Mark 39 torpedo

Type	ASW Homing torpedo [1]
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1946-1956 [1]
Used by	United States Navy
Production history
Designer	Vitro Corporation [1] Ordnance Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
Designed	1946 [1]
Manufacturer	Philco [1]
Specifications
Mass	1275 pounds [1]
Length	133 inches [1]
Diameter	19 inches [1]
Effective firing range	1300 yards [1] (26-minute search duration)
Warhead	Mk 39 Mod 0, HBX [1]
Warhead weight	130 pounds [1]
Detonation mechanism	Mk 19 Mod 10 contact exploder [1]
Engine	Electric [1]
Maximum speed	15.5 knots [1]
Guidance system	Wire [1]
Launch platform	Submarines [1]

The Mark 39 torpedo was the first homing torpedo in United States Navy service to use a trailing wire for mid-course guidance through the submarine's fire control system. In 1946, shortly after the Mark 37 Mod 0 had been prototyped, the wire guidance system was reverse-engineered from the G7ef(TX) "Spinne" following the arrival of technical documentation from Germany. This resulted in the development of a wire-guided prototype the same year. The Mark 39 was a Mark 27 Mod 4 torpedo converted for development of wire guidance techniques, which were eventually incorporated into the Mark 37 Mod 1 and the Mark 45. Due to this development, the Mark 39 was considered obsolete and the remaining inventory was scrapped. ^{[1] [2]}

References

1. Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: Torpedo Mine Mk39" . Retrieved 21 June 2013.
2. Burke, Arthur (2017). "Chapter 17: The Modern Torpedo". Torpedoes and their Impact on Naval Warfare (PDF) (Report). Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division. pp. 171–172. AD1033484. Retrieved 10 July 2025.