Mark 31 torpedo

Last updated
Mark 31 torpedo
Type Acoustic torpedo [1]
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service never in service
Production history
Designer Underwater Sound Laboratory, Harvard University [1]
Ordnance Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
Designed 1944 [1]
Manufacturer Naval Torpedo Station Newport
Specifications
Weight 2800 pounds [1]
Length 246 inches [1]
Diameter 21 inches [1]
Effective firing range 4000 yards [1]
Warhead Mk 31, HBX [1]
Warhead weight 500 pounds [1]
Engine Electric [1]
Speed 29 knots [1]
Guidance
system
 Gyroscope [1]
Launch
platform
 Destroyers [1]

The Mark 31 torpedo was a destroyer-launched acoustic torpedo developed by the Harvard and Pennsylvania State universities during World War II. A modification of the Mark 18 electric torpedo, it was conceived as an interim weapon to be used in the Pacific War until a new high-speed acoustic torpedo could be developed for the United States Navy. [1]

Destroyer Type of warship

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller powerful short-range attackers. They were originally developed in the late 19th century by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.

Acoustic torpedo

An acoustic torpedo is a torpedo that aims itself by listening for characteristic sounds of its target or by searching for it using sonar. Acoustic torpedoes are usually designed for medium-range use, and often fired from a submarine.

Harvard University private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with about 6,700 undergraduate students and about 15,250 postgraduate students. Established in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, clergyman John Harvard, Harvard is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning, and its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the world's most prestigious universities.

Further development of the torpedo was terminated due to the status of other more promising programs, notably the Mark 16 torpedo and the Mark 35 torpedo.

Mark 16 torpedo

The Mark 16 torpedo was a redesign of the United States Navy standard Mark 14 torpedo to incorporate war-tested improvements for use in unmodified United States fleet submarines. The torpedo was considered the United States standard anti-shipping torpedo for twenty years; although significant numbers of Mark 14 wartime production remained in inventory. This hydrogen peroxide propelled, 21 inch (53 cm) torpedo was 246 inches (6.25 m) long and weighed 2 tons (1800 kg). The Mod 0 warhead contained 1260 lb (572 kg) of TPX explosive and was the most powerful conventional submarine torpedo warhead ever used by any Navy. The United States used TPX explosive which was about 75% more powerful than the Type 97 explosive in the larger Japanese Type 93 Mod 3. The Mod 1 warhead contained 960 lb (435 kg) of TPX or HBX (7552 J/g.) explosive. The torpedo could be set for straight- or pattern-running.

The Mark 35 torpedo was the first of the United States Navy deep-diving anti-submarine torpedoes designed for surface launch. This electrically propelled 21-inch (53-cm) torpedo was 162 inches long, weighed 1770 lb (803 kg), and carried a 270 lb (122.5 kg) Torpex high explosive warhead. This torpedo used one of the earliest active guidance systems and was introduced in 1949, but was classified as obsolete in the 1960s.

See also

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The Mark 30 torpedo was a British 18-inch air dropped anti-submarine passive acoustic homing torpedo. The torpedo was air dropped from the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod and Avro Shackleton aircraft.

Mark 24 mine

The Mark 24 mine is an air-dropped passive acoustic homing anti-submarine torpedo used by the United States during the Second World War. It entered service in March 1943 and remained in use with the US Navy until 1948. Approximately 4,000 torpedoes were produced, with 204 ultimately being deployed during the war. As a result of its use, 37 Axis submarines were sunk and a further 18 were damaged. The torpedo was also supplied to the British and Canadian forces. The deceptive name of "Mark 24 Mine" was deliberately chosen for security purposes, to conceal the true nature of the weapon.

Mark 37 torpedo torpedo

The Mark 37 torpedo is a torpedo with electrical propulsion, developed for the US Navy after World War II. It entered service with the US Navy in the early 1950s, with over 3,300 produced. It was phased out of service with the US Navy during the 1970s, and the stockpiles were sold to foreign navies.

Mark 34 torpedo acoustic homing torpedo

The Mark 34 torpedo was a United States torpedo developed that entered service in 1948. It was an improved version of the Mark 24 FIDO passive acoustic homing torpedo developed during World War II for launch from fixed-wing aircraft. The principal differences from the Mark 24 were the use of two propulsion batteries, which could be used in parallel while the torpedo was searching for a target to provide greater endurance and in series to provide greater speed in attack mode.

There have been a number of 18-inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom.

There have been several British 21-inch (533 mm) diameter torpedoes used by the Royal Navy since their first development just before the First World War.

The Mark 10 torpedo was a torpedo put into use by the United States in 1915. It was derived from the Mark 9 aircraft torpedo converted to submarine use. It was used as the primary torpedo in the R- and S-class submarines. It used alcohol-water steam turbine propulsion. It was succeeded by the problematic Mark 14 torpedo, but remained in service in S-boats & fleet submarines through the Pacific War. The Mark 10 featured the largest warhead of any U.S. torpedo developed at that time. Stockpiles of Mark 10 Mod 3 torpedoes were used extensively during the first part of World War II due to short supply of the newer and longer (246 in Mark 14s, with some fleet submarines carrying a mixture of both types on patrol.

The Mark 21 torpedo, designated Mark 21 Mod 0 was a passive acoustic homing torpedo designed in 1943 by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The Mark 21 successfully passed launching tests in 1943, however, due to difficulties encountered by Westinghouse, the project was abandoned after a few development models had been built.

The Mark 21 Mod 2 torpedo, was a passive acoustic homing variant of the Mark 13 torpedo. It used the widely-used Mark 13 torpedo as a basis, with the addition of passive acoustic homing developed by Bell Labs.

The Mark 22 torpedo, was an active acoustic homing torpedo developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Westinghouse Electric 1944. Development of this torpedo was discontinued at the end of World War II.

The Mark 28 torpedo was a submarine-launched, acoustic homing torpedo designed by Westinghouse Electric in 1944 for the United States Navy. The torpedo used all-electric controls. Service use of the Mark 28 ended after the introduction of the Mark 37 torpedo.

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Mark 32 torpedo

The Mark 32 torpedo was the first active acoustic antisubmarine homing torpedo in United States Navy service. The Mark 32 was withdrawn from service use with the introduction of the Mark 43 torpedo.

The Mark 33 torpedo was the first passive acoustic antisurface ship/antisubmarine homing torpedo intended for the United States Navy to employ a cast aluminum shell. It featured two speeds – high and low, and was meant to be launched from submarines and aircraft.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: Torpedo Mine Mk31" . Retrieved 21 June 2013.

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