Torpedoes of 21-inch caliber were the largest torpedoes in common use in the RN. They were used by surface ships and submarines; aircraft used smaller 18-inch torpedoes.
Mark I
The first British 21-inch torpedo came in two lengths, "Short" at 17ft 10.5in (5.448m), and "Long" at 23ft 1.25in (7.042m). The explosive charge was 200lb (91kg) of gun cotton, increased later to 225lb (102kg).
Mark II
21-inch Mark II
Type
Heavy Torpedo
Placeoforigin
United Kingdom
Service history
Inservice
c. 1914 – Second World War
Usedby
RN
Wars
First World War, Second World War
Production history
Designed
c. 1910
Specifications
Diameter
21in (530mm)
Warhead
TNT
Warheadweight
400 to 515lb (181 to 234kg)
Engine
Wet Heater
Operational range
8,000yd (7,300m) max depending on model
Maximum speed
29 to 35kn (54 to 65km/h)
The Mark II, chiefly used by destroyers, entered service in 1914. Apart from some older British ships, it was used with the old US (destroyers-for-bases deal) Town-class destroyers provided to the UK during the early part of the Second World War. The running speed was reduced from 45kn (83km/h) (over 3,000 yards) for better reliability.
The Mark II*, an improved Mark II, was used by battleships and battlecruisers. A wet heater design, it could run for 4,500yd (4,100m) at 45 knots (83km/h).
Mark IV
21-inch Mark IV
Type
Torpedo
Placeoforigin
United Kingdom
Service history
Inservice
c. 1916 – Second World War
Usedby
RN
Wars
First World War, Second World War
Production history
Designed
c. 1912
Specifications
Mass
3,206lb (1,454kg)
Length
22ft 7.5in (6.896m)
Diameter
21in (530mm)
Warhead
TNT
Warheadweight
515lb (234kg)
Engine
Wet Heater
Operational range
8,000 to 13,500yd (7,300 to 12,300m)
Maximum speed
25 to 35kn (46 to 65km/h)
The Mark IV torpedo was the principal British torpedo of World War I. From 1912, used by destroyers, torpedo boats, and other surface ships equipped with 21-inch torpedo tubes, such as the Royal Sovereign class battleships. In the Second World War they were carried as auxiliary armament on submarines and various surface ships, including HMSHood.
Mark V
21-inch Mark V
Type
Torpedo
Placeoforigin
United Kingdom
Production history
Designed
1917
Specifications
Length
23ft 4in (7.1m)
Diameter
21in (530mm)
Engine
Wet Heater
Operational range
5,000 to 13,600yd (4,600 to 12,400m)
Maximum speed
20 to 40kn (37 to 74km/h)
The Mark V was used by the A and B-class destroyers and, with modification, by the Kent-class heavy cruisers.
Mark VII
21-inch Mark VII
Type
Heavy Torpedo
Placeoforigin
United Kingdom
Service history
Inservice
Second World War
Usedby
RN
Production history
Designed
1920s
Specifications
Length
25ft 6in (7.77m)
Diameter
21in (530mm)
Warhead
TNT
Warheadweight
740lb (340kg)
Engine
Oxygen enriched air
Operational range
5,700yd (5,200m)
Maximum speed
35kn (65km/h)
The Mark VII was issued for use on the British heavy cruisers, i.e. cruisers with 8-inch guns. Designed in the mid-1920s the County-class cruisers were built at the same time in the post Washington Naval Treaty period.
The power came from the use of oxygen-enriched air, though torpedo stocks were converted to run on normal air at the start of the Second World War.
The Mark VIII was designed circa 1925 and was the first British burner cycle design torpedo. It was used from 1927 on all submarines, beginning with the later versions of the L class and the Odin class, as well as motor torpedo boats. The principal World War II version was the improved Mark VIII**, 3,732 being fired by September 1944 (56.4% of the total number). The torpedo was still in service with the Royal Navy in a training role until recently, and was used by the Royal Norwegian Navy (Coastal Artillery: Kaholmen torpedo battery at Oscarsborg Fortress) until 1993.[1]
Range and speed: 5,000yd (4,600m) at 40kn (74km/h)
Mark VIII**
Explosive charge: 722lb (327kg)Torpex, later increased to 805lb (365kg)Torpex
Range and speed: 5,000yd (4,600m) at 45.6kn (84.5km/h), 7,000yd (6,400m) at 41kn (76km/h)
The Mark VIII** was used in two particularly notable incidents:
On 9 February 1945 the Royal Navy submarine HMS Venturersank the German submarineU-864 with four Mark VIII** torpedoes. This remains the only historically acknowledged intentional sinking of one submarine by another while both were submerged.
On 2 May 1982 the Royal Navy submarine HMSConqueror sank the Argentine cruiser ARAGeneral Belgrano with two Mark VIII** torpedoes during the Falklands War.[3] This is the only sinking of a surface ship by a nuclear-powered submarine in wartime and the second (of three) sinkings of a surface ship by any submarine since the end of World War II. The other two sinkings were of the Indian frigate INSKhukri and the South Korean corvette ROKS Cheonan.
Mark IX
A Mark IX torpedo undergoing maintenance while loaded in a destroyer's triple tube mounting.
The Mark IX was designed circa 1928 and first deployed in 1930. The design was considerably improved by 1939. The Mark IX was a larger and longer-range sibling to the Mark VIII, employing a very similar four-cylinder radial kerosene-air burner-cycle propulsion system. Used on the Leander class cruisers and later cruisers, A and B class destroyers, and later destroyer classes. Also replaced the old Mark VII torpedo in some 8in (200mm) gun cruisers during the war. The Mark IX torpedo remained in service throughout the 1960s.[4]
Electric battery-powered torpedo with a 710lb (322kg) TNT warhead. It entered service during the Second World War and was used by destroyers.
Mark 12
At first codenamed Ferry, then Fancy, the Mark 12 never reached production. From 1952, it had a warhead of 750lb (340kg) Torpex.[citation needed] Using high test peroxide fuel, it attained a top speed of 28kn (52km/h) for 5,500yd (5,000m).[citation needed]
There were accidents during testing caused by the unstable nature of high test peroxide. One such engine explosion, after loading aboard the submarine HMS Sidon, caused enough damage to have the submarine taken permanently out of service.[citation needed]
Mark 12 torpedoes were out of service in 1959 and the programme was cancelled.[6]
Mark 20 Bidder
21-inch Mark 20
Type
Torpedo
Placeoforigin
United Kingdom
Service history
Inservice
1955–1980s
Usedby
RN
Production history
Designed
c. 1950
Specifications
Mass
1,810lb (820kg)
Length
13.5ft (4.11m)
Diameter
21in (530mm)
Warhead
Torpex
Warheadweight
196lb (89kg)
Engine
Electric
Propellant
Battery (perchloric acid)
Operational range
12,000yd (11,000m)
Maximum speed
20kn (37km/h)
Guidance system
Passive Sonar
The Mark 20 was a passive-seeker battery-powered torpedo which was developed alongside the 18-inch Mark 30 Dealer B and shared elements of its design.[7] Two variants were developed: the Mark 20S ("Submarine") for use by submarines, and a larger Mark 20E ("Escort") for use by surface ships. The S variant had a single speed of 20 knots, and the E variant had a dual-speed mode of 15 knots and 24 knots, for target search and subsequent autonomously-switched attack run.[8] In the E configuration, the torpedo was designed to have a total endurance of 20,000yd (18,000m) at the 15 knot speed, and 6,000yd (5,500m) upon switching to the 24 knot speed.[9] As of 1958, The E variant was still not ready for service due to problems with its programming, and the prospect of a medium-range ASW torpedo being carried by the upcoming Westland Wasp helicopter was deemed more desirable. As a result, the E variant project was eliminated, leaving only the S variant. This led to several of the frigates that were intended to have used them (Rothesay and Whitby classes) never being fitted with torpedo tubes or having them removed. As of 1959, the only destroyer class projected to carry the Mark 20 was the Leander,[10] but as of 1963, this design consideration would also be eliminated.[11] The final version of the Mark 20 Bidder was also referred to in literature as the Mark 20 Improved.[12]
It remained in the submarine service until the 1980s, whereupon it was replaced by the Mark 24 Tigerfish.
Mark 21 Pentane
A project for an autonomous active/passive sonar ASW torpedo to be carried by the Short Sturgeon and Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft.[13] Development commenced in 1949 and delivered functional prototypes with a speed of 30 knots. Following the 1957 Defence White Paper, which de-emphasized the role of aircraft carriers, the RAF Coastal Command was left as the sole operator and the project was cancelled in 1958 due to cost considerations. The seeker head development was transferred to Project Ongar, which would later become the Mark 24 Tigerfish.[14]
Mark 22 Mackle
A wire-guided version of the Mark 20 separately developed by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (VSEL) as a private venture. The project was cancelled in 1956, but the wire guidance technology was transferred to the Mark 20 Bidder, contributing to the development of the Mark 23 Grog.[15]
A wire-guided version of the Mark 20 with a dual-speed mode, for target approach and attack run.[16][17] The Mark 23 was fitted with a 10,000m (11,000yd) outboard dispenser that contained a control wire to guide the weapon. Entered service in 1966 although already obsolescent, and did not become fully operational until 1971, serving only as an interim before the Mark 24 Tigerfish entered service.
During 1973, all of the RN torpedoes had to be taken out of service as the control system was failing at extreme range.[citation needed]
After months of investigation, it was discovered that the fault lay in the Guidance Unit made by GEC. A germanium diode in the automatic gain control (AGC) circuit had been replaced by a silicon diode, following an instruction by RN stores that all germanium diodes had to be replaced by more modern silicon diodes. The silicon diode's different characteristics caused the AGC circuit to fail. Once the mistake was found, replacing the diode with the original type cured the problem.
The Mark 24 Tigerfish was a high-speed, long-range, wire-guided torpedo originally developed under Project Ongar. The staff requirement for this weapon was written in 1959[18] and the weapon was expected to enter service in the mid-1960s, with an in-service target date of 1969.[19] Initial production rounds were delivered in 1974, and a production order was made in 1977. Affected by the budgetary constraints of the 1966 Defence White Paper, the first Tigerfish (Mod 0) entered deployment in 1983. All variants of the Tigerfish were removed from service in 2004.
The Mark 24 Tigerfish had a protracted development program, beginning with the initial two models, then studies to tackle its deficiencies, and finally a Marconi Consolidation Program (nicknamed "Get Well") undertaken in the late 1980s to convert existing units to the Mod 2 standard.
Mark 24 Mod 0 Tigerfish (1974)
Mark 24 Mod 1 Tigerfish (1978)
Mark 24(N) Tigerfish (nuclear payload variant, paper study only)
Mark 24 Mod 2 Tigerfish (1987)
Mark 24 Mod 3 Tigerfish (simplified inexpensive version, paper study only)
↑ Llewelyn-Jones, Malcolm (2005). The Royal Navy, 1930-2000; excerpt, The Royal Navy and the Challenge of the Fast Submarine, 1944-1954. Frank Cass. p.168. ISBN0-714-65710-7.
↑ Llewelyn-Jones, Malcolm (2005). The Royal Navy, 1930-2000; excerpt, The Royal Navy and the Challenge of the Fast Submarine, 1944-1954. Frank Cass. p.169. ISBN0-714-65710-7.
The Iron Duke class was a group of four dreadnought battleships built for the British Royal Navy before the First World War. The class comprised four ships: Iron Duke, Marlborough, Benbow, and Emperor of India. Launched from October 1912 to November 1913, this was the third class of Royal Navy super-dreadnoughts. The ships were essentially repeats of the King George V-class battleships; they retained the same ten 13.5 inch (34.3 cm) guns in five twin gun turrets on the centreline. However, the Iron Dukes had improved armour and a more powerful secondary armament of 6-inch weapons instead of the 4-inch mounted on the earlier ships.
The Type 93 was a 610 mm (24 in)-diameter torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), launched from surface ships. It is commonly referred to as the Long Lance by most modern English-language naval historians, a nickname given to it after the war by Samuel Eliot Morison, the chief historian of the U.S. Navy, who spent much of the war in the Pacific Theater. In Japanese references, the term Sanso gyorai is also used, in reference to its propulsion system. It was the most advanced naval torpedo in the world at the time.
Type 53 is the common name for a family of 53 cm 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.
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.
The Wickes-class destroyers were a class of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917–19. Together with the six preceding Caldwell-class and following 156 subsequent Clemson-class destroyers, they were grouped as the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" type. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World War I, including USS Wickes, the lead ship of the class.
The Royal Navy's T class of diesel-electric submarines was designed in the 1930s to replace the O, P, and R classes. Fifty-three members of the class were built just before and during the Second World War, where they played a major role in the Royal Navy's submarine operations. Four boats in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy were known as the Zwaardvisch class.
The Type 95 torpedo was a torpedo used by submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
USS Parker was an Aylwin-class destroyer built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of Foxhall A. Parker, Jr., a U.S. Navy officer who served in the American Civil War, and as Superintendent of United States Naval Academy.
The Mark 13 torpedo was the U.S. Navy's most common aerial torpedo of World War II. It was the first American torpedo to be originally designed for launching from aircraft only. They were also used on PT boats.
The Caldwell class was a class of six "flush deck" United States Navy destroyers built during World War I and shortly after. Four served as convoy escorts in the Atlantic; the other two were completed too late for wartime service. Two were scrapped during the 1930s, but four survived to serve throughout World War II, three of these in service with the Royal Navy under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement and the fourth as a high speed transport.
The South Dakota class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th state; the first were designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. Four ships comprised the class: South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama. They were designed to the same treaty standard displacement limit of 35,000 long tons (35,600 t) as the preceding North Carolina class and had the same main battery of nine 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 guns in three-gun turrets, but were more compact and better protected. The ships can be visually distinguished from the earlier vessels by their single funnel, compared to twin funnels in the North Carolinas.
The three Chester-class cruisers were the first United States Navy vessels to be designed and designated as fast "scout cruisers" for fleet reconnaissance. They had high speed but little armor or armament. They were authorized in January 1904, ordered in fiscal year 1905, and completed in 1908. In 1920 all scout cruisers were redesignated as "light cruisers" (CL).
The QF 5.25-inch Mark I gun was the heaviest dual-purpose gun used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Although considered less than completely successful, it saw extensive service. 267 guns were built.
The Imperial Japanese Navy Technical Department was the externally operating division of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan responsible for the administration of naval vessel construction. From 1923 onward, it took on the role of a research institution for the research and development of naval technologies and engineering. This included studying and investigating existing western naval technology, developing and overseeing Japan's domestic shipbuilding and arms industries, and training officers to become naval engineers and inspectors. The bureau was dismantled along with the naval ministry in November 1945 after Japan surrendered to the Allies at the end of World War II.
The QF 4-inch gun Mk IV was the main gun on most Royal Navy and British Empire destroyers in World War I. It was introduced in 1911 as a faster-loading light gun successor to the BL 4 inch Mk VIII gun. Of the 1,141 produced, 939 were still available in 1939. Mk XII and Mk XXII variants armed many British interwar and World War II submarines.
The BL 4-inch Mark VIII naval gun was a British medium-velocity wire-wound naval gun introduced in 1908 as an anti-torpedo boat gun in smaller ships whose decks could not support the strain of the heavier and more powerful Mk VII gun.
There have been a number of 18-inch (45cm) torpedoes in service with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
The Montgomery-class cruisers were three unprotected cruisers built for the United States Navy in the early 1890s. They had a thin water-tight protective deck, and also relied for protection upon their coal bunkers, cellulose packing, and numerous compartments. Roomy accommodations were provided for officers and crew, these cruisers being mainly intended for long cruises on distant stations.
The Neptune class was a proposed class of cruisers planned for the British Royal Navy in the latter years of the Second World War. They were large ships which were to be armed with twelve 6-inch (152 mm) dual-purpose guns and with a heavy secondary armament. Although five ships of the class were planned in 1944, they were cancelled following the end of the war and before construction could begin.
Numerous 53 cm torpedoes have been used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and its successor, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, since their first development just before the First World War.
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