Anyone wonder how many Torps are still out in the ocean?

[fastfed]

I was just thinking with the amount of "misses" Sub's and Uboats had, there has to be so many Torps still sitting on the bottom of the ocean ( LIVE )

[CCIP]

Don't the torpedoes generally detonate at the end of their run?

[flyingdane]

Not if there duds lol. :lol:

[CCIP]

Well, I still wouldn't worry. It's still pretty minor; old mines, in fact, are certainly a bigger danger.

There's a lot of stuff out there. I mean hey, all the ships that were sunk in the war are still there.

And if you think the ocean is bad - well, all over Europe there's still cases when they find unexploded WWII bombs lodged in old buildings :doh:

[SteamWake]

Ive always wondered about un exploded ordanances which have been lying on the bottom of the ocean floor for decades.

Wouldent the "enviroment" eventually make them non viable ?

As to them "exploding on the end of their run" why would they ? I would think they would just run out of steam and then settle to the ocean floor. After all they dident hit anything so nothing to trigger them.

Maybe if they built up enough speed and contacted something hard on the bottom. But seeing as the ocean floor at depths is 99.9% sand, silt not much "hard" down there to hit.

[CCIP]

Ive always wondered about un exploded ordanances which have been lying on the bottom of the ocean floor for decades.

Wouldent the "enviroment" eventually make them non viable ?

I guess that depends on what kind they are and how deep they are.

I hear that WWII-era mines in some areas can still be a hazard.

[AVGWarhawk]

Ive always wondered about un exploded ordanances which have been lying on the bottom of the ocean floor for decades.

Wouldent the "enviroment" eventually make them non viable ?

Yes and no. There have been instances of shells on the ocean floor and very active. There is a ocean type bomb squad if I'm not mistaken. There have been stories of mines that got loose during the war that found there way into ships many years after the war was over.

[SteamWake]

Mines I can understand as they were designed to remain submerged for long periods of time.

But even then, one would think that they would rust through and at the very least foul the pistols.

[HunterICX]

If I am correct
they found a Torpedo in Scapa flow, and they secured it and blew it up :doh: another Historical piece just been blown up....


as for Europe, just visit Verdun from WW1, there are parts you cannot walk on because of the danger of Mines, and they have a open air monument where there is a Trench totally covered in sand where the guns still stick out of the ground.

I have visited that place and really its a sad place:

from Wiki:

Among many revered memorials on the battlefield is the "Bayonet Trench", which marks the location where some dozen bayonets (fixed to rifles) lined up in a row were discovered projecting out of the ground after the war. And below each rifle was the body of a French soldier. It is believed that these belonged to a group of soldiers who had rested their rifles against the parapet of the trench they were occupying when they were killed during a bombardment. The men were buried where they lay in the trench and the rifles left untouched.

[CCIP]

they found a Torpedo in Scapa flow, and they secured it and blew it up :doh: another Historical piece just been blown up....


Well, I think defusing that historical piece would've been a little too risky! If there's a chance it'll blow, best not to risk living people to keep it :hmm:

[SteamWake]

they found a Torpedo in Scapa flow, and they secured it and blew it up :doh: another Historical piece just been blown up....


Well, I think defusing that historical piece would've been a little too risky! If there's a chance it'll blow, best not to risk living people to keep it :hmm:

Thats what we have robots for :p

[Snuffy]

... And if you think the ocean is bad - well, all over Europe there's still cases when they find unexploded WWII bombs lodged in old buildings :doh:

That's nothing.

Here in the states where the American Civil War was fought, there are still people being killed by unexploded 19th century ordinance. (It's probably not as prevalent here as it would be on continental Europe, but the thought of artillery shells from the 1860s still being capable of exploding and killing someone boggles the mind!)

And having lived on the battlefield of Mechanicsville Virginia (during the 7 days battles), I've found plenty of spent .58 minis all over the place as well as fragments of exploded shells.

[Melcar]

But even then, one would think that they would rust through and at the very least foul the pistols.

and they probably do foul the pistols - but what does the salt water and time do to the explosive compounds? Alot of them as they break down become more unstable, Old wet dynamite for example is extremely dangerous even to move.

[AVGWarhawk]

Yes, every so often a unexploded shell is found in Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD and in the surrounding neighborhoods. These are shells for WW2.

[Gildor]

... And if you think the ocean is bad - well, all over Europe there's still cases when they find unexploded WWII bombs lodged in old buildings :doh:
That's nothing.

Here in the states where the American Civil War was fought, there are still people being killed by unexploded 18th century ordinance. (It's probably not as prevalent here as it would be on continental Europe, but the thought of artillery shells from the 1860s still being capable of exploding and killing someone boggles the mind!)

And having lived on the battlefield of Mechanicsville Virginia (during the 7 days battles), I've found plenty of spent .58 minis all over the place as well as fragments of exploded shells.

Wasn't the American Civil war during the 19th century? Unless you mean the War of Independance.

[Snuffy]

Wasn't the American Civil war during the 19th century? Unless you mean the War of Independance.

A simple typo .. hit the wrong key, thanks for the checking. Fixed now.

[micky1up]

never wonderd about torps but i have about gash cans and royal navy issue white cups

[Cakewalk]

One of the U-47's unexploded torpedos floated up from the bottom of Scapa Flow in September 2002, though it was missing its warhead. It was identified as belonging to the U-47 after being intercepted by a Royal Navy tugboat when the torpedo drifted close to shore, then detonated by a bomb disposal squad.

[bunkerratt]

not all pistols were mech. in type alot of the
'mines"you see in movies with the little horn's or nodes sticking out were chemical ...glass filled with acid ...so whats to foul?.unless the glass is broken or the seal compromised it's going to just be a dumb seamine

[Gildor]

Wasn't the American Civil war during the 19th century? Unless you mean the War of Independance.
A simple typo .. hit the wrong key, thanks for the checking. Fixed now.

Sorry Snuffy. I might have come across as being a "know-it-all." That wasn't my intention. It's still amazing though. Do they have rules for visitors at Civil war battle sites about dangerous areas because of unexploded ordinance? If that is the case, wow.

I guess there would be a time that this is not an issue back in history. What I mean is, for example, during the war of 1812 they probably did not have encased explosive shells. Didn't they just use cannonballs to cause kinetic damage. Or maybe they did have hollow balls that would explode with a fuse. SOmeone with more knowledge could probably enlighten us.

[Quillan]

When I was younger, I spent quite a bit of time camping and hunting in a forest that was a practice bombing range during WWII. Occasionally practice ordnance still turns up. One of the first things drummed into us was if we found anything like that, DON'T TOUCH IT! Civil War era stuff would be mainly black powder, while later stuff used more modern explosive which could much more readily maintain a stable state after this amount of time, especially if they are protected from exposure.

[mookiemookie]

One of the U-47's unexploded torpedos floated up from the bottom of Scapa Flow in September 2002, though it was missing its warhead. It was identified as belonging to the U-47 after being intercepted by a Royal Navy tugboat when the torpedo drifted close to shore, then detonated by a bomb disposal squad.

Would they have revised Prien's tonnage score up if it had hit a ship and sunk something? ;)

[Gildor]

Now that is scary. Imagine a small ship getting wacked by a surfaced WW2 era torpedo as cakewalk mentioned. What would the legal repercussions be. Would the vessels owners be able to sue the German government for damages, etc.

[SteamWake]

One of the U-47's unexploded torpedos floated up from the bottom of Scapa Flow in September 2002, though it was missing its warhead. It was identified as belonging to the U-47 after being intercepted by a Royal Navy tugboat when the torpedo drifted close to shore, then detonated by a bomb disposal squad.

Would they have revised Prien's tonnage score up if it had hit a ship and sunk something? ;)

How in the hell can a torpedo "float" ?

[joea]

Two words: Ironbottom Sound. :o

[perisher]

I spent a large amount of the 1970s serving in minesweepers. Spent a fair amount of time clearing WW2 minefields. By that time WW1 stuff was thought to be safe but if we found any we didn't take chances. Even when not actively engaged in sweeping we would get called in when some fisherman caught a mine or one washed up on a beach. We found plenty of ground mines, most had been dropped from aircraft but some had been placed by subs or S-boats. Personally I never heard of old torpedoes showing up, and there must have been few thousand expended in the English Channel in two world wars.

When they made the surveys for the Channel Tunnel a special search was made all long the route for ordnance still on the seabed. They found ground mines, bombs, and shells, but I'm fairly sure there were no torpedoes.

[Briggsy]

To be absalutly honest. a WW2 torp's should be the lest of your worries. when there is a ready made Nuke laying in the thames.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2006/11/23/richard_montgomery_feature.shtml

[metroman]

Wasn't there some talk years ago about the demise of the Great Barrier Reef ecologically being attributed to petroleum contamination, and the study of currents and wrecks put the victims in the Coral Sea battle as prime suspects (i.e. USS Lexington, Neosho, Sims, & IJN Shoho). I remember reading elsewhere that the Lex had just topped off and was 95% full of fuel oil (from Neosho) when she went down. Also, the USS Arizona wreck has been widely known in recent years as an environmental ticking time bomb. She too was very much fueled up when destroyed, and though a large portion was pumped out afterwards, the decay of the wreck over the decades has been followed and noted by park service divers. Some ideas to help prevent a major spill include building a cofferdam around the wreck, to contain any leaks. They can no longer pump out oil as the interior has been so compromised by decay that the fuel isn't necessarily in the bunkers anymore, but throughout endless compartments. No easy solution for sure, especially since its a war grave.:hmm:

Regards,
Brian

[perisher]

How in the hell can a torpedo "float" ?

A torpedo without its warhead is buoyant. I guess that in this case the torpedo was set to run shallow and hit the bottom. Over the years the warhead detached and / or part of the heavier machinery fell out and the torpedo body regained its buoyancy.

[perisher]

To be absalutly honest. a WW2 torp's should be the lest of your worries. when there is a ready made Nuke laying in the thames.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2006/11/23/richard_montgomery_feature.shtml

There is a very large oil and gas refinery within the potential blast radius of the Richard B Montgomery:eek:

[SteamWake]

How in the hell can a torpedo "float" ?

A torpedo without its warhead is buoyant. I guess that in this case the torpedo was set to run shallow and hit the bottom. Over the years the warhead detached and / or part of the heavier machinery fell out and the torpedo body regained its buoyancy.

After laying on the ocean floor for some 30 years ?

Im a sailor and if theres one thing I know for certain... Water will find a way in.

[SteamWake]

To be absalutly honest. a WW2 torp's should be the lest of your worries. when there is a ready made Nuke laying in the thames.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2006/11/23/richard_montgomery_feature.shtml

Experts feel that, if left alone, it and what remains of its dangerous cargo, will quietly rot harmlessly away.

See thats what Im sayin :smug:

[joea]

To be absalutly honest. a WW2 torp's should be the lest of your worries. when there is a ready made Nuke laying in the thames.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2006/11/23/richard_montgomery_feature.shtml

Well that's hardly a nuke. Still enough explosive to be pretty darn like one.

[Chock]

This is a regular problem in and around the Skageraak, where many WW2 German subs were sunk. However, the more pressing problem being not so much the ordnance still kicking around, as the chemicals in the batteries leaking out when the wreck corrodes, means this is the source of a number of heated debates in surrounding countries, as to whether to raise the wrecks or seal them up, to prevent environmental damage.

Very occasionally some old mines turn up around the UK coast and these do present a real danger to shipping. This of course is also the premise for the Russian submarine movie '72 Meters', in which a WW2 mine floats up and is struck by a Soviet sub (not a bad submarine movie, if you can find a copy incidentally).

Living as I do in the NW of England, where the Luftwaffe did much of its business, UXBs turn up every now and again, and the nearby channel out of the Mersey into the Western Approaches is another favourite for turning up German air-dropped mines every once in a while. I'd not want to be on board the Irish Sea high-speed Seacat ferry if it hit one of those babies, that's for sure!

[SteamWake]

as the chemicals in the batteries leaking out when the wreck corrodes, means this is the source of a number of heated debates in surrounding countries, as to whether to raise the wrecks or seal them up, to prevent environmental damage.

Typical.. heated debates over a few gallons of acid diluted into 10's of millions of gallons of sea water :rotfl: Frankly "sealing them up" would most likely do more damage than the acid itself.

On a side note did you know that the chemical make up of sea water is virtually the same within a few parts per million wether it be the pacific, atlantic, artic, or antarctic ?

[Kant Schwimm]

Fisherman dragged up a torpedo off the kent coast just last week, needless to they dropped it PDQ, bomb disposal took care of it.

(google BBC torpedo)


Think it was one of mine from my Atlantic missions:hmm:

[Sailor Steve]

[I guess there would be a time that this is not an issue back in history. What I mean is, for example, during the war of 1812 they probably did not have encased explosive shells. Didn't they just use cannonballs to cause kinetic damage. Or maybe they did have hollow balls that would explode with a fuse. SOmeone with more knowledge could probably enlighten us.
You're absolutely right, and wrong at the same time. Mortars apparently go as far back as the 1500s, but the first exploding cannon shell was made in 1823.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_(projectile)

Not more knowledge, certainly, but knowing where to look.

[BlackSpot]

There's a sunken ammo ship from WWII in the Thames estuary. It's still full of ammo. Saw this on TV recently. It's a shipping hazard (masts still out of the water) and it's slowly breaking up.

[SteamWake]

There's a sunken ammo ship from WWII in the Thames estuary. It's still full of ammo. Saw this on TV recently. It's a shipping hazard (masts still out of the water) and it's slowly breaking up.

Uhhh read the previous page.

[Kaleu_Mihoo]

... And if you think the ocean is bad - well, all over Europe there's still cases when they find unexploded WWII bombs lodged in old buildings :doh:

That's nothing.

Here in the states where the American Civil War was fought, there are still people being killed by unexploded 19th century ordinance. (It's probably not as prevalent here as it would be on continental Europe, but the thought of artillery shells from the 1860s still being capable of exploding and killing someone boggles the mind!)

And having lived on the battlefield of Mechanicsville Virginia (during the 7 days battles), I've found plenty of spent .58 minis all over the place as well as fragments of exploded shells.

I once lived in a small city in Poland, very near to the Oder river, the last big terrain obstacle for the russian army before reaching Berlin and a place for fierce defensive fights of the Germans. Now you can imagine what would you find there with a simple metal detector :doh: . MG34s, 42s and such other "devices" :), german and russian ammo, grenades, splinters etc. There were some accidents too, when people were trying to disarm a rusty shell etc.
My grandfather once digged up a *.* nazi badge like this one http://www.aganow.webpark.pl/nsdap.jpg in his garden, fortunately its owner wasn't found there also :rotfl:
greets

[nfitzsimmons]

Wasn't the American Civil war during the 19th century? Unless you mean the War of Independance.
A simple typo .. hit the wrong key, thanks for the checking. Fixed now.

Sorry Snuffy. I might have come across as being a "know-it-all." That wasn't my intention. It's still amazing though. Do they have rules for visitors at Civil war battle sites about dangerous areas because of unexploded ordinance? If that is the case, wow.

I guess there would be a time that this is not an issue back in history. What I mean is, for example, during the war of 1812 they probably did not have encased explosive shells. Didn't they just use cannonballs to cause kinetic damage. Or maybe they did have hollow balls that would explode with a fuse. SOmeone with more knowledge could probably enlighten us.

Keep in mind that the United States National Anthem lyrics, written by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the siege of Baltimore, Maryland mentions, " The rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air."

Yes, they did have explosive ordinance then.

[SteamWake]

:know: Wasn't the American Civil war during the 19th century? Unless you mean the War of Independance.
A simple typo .. hit the wrong key, thanks for the checking. Fixed now.

Sorry Snuffy. I might have come across as being a "know-it-all." That wasn't my intention. It's still amazing though. Do they have rules for visitors at Civil war battle sites about dangerous areas because of unexploded ordinance? If that is the case, wow.

I guess there would be a time that this is not an issue back in history. What I mean is, for example, during the war of 1812 they probably did not have encased explosive shells. Didn't they just use cannonballs to cause kinetic damage. Or maybe they did have hollow balls that would explode with a fuse. SOmeone with more knowledge could probably enlighten us.

Keep in mind that the United States National Anthem lyrics, written by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the siege of Baltimore, Maryland mentions, " The rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air."

Yes, they did have explosive ordinance then.

Heck they even had sumbarines ! Google USS Hunley :know:

[bookworm_020]

IF you want a bigger boom than an unexploded torp, try this!

http://www.gunnies.pac.com.au/gallery/grand_slam.htm

She went boom alright!:rock:

[Cakewalk]

One of the U-47's unexploded torpedos floated up from the bottom of Scapa Flow in September 2002, though it was missing its warhead. It was identified as belonging to the U-47 after being intercepted by a Royal Navy tugboat when the torpedo drifted close to shore, then detonated by a bomb disposal squad.

Would they have revised Prien's tonnage score up if it had hit a ship and sunk something? ;)

How in the hell can a torpedo "float" ?

:rotfl:

And most likely the depth chambers stayed intact, even after more than 60 years. Once the warhead rusted or fell off, the rest of the torpedo must have been light enough to float up and away.

[Snowman999]

I was just thinking with the amount of "misses" Sub's and Uboats had, there has to be so many Torps still sitting on the bottom of the ocean ( LIVE )

I was on Guam in 1985 when a live WWII torpedo washed in and lodged in a reef. A USN EOD team went out in a Zodiac and blew it up. Looked like a fun job.

[nattydread]

Lots...even though i think some were designed to self-destruct at the end of their runs. I think the US Navy didnt want the IJN to gather intel on the torp desogns.

[joea]

Lots...even though i think some were designed to self-destruct at the end of their runs. I think the US Navy didnt want the IJN to gather intel on the torp desogns.

Would they have wanted to learn about "Yankee" torpedoes? :rotfl: Sorry 'bout that.

[TheSatyr]

I'm pretty sure the Japanese Long Lance did have a self destruct mechanism that went off at the end of their runs. Possibly on some of their other torp designs as well. The Japanese knew they were ahead in torp technology and didn't want the USA to get their hands on intact torps.

[fastfed]

I'm pretty sure the Japanese Long Lance did have a self destruct mechanism that went off at the end of their runs. Possibly on some of their other torp designs as well. The Japanese knew they were ahead in torp technology and didn't want the USA to get their hands on intact torps.

What was so good about the Jap's torps?

[Snowman999]

Also, the USS Arizona wreck has been widely known in recent years as an environmental ticking time bomb. She too was very much fueled up when destroyed, and though a large portion was pumped out afterwards, the decay of the wreck over the decades has been followed and noted by park service divers.


Oil comes to the surface every day; it's easily seen from the memorial. Has been so for decades.

[SteamWake]

I'm pretty sure the Japanese Long Lance did have a self destruct mechanism that went off at the end of their runs. Possibly on some of their other torp designs as well. The Japanese knew they were ahead in torp technology and didn't want the USA to get their hands on intact torps.

What was so good about the Jap's torps?

Only range, speed, reliablility, and more accurate targeting.

[crazypete]

One of the U-47's unexploded torpedos floated up from the bottom of Scapa Flow in September 2002, though it was missing its warhead. It was identified as belonging to the U-47 after being intercepted by a Royal Navy tugboat when the torpedo drifted close to shore, then detonated by a bomb disposal squad.

Would they have revised Prien's tonnage score up if it had hit a ship and sunk something? ;)

How in the hell can a torpedo "float" ?

:rotfl:

And most likely the depth chambers stayed intact, even after more than 60 years. Once the warhead rusted or fell off, the rest of the torpedo must have been light enough to float up and away.


If the warhead rusted off, then whats all the hubub for bub? It cant explode. The explody part is still at the bottom.

[Mechman]

Wasn't the American Civil war during the 19th century? Unless you mean the War of Independance.
A simple typo .. hit the wrong key, thanks for the checking. Fixed now.

Sorry Snuffy. I might have come across as being a "know-it-all." That wasn't my intention. It's still amazing though. Do they have rules for visitors at Civil war battle sites about dangerous areas because of unexploded ordinance? If that is the case, wow.

I guess there would be a time that this is not an issue back in history. What I mean is, for example, during the war of 1812 they probably did not have encased explosive shells. Didn't they just use cannonballs to cause kinetic damage. Or maybe they did have hollow balls that would explode with a fuse. SOmeone with more knowledge could probably enlighten us.

Keep in mind that the United States National Anthem lyrics, written by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the siege of Baltimore, Maryland mentions, " The rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air."

Yes, they did have explosive ordinance then.
Haubitzers, short barrelled large bore artillary guns, fired almost exclusively balls that were filled with gunpowder or incendiaries, and they've been around since the 1700s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haubitzer#History
Mortars also carried explosive shells, but were more of a specialty siege weapon than the y haubitzer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_%28weapon%29#History


Fear teh history nerd!

[joea]

I'm pretty sure the Japanese Long Lance did have a self destruct mechanism that went off at the end of their runs. Possibly on some of their other torp designs as well. The Japanese knew they were ahead in torp technology and didn't want the USA to get their hands on intact torps.
What was so good about the Jap's torps?
Only range, speed, reliablility, and more accurate targeting.

Not sure the targeting was that much better, did the Japanese have more advanced TDCs for their ships or subs? But yea, they went quick, far and actually went "boom" with a nice hefty warhead. Couldn't be seen as easily, they were oxygen not electric but without a bubble trail.

Still for surface ships the Japanese doctrine was to shoot huge volleys from far away (part of the pre-"Decisive Battle" attrition) so a lot of torps were wasted.

[Looney11]

Earlier this week, the Royal Netherlands Navy bomb disposal team was called to investigate an explosive which was uncovered by a dredging vessel.

Turns out that the bomb in question was a 700KG explosive WW2 mine which, for reasons unknown, entered the locks near amsterdam and bottomed out there, only to be uncovered during said dredging operation.

The bomb squad disposed of the bomb out in open sea (hairy thing, getting it there :) )
On an occasion where they disposed of a similar type of mine near Scheveningen, the explosion was so violent, people in the city felt a small earthquake upon detonation...

I hate to "bump" into one of those with my boat when sailing in or out of a lock!

[perisher]

Had a quiet shift at work last night, started to read James Calvert's Silent Running (it's a record of his war patrols in a Gato). In it he says that war-shot torpedoes were set to explode at the end of their run to prevent them being recovered by the enemy for intelligence purposes.

That fits in with the case of H.M. Submarine Seal which was captured by the Germans in 1940. They learnt very little from the boat itself but by analysing the magnetic pistols in her torpedoes there were able to improve their own magnetic exploders.

[Karl-Heinz Jaeger]

Well, I still wouldn't worry. It's still pretty minor; old mines, in fact, are certainly a bigger danger.

There's a lot of stuff out there. I mean hey, all the ships that were sunk in the war are still there.

And if you think the ocean is bad - well, all over Europe there's still cases when they find unexploded WWII bombs lodged in old buildings :doh:

Messine Ridge, to quote an example. I watched a documentary not too long ago detailing a plan by the British forces to build a large number of underground mines beneath the German held positions and fill them with large amounts of Amatol(spelling?) explosives, in a devastating surprise attack in World War I. The plain worked and most of the 57 or so mines exploded, killing hundreds if not thousands of German soldiers, but a handful were duds (Mark 14s perhaps? :P) and even to this day some of the mines remain intact. This only came to light in the 60's when a Belgian farmer awoke to a thunderous explosion and found one of his fields, under which had lain one of the unexploded chambers, was now a massive crater. As far as I can remember the documentary attepmted to find all the unexploded mines, but not sure if they planned to disarm them. Most of the explosives were inside leather containers which would have decayed over time and made defusing extremely unsafe.

Sorry to hijack the OP's thread! I have wondered before exactly what happens to the torpedos that miss, and how many of them are lying out there. I know that during the Gallipoli campaign in WWI, the British lost a couple of ships in the Dardanelle strait/channel but for years divers have brought up cordite from the charges used firing arty shells. They look like long, thin sticks, but once they've dried out they still ignite if you burn them :huh:

[Accused_Raptor]

Here is another one for you guys to think about.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-06-17-lost-bomb_x.htm

[Thaum]

About 17 years ago I worked for a newspaper in Scarborough, England. I remember a fisherman caught a WWII mine in his nets. The 'bomb squad' was called out from Catterick Garrison and they blew it up in Scarborough Bay.

This sort of thing still happens from time to time along the English east coast line.
What made this more memorable for me was a telephone call two days later from a scientist in Edinbrough asking if we'd had reports of an earthquake in the Scarborough area.

We compared times, and it turned out that his seismic equipment in Edinburgh 200 miles away, picked up the vibration of the mine detonation. :o

Apparently the monitoring equipment was also sensitive enough to pick up dynamite explosions in quarries in other parts of the country too.

[Kongo Otto]

Now that is scary. Imagine a small ship getting wacked by a surfaced WW2 era torpedo as cakewalk mentioned. What would the legal repercussions be. Would the vessels owners be able to sue the German government for damages, etc.

Yes,you have to go to the "Seegericht" it in The City of Hamburg.
It the same like the "Admiralty Court" in the UK.

[stormbird]

If the warhead rusted off, then whats all the hubub for bub? It cant explode. The explody part is still at the bottom.

If you knew anything about torps you'd know that they run on some sort of power, this is created by liquid gases (to provide Oxygen) and other great stuff (for fuel). Each of these are just as volatile as the warhead itself, and are actually calculated into the exploding force of a torpedo. Some of the chemicals used in torps are also not too compatible with salt water (ie, the ocean) and the smallest drop could result in a massive explosion. Also saltwater is very corrosive it will corrode many parts of torps if in contact long enough and these parts can be under extreme pressure or protecting voilatile material.

If you remember back a few years to the Russian Sub Kursk investigation showed that the explosion (first one) was caused by a leaky Hydrogen Peroxide tank that was used to supply the kerosene burning motor with oxygen. Hydrogen Peroxide is EXTREMELY volatile (esspecially in a compressed state) and lack of maintenacne caused it to go off, the resulting secondary explosions (war heads and fuel tanks of near by torps) destroyed the kursk.

[ajrimmer42]

The Bismark and Hood still have unexploded shells on them don't they? imagine the bang if one of them goes off!

[SteamWake]

If the warhead rusted off, then whats all the hubub for bub? It cant explode. The explody part is still at the bottom.

If you knew anything about torps you'd know that they run on some sort of power, this is created by liquid gases (to provide Oxygen) and other great stuff (for fuel). Each of these are just as volatile as the warhead itself, and are actually calculated into the exploding force of a torpedo. Some of the chemicals used in torps are also not too compatible with salt water (ie, the ocean) and the smallest drop could result in a massive explosion. Also saltwater is very corrosive it will corrode many parts of torps if in contact long enough and these parts can be under extreme pressure or protecting voilatile material.

If you remember back a few years to the Russian Sub Kursk investigation showed that the explosion (first one) was caused by a leaky Hydrogen Peroxide tank that was used to supply the kerosene burning motor with oxygen. Hydrogen Peroxide is EXTREMELY volatile (esspecially in a compressed state) and lack of maintenacne caused it to go off, the resulting secondary explosions (war heads and fuel tanks of near by torps) destroyed the kursk.

Actually they were powered (at least the steam ones) by a catalytic reaction which in turn created heat which in turn created steam.

Once "spent" the reagents are done and more or less neutralized.

[perisher]

Even without its warhead and even if the propellant tanks are empty a torpedo is still big heavy hunk of metal that can still do a lot of damage.

[SteamWake]

Even without its warhead and even if the propellant tanks are empty a torpedo is still big heavy hunk of metal that can still do a lot of damage.

Which brings us back to the question.

How in the hell did it float ?

[perisher]

Even without its warhead and even if the propellant tanks are empty a torpedo is still big heavy hunk of metal that can still do a lot of damage.

Which brings us back to the question.

How in the hell did it float ?

Usually they don't, but sometimes the buoyancy tanks survive, probably in less than 1% of cases. The default peacetime setting is for the torpedo to float for recovery, in wartime this is changed to explode or sink. Most peacetime ones that are lost will eventually sink, but there are always going to be the exceptions to the rule.

[Capt. Watt]

As a lurker of these awsome forums I finally speak. This has been an interesting thread for me.

Recently I watched a documentary on the U-864 that was sank off of Norway by the Brit sub Venturer. It is not so much the ordinance that is of concern but the 65 tons of mercury that she was carrying.

I have read a couple articles implying that the Germans used mercury for levelling off the boats faster. This particular Uboat was heading to Japan with the mercury (along with rocket parts and scientists, not gold and Hitler's last will and testemant).

A verry interesting tale for sure. Ran aground by an inexperienced skipper, repaired, then engine problems that made her a sitting duck for Commander Jimmy Launders and the Venturer crew. Firing four fish at the sounds of the damaged U-boat and hitting with only the fourth one.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/11/news/norway.php

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,455652,00.html

[darius359au]

Just saw a news report that they just found an old German torpedoe floating around in the Baltic near the town the G8 summits going to be held later this year

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21635165-38200,00.html

[perisher]

As a lurker of these awsome forums I finally speak. This has been an interesting thread for me.

Recently I watched a documentary on the U-864 that was sank off of Norway by the Brit sub Venturer. It is not so much the ordinance that is of concern but the 65 tons of mercury that she was carrying.

I have read a couple articles implying that the Germans used mercury for levelling off the boats faster. This particular Uboat was heading to Japan with the mercury (along with rocket parts and scientists, not gold and Hitler's last will and testemant).

A verry interesting tale for sure. Ran aground by an inexperienced skipper, repaired, then engine problems that made her a sitting duck for Commander Jimmy Launders and the Venturer crew. Firing four fish at the sounds of the damaged U-boat and hitting with only the fourth one.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/11/news/norway.php

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,455652,00.html

It is the only time that one sub destroyed another while both were submerged.