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.
The first British 21-inch torpedo came in two lengths, "Short" at 17ft 10.5in (5.45m), and "Long" at 23ft 1.25in (7.04m). The explosive charge was 200lb (91kg) of guncotton, increased later to 225lb (102kg). The torpedoes were first deployed in the field in 1912 and primarily used by the Beagle-classdestroyers throughout most of their service during the First World War.[1]
Range and speed: 12,000yd (11,000m) at 16kn (30km/h), 1,000yd (910m) at 27kn (50km/h)
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
A Mark IV torpedo being hoisted onto HMS Monarch, an Orion-class battleship, during the First World War.
Type
Torpedo
Placeoforigin
United Kingdom
Service history
Inservice
1916 – Second World War
Usedby
RN
Wars
First World War, Second World War
Production history
Designed
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. Designed 1912, initially available 1915, adopted for service 1916. Used by destroyers, torpedo boats, and other surface ships equipped with 21-inch torpedo tubes, such as the Royal Sovereign-classbattleships. In the Second World War they were carried as auxiliary armament on submarines and various surface ships, including HMSHood.
Range and speed: 4,500yd (4,100m) at 44.5kn (82.4km/h), 15,000yd (14,000m) at 25kn (46km/h), 18,000yd (16,000m) at 21kn (39km/h)
Notes: Two warhead options were available, the IVa (400 lbs) and the IVb (500 lbs). Depth keeping was extremely unreliable at the 44.5-knot speed setting, prompting a suggestion to limit the top speed to 35 knots.
Mark IV*
Entered service: 1917
Weight: Approximately 3,100–3,200lb (1,400–1,500kg)
Range and speed: 4,500yd (4,100m) at 44.5kn (82.4km/h), 6,000yd (5,500m) at 35kn (65km/h), 11,000yd (10,000m) at 29kn (54km/h), 15,000yd (14,000m) at 25kn (46km/h), 18,000yd (16,000m) at 21kn (39km/h)
Notes: Four speed settings and an improved gyro control gear. The Mark IV* was outfitted at the factory with either a 44.5-knot or a 35-knot high speed setting, but not both.
Range and speed (surface vessel variant): 8,000yd (7,300m) at 35kn (65km/h), 10,000yd (9,100m) at 29kn (54km/h), 13,500yd (12,300m) at 25kn (46km/h)
Range and speed (submarine variant): 6,000yd (5,500m) at 40kn (74km/h), 9,500yd (8,700m) at 30kn (56km/h)
Notes: Retrofitted older torpedoes in service during the Second World War. Issued to older warships and motor torpedo boats equipped with 21-inch launch tubes, as well as submarines.
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.
Mark VIII
Mark VIII torpedoes being loaded onto the Polish Navy submarine ORPSokół.A late-model Mark VIII torpedo exhibit at the German Naval Museum, Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Located in front of submarine U-10 (S-189).
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.[7]
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 HMSVenturersank 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.[9] 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 ROKSCheonan.
Mark IX
A Mark IX torpedo undergoing maintenance while loaded in a destroyer's triple tube mounting.A late-model Mark IX torpedo exhibit at the Overloon War Museum in Overloon, Netherlands. The Mark IX is the first from the top.
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 cruiser 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 principal version used during the Second World War was the Mark IX**, first issued to J- and K-class destroyers in 1939. In 1943 it was decided to further improve the Mark IX** by lengthening it 12 inches (30.5 cm), and the weapon mass limit to 4,000lb (1,800kg), up to the capacity of torpedo tubes and ships under construction.[10]Nitromethane-augmented propulsion was considered, but its implementation required too many alterations to be practical. The final version of what would have become Mark IX*** took up the extra space by enlarging the warhead to 930lb (420kg) of Torpex. None were in service by the end of the war in 1945, by which time the enlarged warhead became unnecessary. The Mark IX torpedo remained in service throughout the 1960s.[11]
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
A design for a high-speed torpedo propelled by high-test peroxide (HTP), based on wartime research by Hellmuth Walter during the Second World War. At first codenamed "Ferry", then "Fancy", the Mark 12 never moved past the prototype stage. The design was conceived in 1945, after the end of the war in Europe, with the arrival of technical documentation from Germany. For economical reasons, the Mark VIII torpedo body was used, in an effort to adapt it to HTP propulsion.[13] The "Ferry" was supposed to be a surface-running torpedo with a gyroscopically-guided search pattern. Prototypes of the weapon were ready in 1953, except for the pattern-running feature, which was then omitted and the weapon was redesignated as "Fancy". In 1954, several prototypes were issued to HMSMaidstone and over 200 test runs were carried out until a catastrophic accident. On 16 June 1955, HMSSidon was alongside HMS Maidstone in Portland Harbor, preparing to make way to Stage II trials of the "Fancy". Crewmen on the submarine were in the process of loading one of the prototype torpedoes into a launch tube, when the stop valve on the weapon was accidentally opened, triggering the release of reactant in its propulsion unit. The weapon exploded inside the launch tube, simultaneously blowing out the bow caps as well as the rear hatch of the launch tube. A blast of debris and dense carbon dioxide were propelled into the submarine. Two officers and ten seamen were killed instantly, six from the initial blast and six more by asphyxiation from the ejected gases. One more victim, a doctor from the Maidstone, subsequently perished in an effort to rescue the crew from the submarine. The submarine sank in shallow water due to flooding from the blown-open launch tube. Ultimately the accident caused enough damage to have the submarine taken permanently out of service.[14] Following this accident, a second Mark 12 Fancy exploded at the Arrochar torpedo range in Loch Long, Scotland. As a consequence of these accidents, and the perceived hazardous nature of HTP propulsion, the program was cancelled in 1959.
The Mark 20 was a passive-seeker battery-powered torpedo which was initially conceived in 1945, as a 21-inch development of the 18-inch "Dealer" project for a parachute-dropped ASW weapon, conceived in 1943.[16] At the end of the Second World War the "Dealer" project was renamed "Dealer A" and became further branched out into the 21-inch "Bidder" and 18-inch "Dealer B" projects.[17] Thus, the Mark 20 was developed alongside the 18-inch Mark 30 Dealer B and shared elements of its design.[18] The development program was elevated in scope and priority after the cancellation of the Mark 21 Pentane. 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.[19] 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.[20] A total of 75 units of the Mark 20E were produced, with trial samples being distributed to the Type 12, Type 14, and Type 15 classes of frigates. 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. The deficient speed of the Mark 20 was also a motivating factor. 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,[21] but as of 1963, this design consideration would also be eliminated.[22] The final version of the Mark 20 Bidder was referred to as the Mark 20 Improved.[23] The Mark 20 Improved entered service in 1971, originally developed by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering as an export version. It featured weight reductions to its synchromechanisms and the contra-rotating propeller gearing, and the earlier mechanical course and depth setting devices were replaced by electronic ones, receiving data from the launch console via an umbilical link. These improvements, together with new batteries common to the Mark 23, slightly increased torpedo endurance.[24]
In 1965, Captain John Moore of the Royal Navy developed a variant of the Mark 20 which he dubbed "Archimedes". This was an underwater, submarine-launched, equipment delivery vehicle designed to support clandestine operations, particularly those of the frogmen of the Special Boat Service.[25] The warhead was removed and replaced with a sealed cargo capsule. Like other such vehicles of the type, the "Archimedes" could beach itself in a controlled manner, allowing frogmen or other clandestine agents to open the capsule and retrieve its contents. The vehicle could also be directly piloted by a frogman, with variable speeds, functioning as an underwater tug and diver propulsion vehicle. The prototype of the "Archimedes" was a larger Mark 23 torpedo, but the series-production version utilized a Mark 20 body.[26] Captain John Moore was quoted as referring to the Mark 20 as "a useless device for its original task".[27]
The Mark 20 was the only torpedo in service which could fit the short stern launch tubes of the Oberon and Porpoise-class submarines. It remained in the submarine service until 1988, which is when the Porpoise class were retired.[28] Following experience in the 1982 Falklands War, when an armed Mark 20 became stuck inside its tube and HMSOnyx was forced to return to Portsmouth to have it removed, the Oberon class would relegate the stern launch tubes for storing beer, retiring the Mark 20 sooner.[29]
Mark 21 Pentane
A project for an autonomous active sonar ASW torpedo to be carried by the Avro Lancaster, Avro Shackleton, Short Sturgeon and Fairey Gannet aircraft in an anti-submarine role, originally conceived in 1947.[30][31] Development commenced in 1949, and a final design was selected in 1954, delivering functional prototypes with a speed of 30 knots. By this time several of the aircraft capable of carrying a 21-inch torpedo were in the process of being withdrawn from service. 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 and an assessment that the weapon lacked the speed to counter upcoming nuclear submarine designs. The seeker head development was transferred to Project Ongar, which would later become the Mark 24 Tigerfish.[32]
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.[33]
Mark 23 Grog
21-inch Mark 23
A Mark 23 torpedo repainted as an advertisement in front of The Ancient Mariner restaurant in Lynmouth, United Kingdom.
A wire-guided version of the Mark 20 with a dual-speed mode, for target approach and attack run.[34][35] Wire guidance had been worked on for the "Bidder" project from its inception, and the earliest prototypes of the "Grog" were available for testing in 1955. After the "Mackle" project was cancelled in 1956, the complex wire guidance system was transferred to the "Grog" program. This would be simplified, improved, and the first production units of the Mark 23 Grog were delivered in 1959.[36] The Mark 23 was fitted with a 10,000m (11,000yd) outboard dispenser that contained a control wire to guide the weapon. Wire guidance was optional, with the control wire spool being a separate module which remained inside the launch tube. An operator onboard the submarine would listen to the torpedo's hydrophones, guiding the weapon past decoys and countermeasures.[37] Entered service in 1966 although already obsolescent,[38] considering the common speeds of nuclear-propelled submarines of the era. According to one report, the weapon did not become fully operational until 1971,[39] and served until 1987, which is when all stocks of the Mark 24 Tigerfish were converted to Mod 2.
During the trials phase of the Mark 23, in 1965, Captain John Moore of the Royal Navy experimented with a sample of the torpedo body. Royal Navy engineers aboard the submarine depot shipHMSMedway (former HMS LCT 1109) modified the torpedo body to his specifications, into a human torpedo prototype, with the primary function of an underwater tug. Supplementary batteries were added, increasing the vehicle's range. Ultimately the Mark 20 torpedo body would be selected for a similar vehicle, which went into series production.[40]
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[41] and the weapon was expected to enter service in the mid-1960s, with an in-service target date of 1969.[42] 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.
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.
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarines by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosives with a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth from the surface. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft and helicopters.
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.
The Mark 46 torpedo is the backbone of the United States Navy's lightweight anti-submarine warfare torpedo inventory and is the NATO standard. These aerial torpedoes are designed to attack high-performance submarines. In 1989, an improvement program for the Mod 5 to the Mod 5A and Mod 5A(S) increased its shallow-water performance. The Mark 46 was initially developed as Research Torpedo Concept I, one of several weapons recommended for implementation by Project Nobska, a 1956 summer study on submarine warfare.
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 Type 91 was an aerial torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was in service from 1931 to 1945. It was used in naval battles in World War II and was specially developed for attacks on ships in shallow harbours.
The Type 95 torpedo was a torpedo used by submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
HMS Ambuscade was a British Royal Navy destroyer which served in the Second World War. She and her Thornycroft competitor, HMS Amazon, were prototypes designed to exploit advances in construction and machinery since World War I and formed the basis of Royal Navy destroyer evolution up to the Tribal of 1936.
The Sting Ray is a British acoustic homing lightweight torpedo (LWT) manufactured by GEC-Marconi, who were later bought out by BAE Systems. It entered service in 1983.
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 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.
There have been a number of 18-inch (45cm) torpedoes in service with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
A nuclear torpedo is a torpedo armed with a nuclear warhead. The idea behind the nuclear warheads in a torpedo was to create a much bigger explosive blast. Later analysis suggested that smaller, more accurate, and faster torpedoes were more efficient and effective.
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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