Mark 27 torpedo

Mark 27 torpedo
Type Acoustic torpedo[1]
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service 1943-1946[1]
Used by United States Navy
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Bell Telephone Laboratories
Designed 1943[1]
Manufacturer Western Electric
No. built 1000[1]
Variants Mark 27 Mod 4
Specifications
Weight 720 pounds[1]
Length 90 inches[1]
Diameter 19 inches (21-inch guide rails)[1]
Effective firing range 5000 yards (approx. 12 minutes search duration)[1]
Warhead Mk 27 Mod 0[1]
Detonation
mechanism
 Mk 11 Mod 2 contact exploder
Engine Electric[1]
Speed 12 knots[1]
Guidance
system
 Gyroscope[1]
Launch
platform
 Submarines[1]

The Mark 27 torpedo was the first of the United States Navy 19-inch (48-cm) submarine-launched torpedoes.[2] This electrically-propelled torpedo was 125 inches (3.175 m) long and weighed 1174 pounds (534 kg).[2] The torpedo employed a passive acoustic guidance system and was intended for both submarine and surface targets.[2] Nicknamed "Cutie" [3] by submarine crews, the Mark 27 entered service in 1943. The torpedo was classified as obsolete in the 1960s.[2]

The Mark 27 was essentially a Mark 24 mine which had been modified for submarine launching in a 21-inch submerged torpedo tube by the addition of 1" wood guide studs mounted on the torpedo's outer shell.[1][4]

Modifications and improvements

Mark 27 Mod 4 torpedo
Type Acoustic torpedo[1]
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service 1946-1960
Used by United States Navy
Production history
Designer Ordnance Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
Designed 1946[1]
Manufacturer Avco[1]
Naval Ordnance Station Forest Park
Produced 1946-1954[1]
No. built 3000[1]
Specifications
Weight 1175 pounds[1]
Length 125.75 inches[1]
Diameter 19 inches (with 21-inch guide rails)[1]
Effective firing range 6200 yards (12 minutes search duration)[1]
Warhead Mk 27 Mod 2, HBX[1]
Warhead weight 128 pounds[1]
Detonation
mechanism
 Mk 11 Mod 2 contact exploder
Engine Electric[1]
Speed 15.9 knots[1]
Guidance
system
 Gyroscope[1]
Launch
platform
 Submarines[1]

The Mark 27 Mod 4 torpedo was designed by the Ordnance Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University in 1946 as an improved version of the Mark 27 torpedo.[1]

Fully compatible with electrical setting fire control systems through the use of the standard 65-pin umbilical cable, this weapon was in service on submarines for about ten years. It was withdrawn from service use in 1960 with the introduction of the Mark 37 torpedo.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: Torpedo Mk 27 Mod 0". Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kurak, September 1966, p.145
  3. ↑ http://www.maritime.org/wish-mk27.htm
  4. ↑ US Navy torpedo history, part 2

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.