The Mark 10 torpedo was a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

put into use by the United States in 1915. It was derived from the Mark 9 aircraft torpedo converted to submarine use. It was used as the primary torpedo in the R- and S-class submarines. (Seven of the R-class, ''R-21'' through ''R-27'', were equipped with 18-inch torpedo tubes, but were decommissioned in 1924 and 1925.) It used alcohol-water steam turbine propulsion. It was succeeded by the problematic

Mark 14 torpedo The Mark 14 torpedo was the United States Navy's standard submarine-launched anti-ship torpedo of World War II. This weapon was plagued with many problems which crippled its performance early in the war. It was supplemented by the Mark 18 elec ...

, but remained in service in S-boats and

fleet submarine A fleet submarine is a submarine with the speed, range, and endurance to operate as part of a navy's battle fleet. Examples of fleet submarines are the British First World War era K class and the American World War II era ''Gato'' class. The t ...

s through the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. The Mark 10 featured the largest warhead ( of TNT) of any U.S. torpedo developed at that time. Stockpiles of Mark 10 Mod 3 torpedoes were used extensively during the first part of World War II due to short supply of the newer and longer ( Mark 14s, with some fleet submarines carrying a mixture of both types on patrol. Mark 10 torpedoes, and those developed at the same time (Mark 9 air- and Mark 8 surface ship-launched) used essentially the same control package (the Ulan gear) as the newer Mark 14 for depth and direction. The running depth could be set to between . The gyro angle could be set for a new course up to 90 degrees port or starboard from the current course of the submarine before launch. The Mark 10 would run out of the tube straight ahead for the "reach", then turn to a new, pre-set course, through a total angular targeting of 180 degrees over the end of the submarine, and then run on this intercept course straight to the target. To use a Mark 10 Mod 3 (the earlier Mark 10 torpedo mod numbers would not work) torpedo in fleet submarine tubes required a gyro angle setting spindle adapter be slipped into the torpedo housing to extend the reach of the spindle into the torpedo. In pre-fleet submarines, the gyro setting machinery was on the outside of the tube, while the fleet submarine gyro spindles are on the inside of the tube. The Mark 10 torpedo had the same "deep running" problem (where actual running depth was greater than that set before launch) as the Mark 14. By January 5, 1942 the Bureau of Ordnance informed Commander, Submarines, Pacific Fleet the Mark 10 torpedoes ran four feet deeper than set. Because the Mark 10 used Mark 3-1 and Mark 3-3

exploder In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...

mechanism with contact-only firing,OP 1634, U.S. Navy Torpedoes, General Data 1945, p. 21. it suffered none of the problems with prematures or duds the Mark 14 did. However, for a short period at the beginning of the war, the Mark 10 was viewed as more reliable, and in some cases preferred over the Mark 14. The Mark 10 torpedo was withdrawn from service with the retirement of the R and S classes in late 1945. The last R-class submarine was decommissioned in September 1945. All but one of the S-class submarines were decommissioned by December 1945. The last S-class submarine, USS ''S-15'', was decommissioned in June 1946.

References

{{US Navy torpedoes Torpedoes of the United States World War II naval weapons

See also

References