Type 97 torpedo

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The Type 97 was a 17.7 inch (45.0 cm) diameter torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Based on the highly successful type 93 torpedo, it was intended to be fired by midget submarines designed to fire the type 91 torpedo. It was not a great success. Its first operational use was in the attack on Pearl Harbor, after which it was modified as the Type 97 Special, sometimes known as the Type 98. Two Type 97 Special torpedoes were fired during the Japanese midget submarine raid on Sydney Harbour in the early hours of June 1, 1942. Both were aimed at the US heavy cruiser Chicago, then tied to the No 2 buoy at Garden Island in Sydney Harbour. Both missed. One struck the harbour wall beneath the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul, sinking the converted ferry and killing 19 Australian and two British sailors aboard. The second failed to explode, and ran harmlessly aground at Garden Island.

It had a 772 lb (347 kg) warhead and a range of 3.4 miles (5.5 km) at 44 knots (82 km/h).