Mark 16 torpedo | |
---|---|
Mark 16 torpedo | |
Type | Anti-surface ship torpedo[1] |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1943–1975[1] |
Used by | United States Navy |
Wars | World War II |
Production history | |
Designer |
Naval Torpedo Station[1] Naval Research Laboratory |
Designed | 1943[1] |
Manufacturer |
Naval Torpedo Station[1] Naval Ordnance Station Forest Park |
Produced | 1943 - post-World War II[1] |
No. built | > 1,700[1] |
Specifications | |
Mass | 4,000 pounds (1,810 kg)[1] |
Length | 246 inches (6.2 m)[1] |
Diameter | 21 inches (533 mm)[1] |
| |
Effective firing range | 11,000 yards (10,060 m)[1] |
Warhead | Mk 16 Mod 7, HBX[1] |
Warhead weight | 746 pounds (338 kg)[1] |
Detonation mechanism | Mk 9 Mod 4 contact/influence exploder[1] |
| |
Engine | Turbine[1] |
Propellant | "Navol", concentrated hydrogen peroxide[1] |
Maximum speed | 46.2 knots (85.6 km/h; 53.2 mph)[1] |
Guidance system | Gyroscope[1] |
Launch platform | Submarines[1] |
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;[2] 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).[2] 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 (7405 J/g.) than the Type 97 explosive in the larger Japanese Type 93 Mod 3. (780 kg of Type 97, 4370 J/g.) The Mod 1 warhead contained 960 lb (435 kg) of TPX or HBX (7552 J/g.) explosive.[2] The torpedo could be set for straight- or pattern-running.[2]
Notes[]
References[]
- Naval Weapons web site: http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WTUS_WWII.htm
- "Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
- "Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War" by Eric Lacroix and Linton Wells II
- Kurak, Steve (September 1966). "The U. S. Navy's Torpedo Inventory". United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
The original article can be found at Mark 16 torpedo and the edit history here.