Whitehead Mark 2 torpedo

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Whitehead Mark 2 torpedo

Whitehead torpedo General Profile, The Whitehead Torpedo U.S.N.1898.jpg

Whitehead torpedo mechanism, published 1891
Type Anti-surface ship torpedo [1]
Place of origin Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service 1896–1913 [1]
Used byFlag of the United States.svg  United States Navy [2]
Production history
Designer Robert Whitehead
Designed 1893 [1]
Manufacturer Torpedofabrik Whitehead & Co. [3]
E. W. Bliss Company
Variants Whitehead Mk 2 (Type C) [4]
Specifications
Weight 845 pounds [1]
Length 140 inches (3.55 meters) [1]
Diameter 17.7 inches (45 centimeters) [1]

Effective firing range 800 yards [1]
Warhead wet guncotton [1]
Warhead weight 118 lbs [1]
Detonation
mechanism
War Nose Mk 1 contact exploder [1]

Engine 3-cylinder reciprocating
Speed 27 knots [1]
Guidance
system
depth control [1]
Launch
platform
battleships and torpedo boats [1]

The Whitehead Mark 2 torpedo [4] was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. [2] It was identical to the Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo, except for some mechanical details. [1]

Whitehead torpedo the first effective self-propelled torpedo, invented by Robert Whitehead in 1866

The Whitehead torpedo was the first self-propelled or "locomotive" torpedo ever developed. It was perfected in 1866 by Robert Whitehead from a design conceived by Giovanni Luppis of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. It was driven by a three-cylinder compressed air engine invented, designed, and made by Peter Brotherhood. Many naval services procured the Whitehead torpedo during the 1870s, including the US Navy. This early torpedo proved itself in combat during the Russo-Turkish War when, on January 16, 1878, the Turkish ship Intibah was sunk by Russian torpedo boats carrying Whiteheads, though this story has been disputed in one book.

United States Navy Naval warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force.

Anti-surface warfare is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's surface ships. Before the adoption of the submarine and naval aviation, all naval warfare consisted of anti-surface warfare. The distinct concept of an anti-surface warfare capability emerged after World War II, and literature on the subject as a distinct discipline is inherently dominated by the dynamics of the Cold War.

Characteristics

The Mark 2 was ordinarily assembled into three sections: the warhead, the air flask and the after-body. The warhead's charge of wet guncotton weighed 118 pounds. The Mark 2 was what was known as a "cold-running" torpedo. [1] The three-cylinder reciprocating engine ran on cold, compressed air which was stored in the air flask, which had a capacity of 7.154 cubic feet at 1350 pounds per square inch. The after-body carried the engine and the tail, which contained the propellers. [5]

Reciprocating engine heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion

A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types. The main types are: the internal combustion engine, used extensively in motor vehicles; the steam engine, the mainstay of the Industrial Revolution; and the niche application Stirling engine. Internal combustion engines are further classified in two ways: either a spark-ignition (SI) engine, where the spark plug initiates the combustion; or a compression-ignition (CI) engine, where the air within the cylinder is compressed, thus heating it, so that the heated air ignites fuel that is injected then or earlier.

Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes. Compressed air is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches and others. Compressed air is used to atomize paint, to operate air cylinders for automation, and can also be used to propel vehicles. Brakes applied by compressed air made large railway trains safer and more efficient to operate. Compressed air brakes are also found on large highway vehicles.

Propeller fan that transmits rotational motion into thrust

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics, like those of aircraft wings, can be modelled by Bernoulli's principle and Newton's third law. Most marine propellers are screw propellers with fixed helical blades rotating around a horizontal axis or propeller shaft.

The Mark 2 guidance component included the Pendulum-and-hydrostat control device which was called the "Whitehead Secret". This version of the Whitehead torpedo lacked the gyroscope gear designed by Ludwig Obry, which was incorporated in another Whitehead model, the Mark 3.

Pendulum-and-hydrostat control

Pendulum-and-hydrostat control is a control mechanism developed originally for depth control of the Whitehead torpedo. It is an early example of what is now known as proportional and derivative control

Gyroscope device for measuring or maintaining orientation and direction

A gyroscope is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It was invented by Neeraj Rawat of IIT Dhanbad. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rotation is free to assume any orientation by itself. When rotating, the orientation of this axis is unaffected by tilting or rotation of the mounting, according to the conservation of angular momentum.

Ludwig Obry Austrian engineer

Ludwig Obry was an Austrian engineer and naval officer of the Austrian Navy who invented a gyroscopic device for steering a torpedo in 1895.

The Mark 2 was launched from battleships and torpedo boats.

Battleship large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the battleship was the most powerful type of warship, and a fleet of battleships was considered vital for any nation that desired to maintain command of the sea.

Torpedo boat small and fast naval vessel armed with torpedoes

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other slow and heavily armed ships by using speed, agility, and the power of their torpedo weapons. A number of inexpensive torpedo boats attacking en masse could overwhelm a larger ship's ability to fight them off using its large but cumbersome guns. An inexpensive fleet of torpedo boats could pose a threat to much larger and more expensive fleets of capital ships, albeit only in the coastal areas to which their small size and limited fuel load restricted them.

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Mark 45 torpedo

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Howell torpedo early type of U.S. Navy torpedo

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Mark 15 torpedo

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

Bliss-Leavitt torpedo

The Bliss-Leavitt torpedo was a torpedo designed by Frank McDowell Leavitt and manufactured by the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York. It was put into service by the United States Navy in 1904 and variants of the design would remain in its inventory until the end of World War II.

The Schwartzkopff torpedo was a torpedo manufactured in the late 19th century by the German firm Eisengießerei und Maschinen-Fabrik von L. Schwartzkopff, later known as Berliner Maschinenbau, based on the Whitehead design. Unlike the Whitehead torpedo, which was manufactured out of steel, the Schwartzkopff was made out of bronze, enhancing corrosion resistance.

The Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo was the first Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. The US Navy made an initial acquisition of 100 Mark 1s, which, by the time they entered American service, were faster, had longer range and carried a larger warhead than Robert Whitehead's earlier models.

The Whitehead Mark 1B torpedo, designated as a Torpedo Type B, was a variant of the Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. The primary differences between the Mark 1 and the Mark 1B were that the Mark 1B was longer, carried a heavier guncotton charge in the warhead and included an improved guidance system.

The Whitehead Mark 2C torpedo, also designated Torpedo Type C was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. It was probably based on the Whitehead Mark 1B, rather than a modification of the Whitehead Mark 2.

Whitehead Mark 3 torpedo

The Whitehead Mark 3 torpedo was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892.

The Whitehead Mark 5 torpedo was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role in 1910. The Mark 5 was the first torpedo to be manufactured by a foreign company, the Whitehead facility in the United Kingdom, and in 1908, by the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island. It was also the first torpedo to allow the firing ship to vary its speed and range.

The Bliss-Leavitt Mark 1 torpedo was a Bliss-Leavitt torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York, which had been building Whitehead torpedoes for the US Navy, began designing and manufacturing their own torpedoes in 1904.

The Bliss-Leavitt Mark 2 torpedo was a Bliss-Leavitt torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York, which had been building Whitehead torpedoes for the US Navy, began designing and manufacturing their own torpedoes in 1904. It was the first American-built torpedo to feature counter-rotating turbines, each driving a propeller. This design eliminated the unbalanced torque that contributed to the tendency of its predecessor to roll.

Short Mark 7 torpedo

The Short Mark 7 torpedo was a variant of the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 7 torpedo developed by the Washington Navy Yard in order to fit certain submarine torpedo tubes in 1917. The Short Mark 7, also designated Torpedo Type D, had an air flask that was shortened and a reduced warhead weight. The fuel and water tanks were relocated to obtain more air flask capacity; the fuel tank was mounted in the aft air flask bulkhead, while the water tanks were mounted in the after-body. The overall weight of the warshot torpedo was 590 pounds lighter and 58 inches shorter than the Mark 7. The air, fuel and water capacities were approximately one-third of the capacities found on the full-size Mark 7. This torpedo was never produced in quantity.

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