Ginocchio towed torpedo

Ginocchio towed anti-submarine torpedo
The Ginocchio towed torpedo was based on an Italian concept of World War I and consisted of a towed torpedo that was streamed over the stern near a submarine contact in the hope that it would strike the submarine, triggering its warhead. Depth-keeping proved to be a problem during sea trials and it does not appear to have ever been operationally used. The French began development on the Ginocchio, based on a wartime Italian concept, during the 1920s, but depth-keeping was erratic and the project was formally suspended in 1933 after trials in the and s. The project was revived in late 1938 for the ships of the latter class, but was cancelled in October 1939.

Kursk submarine disaster

KurskKursk'' submarine disasterRussian submarine Kursk explosion
Two minutes and 14 seconds after the first explosion in the torpedo compartment, the fire set off a second explosion of 5–7 combat-ready torpedo warheads. Acoustic data from Pyotr Velikiy was later analysed and found to indicate an explosion of about 7 torpedo warheads in rapid succession. A single Type 65 "Kit" torpedo carries a large 450 kg warhead. While the sub was submerged, 78 crew were normally assigned to the first four compartments and 49 to the rear five compartments. Although Kursk was designed to withstand external pressure of depths of up to 1000 m, the second internal explosion tore a 2 m2 hole in the boat's hull, opening the first through fourth compartments to the sea.

UUM-125 Sea Lance

Sea LanceSea Lance stand-off ASW missile system
When the missile reached the intended area, the payload would separate from the missile, then deploy a parachute to decelerate the warhead or torpedo. Both missiles were initially planned to carry a depth charge with a 200 kiloton W89 thermonuclear warhead. Such a yield would have given the missile a lethal radius against submarines of around 10 km. This massive warhead, combined with the fact that the target would be unable to detect the missile until the payload hit the water, made it virtually impossible for a target to escape. In the mid-1980s, a conventional variant of this missile was proposed which would carry the new Mark 50 torpedo submarine-seeking weapon.

Tennessee-class battleship

Tennesseeher classTennessee'' class
In addition to their gun armament, the Tennessee-class ships were also fitted with two 21 in torpedo tubes, mounted submerged in the hull, one on each broadside. They were supplied with Bliss-Leavitt torpedoes of the Mark VII type; these carried a warhead and had a range of at a speed of. The ships' main armored belt was thick and was approximately wide, half of which was above the waterline. The thicker armor protected the ships' vitals, including the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces, extending from the forwardmost barbette to the aftmost barbette; the stern received lighter armor plating.

Diver propulsion vehicle

Swimmer Delivery Vehicleswimmer delivery vehiclesDiver Propulsion Device

Bristol Beaufort

BeaufortBeaufortsDAP Beaufort
The Beaufort's optimum torpedo dropping speed was a great deal higher than that of the Vildebeests it replaced, and it took practice to judge the range and speed of the target ship. A ship the size and speed of Scharnhorst would look huge, filling the windscreen at well over 1 mi and it was easy to underestimate the range. In action, torpedoes were often released too far away from the target, although there was one recorded instance of a torpedo being released too close. For safety reasons, torpedo warheads had a set distance (usually about 300 yd from the release point before they were armed. It also took some distance for the torpedo to settle to its running depth.

Operation CHASE

CHASECHASE 2Operation Cut Holes and Sink 'Em
CHASE 1 also included bombs, torpedo warheads, naval mines, cartridges, projectiles, fuzes, detonators, boosters, overage UGM-27 Polaris motors, and a quantity of contaminated cake mix an army court had ordered dumped at sea. Shafroth was sunk 47 miles (76 km) off San Francisco on 23 July 1964 with 9799 tons of munitions. Village was loaded with 7348 short tons of munitions at the Naval Weapons Station Earle and towed to a deep-water dump site on 17 September 1964. There were three large and unexpected detonations five minutes after Village slipped beneath the surface. An oil slick and some debris appeared on the surface. The explosion registered on seismic equipment all over the world.

USS Saratoga (CV-3)

SaratogaUSS ''SaratogaUSS ''Saratoga'' (CV-3)
The torpedo defense system of the Lexington-class ships consisted of three to six medium steel protective bulkheads that ranged from .375 to .75 in in thickness. The spaces between them could be used as fuel tanks or left empty to absorb the detonation of a torpedo's warhead. While under repair after being torpedoed in January 1942, Saratoga received a 7 ft bulge on the starboard side of her hull. This was primarily intended to increase the ship's buoyancy, improve stability and allow her full fuel capacity to be utilized. The bulge was estimated to increase her metacentric height by 3 ft and decrease her speed by one-quarter of a knot.

New Mexico-class battleship

New Mexicoa classbattleship
In addition to their gun armament, the New Mexico-class ships were also fitted with two 21 in torpedo tubes, mounted submerged in the hull, one on each broadside. Both tubes were located in a single torpedo room forward in the hull. Each tube was supplied with a total of six torpedoes, which were Bliss-Leavitt weapons of the Mark VII type; these carried a warhead and had a range of at a speed of.

Lexington-class aircraft carrier

LexingtonLexington''-classLexington''-class aircraft carrier
The torpedo defense system of the Lexington-class ships consisted of three to six medium steel protective bulkheads that ranged from .375 to .75 in in thickness. The spaces between them could be left empty or used as fuel tanks to absorb the detonation of a torpedo's warhead. Lexington and Saratoga were used to develop and refine carrier tactics in a series of annual exercises before World War II. On more than one occasion these included successfully staged surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Lexingtons turbo-electric propulsion system allowed her to supplement the electrical supply of Tacoma, Washington, in a drought from late 1929 to early 1930.


Type 98 explosive
Typically, hexanite was used in underwater naval weapons e.g. warheads for the G7a and G7e series torpedoes and the 300 kilogram main explosive charge in aluminium-cased buoyant, moored "EMF" magnetic mines capable of being laid by U-boats in 200, 300 or 500 metres of water. This explosive is regarded as obsolete, so any hexanite-filled munitions encountered will be in the form of unexploded ordnance dating from the Second World War. The Japanese used this in World War II as explosive compound type 97 & 98. Minol. Torpex. Amatol.

Bliss–Leavitt Mark 8 torpedo

Mark 8 torpedoMark 8Mark 8 (Bliss-Leavitt)
Sometimes during launch, the charge would ignite the lubricants in the tube causing a fire emitting black smoke that would reveal the location of the torpedo boat. The torpedo lacked the explosive power of newer models. It carried less than 500 pounds of TNT-based explosives, which was far from a guaranteed ship kill. This frustrated many captains who, when hitting an enemy dead on, had the warhead detonate but not sink the target, and many targets escaped. *American 21 inch torpedo PT Boat Armament History of Mark VIII The User manual for the Torpedo Angle Solver Mark VIII. Indexed data Naval History.

Glossary of German military terms

GeschwaderGruppeGlossary of World War II German military terms
Utof (Uboots-Torpedoboots-Fliegerabwehr-Lafette) – quick-firing gun in submarine-torpedo boat-anti-aircraft mounting. UvD – Unteroffizier vom Dienst – Sergeant in charge of CQ. V1 – the first of the operational German "weapons of vengeance", or Vergeltungswaffen, the V1 was a pilotless, pioneering cruise missile powered by a pulse-jet engine and carried an 850 kg (1875 lb) high-explosive warhead. They had a range of up to 200 km. Nicknamed "buzz bombs" by Allied troops ("doodlebug" by Australians) due to the sound they made.

USS Lexington (CV-2)

USS ''LexingtonLexingtonLexington'' (CV-2)
The torpedo defense system of the Lexington-class ships consisted of three to six medium steel protective bulkheads that ranged from 0.375 to 0.75 in in thickness. The spaces between them could be used as fuel tanks or left empty to absorb the detonation of a torpedo's warhead. After fitting-out and shakedown cruises, Lexington was transferred to the West Coast of the United States and arrived at San Pedro, California, part of Los Angeles, on 7 April 1928. She was based there until 1940 and mainly stayed on the West Coast, although she did participate in several Fleet Problems (training exercises) in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

USS Mercury (AK-42)

USS ''Mercury'' (AK-42)USS ''Mercury'' (AKS-20)
The plane's torpedo hit the amidships living compartments on the port boat deck and continued on, breaking in two without detonating. The torpedo's main body was found in the 1st lieutenant's room and its fuse was located in the engine room, while the explosive components (TNT) of its warhead were spread over the port boat and bridge decks. The plane itself fell victim to the after starboard boom which stood passively in the enemy's path, knocking the plane out of control upon collision and causing it to crash 500 yards off the starboard quarter. Following repairs at Pearl Harbor, Mercury returned to the western Pacific.

Revenge-class battleship

Revenge''-classRevenge''-class battleshipRevenge
The torpedo director in the rear superstructure had 6 inches of armour protecting it. After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over the magazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines. Ramillies was the least advanced in construction when the Director of Naval Construction decided to fit bulges to the ship to improve her survivability against naval mines and torpedoes in March 1915, making her the first capital ship in the world to be bulged. Ongoing testing had revealed that a bulge filled with hollow tubes substantially reduced the effectiveness of an torpedo warhead.

French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc (1899)

Jeanne d'Arc Jeanne d'Arccruiser
For close-range anti-torpedo boat defense, she carried sixteen quick-firing 40-calibre 47 mm Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns. Four of these were mounted in the fighting top on the military foremast and the others were positioned in the superstructure. Jeanne d'Arc was also armed with a pair of submerged 450 mm torpedo tubes. The ship carried six Modèle 1892 torpedoes that were fitted with a 75 kg warhead and had a range of 800 m at a speed of 27.5 kn. Jeanne d'Arc was protected by a waterline armour belt of Harvey armour that was 150 mm thick amidships and reduced to 100 mm at the bow and 80 mm at the stern.

British B-class submarine

B classB-class submarineB-class
The B-class boats were armed with a pair of 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes side-by-side in the bow and angled slightly downwards. Space was provided for a pair of reloads, but the addition of extra equipment over the years meant that they could only be carried if an equivalent weight of fuel was discarded. By the start of World War I the boats could carry the 18-inch Mark VIII torpedo which had two speed and range settings. At 35 knots the torpedo had a range of 2500 yd, but a range of 4000 yd at 29 knots. It had a warhead that consisted of 320 lb of TNT. Each submarine was built by Vickers at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.

French battleship Jauréguiberry

The ship was initially fitted with 450 mm torpedo tubes, though sources disagree on the number. Gardiner states that she had two submerged tubes and two above-water tubes, but d'Ausson states that she had six tubes, two each above water in the bow and stern and one on each broadside underwater. The above-water tubes were removed during a refit in 1906. The M1892 torpedoes carried a 75 kg warhead, and could be set at 27.5 kn or 32.5 kn, which could reach targets at 1000 m or 800 m, respectively. Jauréguiberry had a total of 3960 t of nickel-steel armor; equal to 33.5% of her normal displacement. Her waterline belt ranged from 160 - 400 mm in thickness.

Lexington-class battlecruiser

(CC-2) ''Constellation(CC-4) ''Ranger(CC-5) ''Constitution
The torpedo defense system of the Lexington-class ships consisted of three to six medium steel protective bulkheads that ranged from .375 to .75 in in thickness. The spaces between them could be left empty or used as fuel tanks to absorb the detonation of a torpedo's warhead. None of the designs made provision for aircraft. However, the Navy planned to adapt the poop deck of these vessels to accommodate aircraft at a later date. Construction finally began upon the battlecruisers in 1920 and 1921, after a delay of almost five months. However, that July, U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes called for a conference in Washington D.C. to be held that November.


Otomat Mk 2MILASTeseo
It is bigger than Otomat, 6 m long and 800 kg, and delivers a MU90 torpedo to a range of over 35 km. It started in 1986 as a Franco-Italian program for a missile capable of delivering a lightweight anti-submarine torpedo. The first test launch took place in 1989, ten more launches with torpedoes fitted had taken place by 1993. Tests ended in 1999, however, by that time France had lost interest in the system even though it had originally proposed the idea as a replacement for its own Malafon system. Thus, Milas entered service in 2002 with the Italian Navy only, after almost 20 years of development.

French submarine Mariotte

French submarine ''MariotteMariotte
She was armed with four internal 45 cm torpedo tubes in the bow and two Drzewiecki drop collars in the forecastle. Two reloads were stowed internally, which gave her a total of eight torpedoes. During World War I, the boat probably used Modèle 1911V torpedoes. These had a 110 kg warhead and a range of 2000 m at a speed of 36 kn. Mariotte, named after the physicist Edme Mariotte, was ordered from the Arsenal de Cherbourg on 31 December 1906. The boat was laid down on 30 March 1908 and launched on 2 February 1911 with only the starboard electric motor in place.

Laksamana-class corvette

Laksamana Class CorvetteLaksamanaLaksamana'' class corvettes
The missiles are armed with a 210 kg high-explosive warhead, fitted with impact and proximity fuses. The speed of the missile is Mach 0.9 and the range is 120 km. A medium-range air defence is provided with the semi-active radar homing MBDA Albatros SAM system, providing defence against aircraft and incoming anti-ship missiles. The Albatros system fires the Mach 2.5 Aspide missile over a 15 km range to deliver a 33 kg warhead. The Laksamanas are also armed with two triple Whitehead Alenia ILAS-3 torpedo launchers installed one each side on the main deck, firing the A244/S anti-submarine torpedoes that use the active, passive and mixed mode homing to a target range of 7 km.

Storozhevoy-class destroyer

Type 7UStorozhevoy''-class destroyerher class
The ships were equipped with six torpedo tubes in two rotating triple mounts amidships; each tube was provided with a reload. The Project 7U-class ships primarily used the 53-38 or the 53-38U torpedo, which differed only in the size of their warhead; the latter had a warhead 100 kg heavier than the 300 kg warhead of the 53-38. The torpedoes had three range/speed settings: 10000 m at 30.5 kn; 8,000 m at 34.5 kn and 4,000 m at 44.5 kn. The ships could also carry a maximum of either 60 or 96 mines and 25 depth charges. They were fitted with a set of Mars hydrophones for anti-submarine work, although it was useless at speeds over 3 kn.

Scharnhorst-class cruiser

armoured cruiserarmoured cruisersher class
The C/03 torpedo carried a 147.5 kg warhead and had a range of 1500 m when set at a speed of 31 kn and 3000 m at 26 kn. As was the standard for German warships, the ships of the Scharnhorst class were protected by Krupp armor. They had an armor belt that was 150 mm thick in the central portion of the ship, extending from abreast the forward conning tower to just aft of the rear tower, where the propulsion machinery areas were located. This was a significant increase in thickness over earlier German armored cruisers.