Mark 37 torpedo
| Mark 37 torpedo | |
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| General Information | |
| Designation: | Torpedo Mark 37 |
| Country of origin: | United States |
| Working time: | - Introduction: 1957 (Mod 0), 1960 (Mod 1), 1967 (Mod 2) - Out of service: between 1972 and 1978 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Length: | 3,429 m (11 ft 3 inch ) |
| Diameter: | 48 cm (19 inch) |
| Combat weight: | 649 kg (1,430 pounds ) |
| Drive: | Electric motor with a Mark 46 silver oxide zinc battery |
| Speed: | 26 knots (48.1 km / h) |
| Range: | - 9,144 meters (10,000 yards ) - Max. 21,490 meters (23,500 yards) at 17 knots |
| Furnishing | |
| Warhead: | 330 lbs. (150 kg) Torpex |
| Target location: | Passive and active sonar |
| Ignition devices: |
Impact fuse |
| Weapon platforms: |
Primary submarines , anti-submarine boats offer possible |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Torpedo Mark 37 was an electrically powered torpedo used by the United States Navy , development of which began after World War II . The weapon was first entered into service with the US Navy in the 1950s, with more than 3,300 units produced. In the US Navy, the torpedo was decommissioned between 1972 and 1978, weapons in the arsenal were sold to foreign navies, where they were partially used in modernized versions until at least 2004.
Development history
Development research began in 1946 at Westinghouse Electric and the Penn State Ordnance Research Laboratory (ORL). Based on the active seeker head of modified Mark 18 torpedoes , a passive seeker head was then combined in a new fuselage. Between 1955 and 1956, 30 experimental torpedoes were produced for tests, and shortly afterwards there was extensive series production.
From 1967 torpedoes of the first generation (Mod 0) were taken out of service and put back into service as a revised “Mod 3” version, analogously, “Mod 1” weapons were converted with the number “Mod 2”. Specifically, the changes included modifications to the homing system, magnetostrictive transducers were replaced by those with piezoelectric functionality, which led to an increase in the range of target acquisition from 700 yards to 1000 yards (640 meters improved to 914 meters) without loss of sensitivity with increasing depth. Later further developments in the 1980s, also in order to adapt to the increasing speeds and diving depths of the potentially opposing submarines, concerned the drive and signal processing, which on the one hand led to an internal combustion engine with so-called "Otto-2" fuel (the one used for combustion The necessary oxidizer has already been added to the fuel) and, on the other hand, has been moved away from tube electronics to transistor technology, resulting in the versions NT37C, -D, -E and -F. These modernized versions improved the Mark 37's range by 150% and speed by 40%, and were in service in the US Navy until the early 1990s and in other navies until 2004.
technical features
The torpedo was (with the exception of the "NT" versions) an electrically powered weapon, the energy of which was supplied by a "Mark 46" silver oxide-zinc battery . Thanks to this type of propulsion, the weapon could swim out of the torpedo tube of the firing submarine during an operation and did not have to be ejected with compressed air, which significantly contributes to noise avoidance and reduces the risk of the targeted target discovering the use of the weapon.
The steering of a Mk-37-mod. 0 torpedo was ensured via a gyroscopic control for a straight line in the initial phase of the gun barrel in combination with a passive sonar control . An active sonar with Doppler effect measurement, which used magnetostrictive sound transducers at a frequency of 60 kilohertz , was used for the last 640 meters . The weapon had electronics based on vacuum tubes, which were converted to semiconductor technology during later modifications .
"Mod 1" torpedoes were longer, heavier and slower than "Mod 0" specimens, but offered improved targeting with a higher chance of hitting agile submarines. These torpedoes were guided by wire .
The Mark 37's effectiveness was seen as being high against targets slower than 20 knots and at depths less than 330 meters (1000 feet), but attacking a target that can travel faster than 20 kn with a torpedo that was only 24 Knot is fast means a hit probability of 10% or less.
The “Mark 46” silver oxide-zinc batteries, which provided the power for the propulsion, were known to have a tendency to overheat, which occasionally led to fires or explosions. Training torpedoes use rechargeable batteries . A very likely cause of the loss of the USS Scorpion is a fire in such a torpedo battery with a subsequent explosion of the warhead, see also the section in the article about the USS Scorpion .
Countries of operation
(incomplete list)
- United States: the weapon has long been the standard weapon of the US Navy submarines .
- German Navy : both Mark-37 and the DM 3 A1 adaptation for shallower waters were used.
- Israel
- Argentina: an Argentine submarine used this torpedo against suspected contact by a British submarine in the Falklands War .
Web links
- United States of America Torpedoes since World War II ( en ) In: Navweaps.com . October 31, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Frederick J Milford: US NAVY TORPEDOES, Part Five: Post WW-II Submarine Launched / Heavyweight Torpedoes, Reproduced with permission from the October 1997 issue of THE SUBMARINE REVIEW, a quarterly publication of the Naval Submarine League, PO Box 1146, Annandale, VA 2200 ( en ) October 1, 1997. Archived from the original on May 23, 2006. Retrieved October 23, 2009: “The Westinghouse-ORL team produced thirty torpedoes for development testing in 1955-56. Large scale production was undertaken at NOP Forest Park IL and the Mk.37 began its long career as the primary US submarine launched ASW torpedo. "
- ↑ United States of America Torpedoes since World War II ( en ) In: Navweaps.com . October 31, 2008. Retrieved on October 23, 2009: “The Mark 37 was considered to be an excellent antisubmarine weapon until submarine speeds reached the 20+ knot range and diving depths began to exceed 1,000 feet (330 m). The probability of sinking or seriously damaging a submarine capable of over twenty knots with a twenty-four knot torpedo is quite low (unofficial figures give a 10% success rate for the Mark 37) and meeting such threats required new weapons. "