The Type 65 is 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, ...

manufactured in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

/Russia. It was developed for use against

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

battle groups, as well as large merchant targets such as

supertankers An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

and advanced enemy submarines. It is now typically fitted to newer Russian vessels, though often the 650 mm torpedo tube is fitted with a 533 mm converter to enable firing of

SS-N-15 The RPK-2 Vyuga (, ''blizzard''; NATO reporting name: SS-N-15 Starfish), also designated as 81R, is a Soviet submarine-launched, nuclear-armed anti-submarine missile system, launched exclusively through torpedo tubes. The system was designed in ...

missiles or

Type 53 torpedo Type 53 is the common name for a family of 53 cm (21 inch) 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. With the exception of the UGST ...

es. Russian officials have stated that a 65-76A modification of this torpedo is responsible for the 12 August 2000

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

of the Russian submarine ''Kursk''.

Specifications (65-76)

*Diameter: 65 cm (25.6 in) *Length: 9.14 m (30 ft) *Range: 50 km at 93 km/h, 100 km at 56 km/h *Max Speed: 50 knots (93 km/h) *Homing: active/passive sonar and wire guidance *Warhead: 450/557 kg

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ...

*Propulsion: Probably gas-turbine powered by hydrogen peroxide, kerosene and compressed air fuel. Driving

contra-rotating Contra-rotating, also referred to as coaxial contra-rotating, is a technique whereby parts of a mechanism rotate in opposite directions about a common axis, usually to minimise the effect of torque. Examples include some aircraft propellers, res ...

propellers.

Variants

* 65-73 Entered service 1973, unguided torpedo. 20 kt Nuclear. * 65-76 ''Kit'' (russian: Кит, Whale) Entered service 1976. ** DT Length 11 m. Weight 4,500 kg. Warhead 450 kg. ** DST92 Length 11 m. Weight 4,750 kg. Warhead 557 kg.

Wake homing Wake homing is a torpedo guidance technique based on the wake trajectory left behind a moving target. The torpedo is fired to cross behind the stern of the target ship, through the wake. As it does so, it uses sonar to look for changes in the ...

anti-ship weapon. Operates at 20 m depth. Sensor points upwards to detect the ship's wake, the torpedo sweeps from side to side to find the edges of the wake. * 65-76A ''Kit'' 100 km. Entered service 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Type 65 Torpedo Torpedoes of Russia Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union Military equipment introduced in the 1970s