Mark 45 ASTOR
| Mark 45 ASTOR | |
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| General Information | |
| Designation: | Mark-45 ASTOR |
| Country of origin: | United States |
| Working time: | 1963-1976 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Length: |
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| Diameter: | 19 in (48 cm) |
| Combat weight: |
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| Drive: | Electric motor (160 HP), fed by a salt water activated battery |
| Speed: | 40 knots |
| Range: | 10,000 to 13,500 meters (11,000 to 15,000 yards ) |
| Furnishing | |
| Warhead: | Nuclear , 11 kilotons |
| Target location: | No |
| Ignition device: |
Remote ignition via cable from the launching boat |
| Weapon platform: | |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Mark 45 ASTOR (ger .: Mark 45 A NTI S ubmarine TOR pedo ) was a torpedo of the United States Navy for the fight against fast and deep-diving submarines .
The weapon was either 5.71 or 5.76 meters long and 19 inches (48 cm) in diameter and weighed between 1004 and 1057 kilograms (depending on the version). It could be used in a straight line against surface targets or cable-controlled against submarines.
The nuclear warhead with an explosive force of 11 kilotons TNT equivalent could only be detonated by means of a command via the control cable; there were no detonators on board the torpedo, in order to meet the requirements for the safety of nuclear weapons. Since there was inevitably a remote control, there was no need for homing equipment in the weapon, all target data and steering information were collected and transmitted from the launching boat.
In 1976, proof of the performance of the Mark 48 torpedo was provided, so the Mark 45 could be decommissioned. Some decommissioned torpedoes were converted as demonstration models and equipped with conventional warheads and simple homing mechanisms as the Mark 45 Mod 1 Freedom Torpedo offered to the navies of other countries, but they were not sold.
Web links
- United States of America Torpedoes since World War II ( English ) In: Navweaps.com . October 31, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Steve Kurak: The US Navy's Torpedo Inventory in the United States Naval Institute Proceedings , Sept. 1966, p 147