Mark 48 torpedo
Testing of the Mark 48: The Australian Collins class submarine,
HMAS Farncomb, fired a Mark-48 torpedo at the 28-year-old destroyer escort
Torrens. The torpedo detonated under the hull, as designed, and broke the destroyer in two. The stern half sank immediately, the bow half sometime later.
Closeup showing the breaking of the ship
The Mark 48 torpedo and its improved ADCAP variant are designed to sink fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.
The MK 48 torpedo is designed to be launched from submarine torpedo tubes. It is carried by all U.S. Navy submarines, including Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and Seawolf, Los Angeles and Virginia attack subs.
Operational since 1972, the Mk-48 replaced the Mk-37 and Mk-14 torpedoes. The Mk-48 ADCAP became operational in 1988 and was approved for full production in 1989.
Mk-48 and Mk-48 ADCAP torpedoes can be guided from a submarine by wires attached to the torpedo. They can also use their own active or passive sensors to execute programmed target searches, acquisition and attack procedures. The torpedoes are designed to detonate under the keel of a surface ship, breaking the ship's back and destroying its strength. Both can circle back and try again if they miss.
General Characteristics (Mk-48 and Mk-48 ADCAP)
- Primary Function: Heavyweight torpedo for submarines
- Contractor: Raytheon orginally Gould
- Power Plant: Piston engine; pump jet
- Length: 5.79 m (19 ft)
- Weight: 1545.3 kg (3,434 lb) (MK-48); 1662.75 kg (3,695 lb) (MK-48 ADCAP)
- Diameter: 53.34 cm (21 in)
- Range: Greater than 8 km (5 mi)
- Depth: Greater than 365 m (1,200 ft)
- Speed: Greater than 28 kn (32.2 mi/h, 51.8 km/h)
- Guidance System: Wire guided and passive/active acoustic homing
- Warhead: 292.5 kg (650 lb) high explosive
- Date Deployed: 1972
The piston engine is fueled by Otto fuel II, a monopropellant that contains the oxygen needed for combustion.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the torpedoes' sensors can monitor surrounding electrical and magnetic fields.
The official performance data may be a gross understatement, according to non-military sources that put the depth at deeper than 600 meters, the top speed between 60 to 75 knots (110 to 140 km/h), the range at top speed at more than 20 nautical miles (37 km), and the range at lower speeds at more than 30 nautical miles (56 km).
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