[keltos01]

Originally Posted by AOTD_MadMax

Hi Captains,

in FOTRS i worked out the Avanger !
She fires Torpedoes just in the same way the US_torpedobomber does.
For the japanese i worked an different air-torpedo.

If you wanne have an air-torpedo with an accoustic search-head like the shorty got it, i can make it for you but i dont know if they was realy used as air-torpedoes
I also worked out an Torpedo-Dummy.
The dummy is needed for low-level-fighters.

You can use the whole stuff for your project mate !

Greets

Maddy

Mk 24 "FIDO" Air-Dropped ASW Homing Torpedo

The primary aspect of U.S. World War II torpedo development, apart from copying electric torpedoes, was the design of a air-launched homing torpedo, fast enough to catch a submerged submarine, yet slow enough to enable the torpedo to hear the noise of a submarine over the flow noise created by itself. 12 knots was thought to be perfect.
Work by General Electric, Harvard and Bell Laboratories, begun in 1941 led to the Mk 24 "mine", a designation maybe due to security necessities, which carried a 42kg Torpex charge, enough for the expected impact detonation. The torpedo could run for up to fifteen minutes, yet most hits were scored directly after the submarine's dive.
The main weapons carry within the Navy were the TBF Avenger and PBY Catalina, which employed the weapon in lieu of and supporting depth charges. The first victim of the new weapon was U-467, sunk by a plane of VP-84 in the Atlantic, May 25th, 1943. Following her would be 31 boats, with another 15 damaged. (Numbers for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet only, no figures found for Pacific drops. Likely none were executed. Weapon is included for the sake of completeness and the possibility that it actually WAS used.).FIDO could be dropped at 125 knots from 250 feet. FIDO homed via four hydrophones and a simple steering mechanism pointing the torpedo toward the source of the noise.

Typical mission profiles included forcing the submarine to dive, then drop the torpedo onto its head.
http://www.microworks.net/PACIFIC/armament/mk24fido_air.htm

The first sinking with FIDO occurred in May 1943 and was possibly U-640 or U-657. During its career, the torpedo sank a total of 37 submarines, achieving an effectiveness of about 22%, compared with about 9% for depth charges.
from US Navy OEG Study No. 289, 12 August1946 provides the following data related to Mark 24 effectiveness:

Number of attacks in which Mark 24s were launched 264

Total number of Mark 24 torpedoes launched - all targets 340

Number of Mark 24s launched against submarines 204

Number of Mark 24 attacks on submarines by US aircraft 142

Number of submarines sunk by FIDO 31

Number of submarines damaged by FIDO 15

Number of Mark 24 attacks on subs by Allies (primarily British) 62

Number of submarines sunk by FIDO 6

Number of submarines damaged by FIDO 3

Total number of submarines sunk by FIDO (German & Japanese) 37*
Total number of submarines damaged 18

*Note: Includes five Japanese submarines sunk;
1 in the Atlantic
4 in the Pacific

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_24_FIDO_Torpedo