The Mark 17 torpedo was a long-range, high-speed

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 ...

developed by the

Naval Torpedo Station The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

and the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...

in 1940. Development efforts on the Mark 17 were halted in 1941 in favor of producing

Mark 13 Mark 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains Jesus' predictions of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and disaster for Judea, as well as his eschatological discourse.Hall ...

and

Mark 15 torpedo The Mark 15 torpedo, the standard American destroyer-launched torpedo of World War II, was very similar in design to the Mark 14 torpedo except that it was longer, heavier, and had greater range and a larger warhead. It was developed by the Naval ...

es during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. However, detailed knowledge of the Japanese Type 93 "Long Lance" oxygen torpedo became available around 1944 which led to the resumption of the development of the Mark 17. Although 450 units were manufactured before the war was over, none of these were used in combat. The use of this torpedo was discontinued in 1950 due to various reasons including the Mark 17's contribution to destroyer topside weights problems, similarity to the Mark 16, and the declining utility of unguided torpedoes in the Cold War era.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark 17 torpedo Torpedoes Torpedoes of the United States Unmanned underwater vehicles World War II weapons of the United States

See also

References