Mark 15 torpedo

USS Dunlap (DD-384) firing a practice torpedo in July 1942. The Dunlap joined five other "tincans" in the decisive Battle of Vella Gulf which was the first successful U.S. destroyer torpedo duel

The standard U.S. destroyer-launched torpedo of World War II, the Mark 15 was very similar in design to the Mark 14 torpedo except that it was longer, lighter, and had longer range and larger warhead. 9,700 were produced during the war.^[1]

The Mark 15 suffered from the same basic design problems that plagued the Mark 14 for the first 20 months following U.S. entry into the war, though this was not realized nearly as quickly by the destroyer crews as it was by the submariners. Surface-combatant torpedo attacks very often included confusing splashes from gunnery and aerial bombs, obscuring smoke screens, and quick maneuvering to evade counterattack. Rarely was a destroyer given a chance for a slow, careful surprise attack. Torpedo results were difficult to estimate under these circumstances. The correction of the Mark 15's problems would depend on the submariners solving theirs.^[2]

The Battle of Vella Gulf on the night of August 6, 1943 – August 7, 1943, was the first in which a surprise torpedo attack by U.S. gave the Americans an overwhelming advantage in the following gun battle, though one Japanese warship was hit by a dud torpedo and escaped. By September, 1943, effective methods of torpedo deployment were beginning to be distributed to all U.S. destroyers.

Tactics

Anticipating the possibility of war with Japan, the United States planned to move their battleships across the Pacific with the fleet train. Cruisers and destroyers would be responsible for defending this large formation at night. Fleet exercises held during the 1930s revealed the confusing nature of close range engagements during hours of darkness. In 1932, during Fleet Problem XIII, "attacking" destroyers closed to within 500 yd (457 m) of USS Saratoga before being detected. Fleet Problem XV in 1934 placed the destroyer screen 7 nmi (13.0 km; 8.1 mi) beyond the battleship formation, but the battleships were unable to differentiate "friend" from "foe" at that distance. Screening destroyers were subsequently stationed at effective searchlight illumination range, 3 nmi (5.6 km; 3.5 mi). Recognition improved at that distance, but torpedo hit probability increased as evasive maneuvering of the large, compact force was restricted within the closer screen.^[3]

United States Navy War Instructions (FTP 143) published in 1934 remained in effect through the initial 1942 engagements in the Solomon Islands. The instructions emphasized defense to avoid the attrition objective of Japanese planning:

• Cruisers were advised to avoid night action unless conditions were favorable.
• Destroyers were to attack at once with guns, but reserve torpedoes for use against capital ships.

Searchlight illumination range effectively covered launch positions of United States torpedoes, but not the Japanese Type 93 torpedo. Japanese ships could remain outside of illumination range, launching torpedoes at American ships revealing their position with gunfire and searchlights.^[3]

Characteristics

• Function: Anti-ship
• Powerplant: Wet-heater combustion / steam turbine with compressed air tank
• Fuel: Methanol
• Length: 24 ft (7.32 m)
• Weight: 2,840 lb (1288 kg)
• Diameter: 21 in (53 cm)
• Range / Speed:
  • Low speed: 15,000 yards at 26.5 knots (13,500 meters at 49 km/h)
  • High speed: 6,000 yards at 45 knots (5,500 meters at 83 km/h)
• Guidance system: Gyroscope
• Warhead: 825 lb (375 kg) of Torpex
• Date deployed:
• Date withdrawn:

References

1. ^ Milford, Frederick J. "U. S. Navy Torpedoes. Part One: Torpedoes through the thirties." The Submarine Review, April 1996.
2. ^ Milford, Frederick J. "U. S. Navy Torpedoes. Part Two: The great torpedo scandal, 1941-43." The Submarine Review, October 1996.
3. ^ ^{a b} *Hone, Thomas C. (1981), "The Similarity of Past and Present Standoff Threats", Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute (Annapolis, Maryland) (Vol. 107, No. 9, September 1981): 113–116, ISSN 0041-798X