is responsible for the explosion of the Russian Kursk submarine.[1][2]

Specifications (65-76)

• Diameter: 65 cm (25.6 in)
• Length: 9.14m (30 ft)
• Range: 50 km at 93 km/h, 100 km at 56 km/h
• Max Speed: 50 knots (93 km/h)
• Homing: active/passive sonar and wire guidance
• Warhead: 450/557 kg high explosive
• Propulsion: Probably gas-turbine powered by hydrogen peroxide, kerosene and compressed air fuel. Driving contra-rotating propellers.

Variants

• 65-73 Entered service 1973, unguided torpedo. 20 kt Nuclear.
• 65-76 Kit (Russian: Кит, Whale) Entered service 1976.
  • DT Length 11 m. Weight 4,500 kg. Warhead 450 kg.
  • DST92 Length 11 m. Weight 4,750 kg. Warhead 557 kg. Wake homing anti-ship weapon. Operates at 20 m depth. Sensor points upwards to detect the ships wake, the torpedo sweeps from side to side to find the edges of the wake.

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Russian Light

APR-3E torpedo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The APR-3E airborne light ASW acoustic homing torpedo is designed by Russian Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC to engage current and future submarines in at depth from the surface down to 800 metres at speed of up to 43+ knots, and it is a replacement for earlier APR-2 light antisubmarine acoustic homing torpedo.

APR-3E airborne light antisubmarine acoustic homing torpedo is designed to be carried by a various fixed wing and rotary wing platform including Tu-142, Il-38, Ka-28 and other aircraft. The torpedo requires at least 100 metres depth of water for the initial air-drop and can be deployed in conditions up to sea state 6.

Once entering water, the control surfaces of the torpedo enable the torpedo to travel in a spiral path with the help of gravity without starting the engine. During this stage, the acoustic seeker of the torpedo searches for targets. Once the target is identified, the engine starts and solid propellant rocket engine ensures the targets has virtually very little or no time to react, thus increasing the kill probability.

Specifications

• Designation: APR-3E light ASW torpedo (Manufacturer calls the weapon as a missile instead)
• Manufacturer: Region Scientific and Production Enterprise JSC division of the Tactical Missiles Corporation Joint Stock Co.
• Speed: > 56 kn
• Range: > 3 km
• Diameter: 350 mm
• Length: 3.685 m
• Weight: 525 kg (another 25 kg for accessory for aircraft deployment)
• Propulsion: solid-propellant rocket-powered turbo-waterjet
• Fuze: impact and proximity
• Warhead: 74 kg
• Seeker: acoustic
• Seeker range: 1.5 km – 2 km
• Maximum target speed: > 43 kn

List of torpedoes by name - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia