The SST family is a series of German torpedoes.
SST-3 Seal
The SST-3 entered into service in the 1960s.
SST-4 Seal
The SST-4 entered into service in the late 1970s. The SST-4 is nearly identical to the SST-3 with the addition of passive homing.
Guidance: The Torpedo was wire guided, but the guidance system only allowed for limited interaction between submarine and torpedo. It featured active and passive homing and could be launched from up to 100 meters deep. Seeker was designed only for surface ships, being superior to original SUT torpedoes at that role, but lacking the ASW capabilities
Range and Speed: Originally featured 2 speed presets, a slower 23 knots speed with a range of 37 kilometers, and a fast 37 knots speed with a range of around 11 kilometers.
Detonator and Warhead: Mod 0 featured an impact fuze, but mod1 also added magnetic fuze, since test showed that seekers winding path could make the torpedo hit target at a sharp angle preventing the contact detonation. Warhead was 260 kg of explosive.
Service history
The SST-4 was employed by the
Argentine Navy
The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
during the
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
. with poor results. The only Argentine operational
Type 209 submarine
The Type 209 is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine developed exclusively for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany. The original variant (Type 209/1100) was designed in the late 1960s. The class is exclusively designed for ...
,
ARA San Luis (S-32)
ARA ''San Luis'' (S-32) was a Type 209 diesel-powered submarine of the Argentine Navy. Built in Germany, ''San Luis'' has a displacement of and was commissioned in 1974. The submarine operated against the Royal Navy during the Falklands War wit ...
fired three torpedoes with no hits after all of them failed to work properly. Investigations conducted by
Argentine Navy
The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
after the conflict came to the results that there was a problem in the seekers who were assembled wrong, and with the support of the manufacturer fixed the entire navy SST-4 supply in the next years, further upgrading them by the addition of magnetic fuze, performing a successful live test in which the newly commissioned
ARA Santa Cruz (S-41)
ARA ''Santa Cruz'' (S-41) is a member of the of diesel-electric submarines of the Argentine Navy.
Design
''Santa Cruz'' was built by Thyssen Nordseewerke. It has a single-hull design, with a lightweight bow and stern and a watertight super ...
sunk the decommissioned destroyer
ARA Py (D-27)
USS ''Perkins'' (DD/DDR-877) was a in the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship named for Commodore George H. Perkins USN (1835–1899).
''Perkins'' was laid down by the Consolidated Steel Corporation at Orange, Texas on 19 June ...
on June 15, 1987.
In 2018 the Turkish navy destroyed a target ship with a SST-4 Mod 0 fired from the TCG Yildiray.
In 2020 the Hellenic Navy destroyed a target ship with a SST-4, fired from the Υ/Β ΠΙΠΙΝΟΣ 214 HN (S121).
Users
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Argentine Navy
The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
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Hellenic Navy
The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
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Turkish Navy
The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.
The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...
See also
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SUT torpedo
In Islamic demonology, Sut (مسوط) is one of the five sons of Iblis mentioned by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. He is a devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen ...
References
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Torpedoes of Germany