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Bliss-Leavitt Mark 2 torpedo
Type Anti-surface ship torpedo[1]
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service 1905–1922[1]
Used by Flag of the United States United States Navy
Production history
Designer Frank McDowell Leavitt
Designed 1905[1]
Manufacturer E. W. Bliss Company
Variants Mod 1[2]
Specifications
Mass approximately 1500 pounds[1]
Length 197 inches (5.0 meters)[1]
Diameter 21 inches (53.34 centimeters)[1]

Effective firing range 3500 yards[1]
Warhead wet guncotton[1]
Warhead weight approximately 200 pounds[1]
Detonation
mechanism
War Nose Mk 5 contact exploder[1]

Engine Contra-rotating turbine[1]
Maximum speed 26 knots[1]
Guidance
system
gyroscope[1]
Launch
platform
battleships, torpedo boats and cruisers[1]

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 utilize counter-rotating turbines, each driving a propeller. This design eliminated the unbalanced torque that contributed to its predecessor's (the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 1 torpedo) tendency to roll.[1]

Characteristics[]

The design of the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 1 torpedo was revolutionary, but not without problems. The single-stage turbine engine drove a single propeller, which had a tendency to develop unbalanced torque and thus to roll in the water, affecting its accuracy. This problem was corrected by Navy Lieutenant Gregory Davison in the Mark 2 by using a twin-turbine engine driving twin propellers, thus steadying the torpedo's trajectory.[3] The Mark 2 was a "hot-running" torpedo, propelled by heated air. About 250 units were built by E. W. Bliss for the US Navy.

The Bliss-Leavitt Mark 2 was launched from battleships, torpedo boats and cruisers.

References[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Bliss-Leavitt Mark 2 torpedo and the edit history here.
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