Catch it ! CATCH I ! .... kerplunk... :oops:

Ummm errr okay we have 9 torpedos instead of 10 got it ;)

After 30 years immersed in the ocean you would have a tough time finding out anyhow. Any identifying marks are long gone and the whole thing was probably encrusted with barnicales and such.

Kind of supprissing it would float after all that.

Wonder if the warhead is still stuck in the mud. :06:

I really can't imagine them going to the bother of searching for it.....in these days of budget cuts :nope:

Actually it is quite easy to tell what kind of torpedo it is. Its propeller, tailfin, diameter and any paint. All countries used their own torpedo designs and all were different. Different lengths, different weight.

It was taken to Scapa pier 9 before being towed off for destruction so I am sure the "Experts" got a look at it before deciding that boom at sea is better than boom on shore.

Also if you look at www.u47.org you can see that a few German torpedo's Prien fired were misses and duds and I can assure you that those were the only German WWII torps fired in scapa Flow

Good shot Prien!
Don't let the near miss bother you.

Thing is propellor and tailfns were probably a big chunk of barnicale, coral, kelp and the like. If the tailfins were still attached at all.

Hey heres a question. Did these torpedoes use bronze probellors?

The bronze would have held up quite well I would think.

I doubt it...but the propellors may have been bronze and may have held up quite well :O:

j/k...sorry, couldn't resist :up:

I honestly don't think that would be the case.....tis common knowledge who prevailed in the end.

I think this decision was taken in good faith after considering the safety of locals in the vicinity and the possibility of a mishap then the ensuing criticism for not dealing with a potentially hazardous situation effectively.

Yea but they dont have a wet steam generator waiting to pop off.

Wait a minute... if this was a torpedo fired in action, what led them to believe it still had a propellent charge in it?

I mean wouldent it have spent its propellent already?

Ehr, wasn't Prien carrying only electric torpedoes?

And am I the only one thinking the thing surfaced because the warhead separated? :doh:

The article stated that the device was destroyed as it still contained 'compressed gas' :shifty:

So? :-?

I'm claiming they're wrong since Prien only carried electric torpedoes.

I'm concerned about where you got the information that Prien carried only electrics on that mission, Arclight. I could probably look it up myself, but it would be easier if you would be so gracious as to tell me. I don't doubt your idea, but I'd like to check your references and verify your claim for myself.

Honestly, I'm a little surprised that the torpedo (electric or gas) would surface at all. IIRC, the gas torpedoes suffered from a leak in the pressure chamber that caused them to run too deep, and one can only assume that such a leak would be exacerbated by so many years of exposure to salt water and pressure. Electric torpedoes are (I would assume), less buoyant, by virtue of the weight and size of their lead-acid batteries.

I really don't know what to make of it.

Actually, the site about U-47 linked earlier in this thread mentiones as much:
http://www.u47.org/english/u47_sca.asp

* U-boat.net seems to back it up:
http://www.uboat.net/ops/scapa_flow.htm

Thanks, Arclight. I assume that U-boat.net has pretty solid info regarding whether or not Prien carried only electrics on his boat, given the nature of most of the info I find there, so I trust your citations. Furthermore, I don't think that an electric torpedo battery or motor relay would survive for that long in those kinds of conditions.

I don't know either way, but something seems odd about one of Prien's torpedoes surfacing after all this time. I'll need to look into it some more and do some reading on annual natural sediment deposits/removal in Scapa Flow before I can really form an opinion, but this whole idea seems odd to me.

Thanks again for the info. :salute:

Aye, no problem. And I agree that for what seemed a relatively straight forward (though remarkable) story at first, something seems off the more you think about it. :hmmm:

Some similar stories here. I'm starting to think it was either a British or German wet-heater. Beats me how it got there though. At any rate, I really doubt it was one of the torpedoes that was fired by, and failed on, Günther Prien. :-?

* Another tidbit:
http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-47RoyalOak.htm

:o No kidding.. :salute: