Mark 43 torpedo

Mark 43 torpedo
Mark 43 torpedo mounted on an AD Skyraider
TypeAntisubmarine torpedo[1]
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1951–57[1]
Used byUnited States Navy
Royal Navy
Production history
DesignerBrush Development Company[1]
Naval Ordnance Test Station Pasadena
Designed1950[1]
ManufacturerBrush Electronics Company[1]
Produced1951–59
No. built5000[1]
VariantsMark 43 Mod 1[1]
Mark 43 Mod 3[1]
Specifications
Mass265 pounds (Mod 3)[1]
Length91.5 inches[1]
Diameter10 inches[1]
Effective firing range4500 yards (Mod 3)[1]
(6-minute search duration)
WarheadMk 100, HBX (Mod 3)[1]
Warhead weight54 pounds (Mod 3)[1]
Detonation
mechanism
Mk 19 Mod 13 contact exploder[1]
EngineElectric[1]
Maximum speed 21 knots (Mod 3)[1]
Guidance
system
Helix search[1]
Launch
platform
Helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and surface ships[1]

The 10" Mark 43 torpedo was the first and smallest of the United States Navy light-weight anti-submarine torpedoes. This electrically propelled 10-inch (25-cm) torpedo was 92 inches (2.3 m) long and weighed 265 pounds (120 kg).[2] Described as "a submersible guided missile",[3] the torpedo was designed for air or surface launch. The Mod 0 configuration was designed for launch from helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, and the Mod 1 configuration was for helicopters only. Both were electrically driven and deep-diving, but had relatively short range. They were classified as obsolete in the 1960s.[2]

The Royal Navy purchased fifty examples of the Mark 43 in favour of an improved version of their 18 inch Mark 30 "Dealer B"

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: Torpedo Mk43". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b Kurak 1966, p. 145.
  3. ^ "Navy Builds Deadlier Anti-Sub Torpedo". Sarasota Journal. Lindsay Newspapers. January 16, 1958. p. 17.