Mark 15 torpedo

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USS Dunlap (DD-384) firing a practice torpedo in July 1942. The Dunlap joined five other "tincans" in the decisive Battle of Vella Gulf which was the first successful U.S. destroyer torpedo duel

The standard U.S. destroyer-launched torpedo of World War II, the Mark 15 was very similar in design to the Mark 14 torpedo except that it was longer, lighter, and had longer range and larger warhead. 9,700 were produced during the war.^[1]

The Mark 15 suffered from the same basic design problems that plagued the Mark 14 for the first 20 months following U.S. entry into the war, though this wasn't realized nearly as quickly by the destroyer crews as it was by the submariners. Surface-combatant torpedo attacks very often included confusing splashes from gunnery and aerial bombs, obscuring smoke screens, and quick maneuvering to evade counterattack. Rarely was a destroyer given a chance for a slow, careful surprise attack. Torpedo results were difficult to estimate under these circumstances. The correction of the Mark 15's problems would depend on the submariners solving theirs.^[2]

The Battle of Vella Gulf on the night of August 6, 1943 – August 7, 1943, was the first in which a surprise torpedo attack by U.S. gave the Americans an overwhelming advantage in the following gun battle, though one Japanese warship was hit by a dud torpedo and escaped. By September, 1943, effective methods of torpedo deployment were beginning to be distributed to all U.S. destroyers.

[edit] Characteristics

Function: Anti-ship
Powerplant: Wet-heater combustion / steam turbine with compressed air tank
Fuel: Methanol
Length: 24 ft (7.32 m)
Weight: 2,840 lb (1288 kg)
Diameter: 21 in (53 cm)
Range / Speed:
- Low speed: 15,000 yards at 26.5 knots 13,500 meters at 49 km/h)
- High speed: 6,000 yards at 45 knots (5,500 meters at 83 km/h)
Guidance system: Gyroscope
Warhead: 825 lb (375 kg) of Torpex
Date deployed:
Date withdrawn: