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The Mark 24 Tigerfish was a heavyweight acoustic homing torpedo used by the Royal Navy (RN) during the 1980s and 90s. Conceptual development dates to the mid-1950s, and formally started in 1959 with a target introduction date in 1969. A lengthy development process led to a greatly reduced performance requirement, including the removal of anti-surface capabilities. The first prototype "Tiger Fish" examples were delivered in 1967.
The Mark 46 torpedo is the backbone of the United States Navy's lightweight anti-submarine warfare torpedo inventory and is the NATO standard. These aerial torpedoes are designed to attack high-performance submarines. In 1989, an improvement program for the Mod 5 to the Mod 5A and Mod 5A(S) increased its shallow-water performance. The Mark 46 was initially developed as Research Torpedo Concept I, one of several weapons recommended for implementation by Project Nobska, a 1956 summer study on submarine warfare.
Type 53 is the common name for a family of 53 cm torpedoes manufactured in Russia, starting with the 53-27 torpedo and continuing to the modern UGST (Fizik-1), which is being replaced by the Futlyar.
The Sting Ray is a British acoustic homing lightweight torpedo (LWT) manufactured by GEC-Marconi, who were later bought out by BAE Systems. It entered service in 1983.
The G7e torpedo was the standard electric torpedo used by the German Kriegsmarine submarines in World War II. It came in 20 different versions, with the initial model G7e(TII) in service at the outbreak of the war. Due to several problems, leading to the German "Torpedokrise" which lasted until the end of 1941, the improved G7e(TIII) took over as the standard electric torpedo used by German U-boats for the rest of the war. G7e torpedoes measured 533.4 mm (21.00 in) in diameter and about 7.2 m (24 ft) in length. Depending on the type, the warhead contained a main charge of 250–280 kg (550–620 lb) of Schießwolle 36, a mixture of dipicrylamine and TNT. All were powered by 60–72 kW (80–100 hp) electric motors and lead-acid batteries which required onboard maintenance to maintain their functionality.
The Mark 45 anti-submarine torpedo, a.k.a. ASTOR, was a submarine-launched wire-guided nuclear torpedo designed by the United States Navy for use against high-speed, deep-diving, enemy submarines. This was one of several weapons recommended for implementation by Project Nobska, a 1956 summer study on submarine warfare. The 19-inch (480 mm)-diameter torpedo was fitted with a W34 nuclear warhead. The need to maintain direct control over the warhead meant that a wire connection had to be maintained between the torpedo and submarine until detonation. Wire guidance systems were piggybacked onto this cable, and the torpedo had no homing capability. The design was completed in 1960, and 600 torpedoes were built between 1963 and 1976, when ASTOR was replaced by the Mark 48 torpedo.
The Mark 30 torpedo was a British 18-inch air dropped anti-submarine passive acoustic homing torpedo. The torpedo was air dropped from the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod and Avro Shackleton aircraft.
The Mark 24 mine is an air-dropped anti-submarine (ASW) acoustic torpedo developed by the United States during World War II; it was called a mine to conceal its capabilities. The torpedo entered service with the Allies in March 1943; the United States Navy (USN) used it until 1948. Approximately 4,000 were produced. Of the 340 deployed during the war, 204 were fired, sinking 37 and damaging 18 Axis submarines.
The Mark 37 torpedo is a torpedo with electrical propulsion, developed for the US Navy after World War II. It entered service with the US Navy in the early 1950s, with over 3,300 produced. It was phased out of service with the US Navy during the 1970s, and the stockpiles were sold to foreign navies.
The Mark 18 torpedo was an electric torpedo used by the United States Navy during World War II. The Mark 18 was the first electric storage battery torpedo manufactured for the US Navy and it was designed primarily for use as a submarine-launched torpedo.
The A244/S is an Italian lightweight, fire-and-forget torpedo employed for anti-submarine warfare. It can be launched from surface vessels or aircraft and locates the target using an acoustic seeker. The torpedo body conforms to the NATO 12.75-inch standard and is compatible with USN Mark 32 torpedo tubes.
Project Kingfisher was a weapons-development program initiated by the United States Navy during the latter part of World War II. Intended to provide aircraft and surface ships with the ability to deliver torpedoes to targets from outside the range of defensive armament, six different missile concepts were developed; four were selected for full development programs, but only one reached operational service.
The Mark 21 Mod 2 torpedo, was a passive acoustic homing variant of the Mark 13 torpedo. It used the widely used Mark 13 torpedo as a basis, with the addition of passive acoustic homing developed by Bell Labs.
The Mark 22 torpedo, was an active acoustic homing torpedo developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Westinghouse Electric 1944. Development of this torpedo was discontinued at the end of World War II.
The Mark 28 torpedo was a submarine-launched, acoustic homing torpedo designed by Westinghouse Electric in 1944 for the United States Navy. The torpedo used all-electric controls. Service use of the Mark 28 ended after the introduction of the Mark 37 torpedo.
The Mark 29 torpedo was a submarine-launched, acoustic torpedo designed by Westinghouse Electric in 1945 for the United States Navy. It used the same acoustic system as the Mark 28 torpedo but was faster, operated at various depths, had an external depth setter, and could run as either a straight or a homing torpedo. The Mod 1 variant had two speeds, a remote-setting variable enabler and an anti-circular run device.
The Mark 39 torpedo was the first homing torpedo in United States Navy service to use a trailing wire for mid-course guidance through the submarine's fire control system. The Mark 39 was a Mark 27 Mod 4 torpedo converted for development of wire guidance techniques, which were eventually incorporated into the Mark 37 Mod 1 and the Mark 45. Due to this development, the Mark 39 was considered obsolete and the remaining inventory was scrapped.
A nuclear torpedo is a torpedo armed with a nuclear warhead. The idea behind the nuclear warheads in a torpedo was to create a much bigger explosive blast. Later analysis suggested that smaller, more accurate, and faster torpedoes were more efficient and effective.
The designation Mark 21 torpedo was applied by the United States Navy to two designs of acoustic homing aerial torpedo, both developed from the widely-used Mark 13 torpedo, but controlled by two different developers and taking two different approaches:
Numerous 53 cm torpedoes have been used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and its successor, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, since their first development just before the First World War.