SET-40

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SET-40


KSS Wismar fires a SET-40 torpedo.

General Information
Designation: СЭТ-40
Country of origin: Soviet Union
Working time: 1962 until today
Technical specifications
Length: 4.50 meters
Diameter: 400 millimeters
Combat weight: 550 kilograms
Drive: Electric motor with a silver oxide-zinc battery
Speed: 29 knots
Range: around 8000 meters
Furnishing
Warhead: 80 kilograms highly explosive
Target location: Sonar (active)
Diving depth:

200 metres

Lists on the subject

The SET-40 ( Russian СЭТ-40 ) was a 400 mm torpedo that was developed for use on surface ships of the Soviet Navy to hunt enemy submarines . The abbreviation "СЭТ" stands for " с амонаводящаяся э лектрическая т орпеда" ( the self-steering electric torpedo ) and 40 stands for caliber.

The development of the weapon was completed in 1962. It was the first type of torpedo in the Soviet Union that could search for underwater targets with an active sonar system. The reason for the development was the need of the navy for a torpedo with small dimensions that could be mounted on small ships and boats, which the larger and many times heavier weapons in caliber 533 mm could not carry.

construction

The cylindrical body of the 4.5 meter long weapon has a diameter of 400 mm and is driven by a propeller that accelerates it up to 29  knots . The energy source is a silver-zinc accumulator , which supplies enough energy to propel the 550 kilogram torpedo at depths of up to 200 meters over distances of up to 8,000 meters. In the front part of the torpedo body are the sensors for targeting, followed by the warhead filled with 80 kg of explosives, the propulsion systems and finally the rudders.

variants

  • SET-40U ( Russian СЭТ-40У ) from 1968. Called “SET-40 modified”, “SET-40M”, by NATO, the operating depth is said to have been increased from 200 to 400 meters. Other sources only speak of a revision of the torpedo systems to increase reliability.

functionality

The torpedo is loaded into a 400 mm torpedo tube . After launch, the torpedo follows the preset course. The sensitivity of the sonar in his nose allows him to locate targets up to 800 meters away from his position, which he then attacks. Depending on the setting, an acoustically triggered proximity detonator or an impact detonator ignites the explosive charge.

Carrier systems

An OT-40 torpedo tube for ejecting SET-40 torpedoes

The weapon was primarily designed for small anti-submarine ships; the numerous boats of the following classes could also use the weapon:

Also on submarine classes, the main task of which was actually rocket attacks, 400 mm pipes were mounted for self-defense. Here, however, the MGT torpedo was mostly used, which was intended for fighting small anti-submarine ships and was not suitable for fighting submarines. SET-40 torpedoes may still have been carried in some of these boats.

Evidence and references

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Norman Friedman: The Naval Institute guide to world naval weapons systems, 1997-1998. P. 684.
  2. ↑ Description of the SET-40 on www.rusunderwater.ru , viewed on January 28, 2012 ( Memento from January 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

literature

  • Norman Friedman: The Naval Institute guide to world naval weapons systems, 1997–1998. US Naval Institute Press, 1997, ISBN 1-55750-268-4 .

Web links