Quote:
Originally Posted by vanjast
This is funny coz from '43 onwards, when this book is based, the brit torpedoes were still dodgey. This may have been due to faulty production methods more than technology, but still the same result.  |
O'Kane talks about poor torpedo performance experienced on one of the patrols of the Tang. I don't remember the date. It was so bad, they decided to pull into a quiet inlet, in Japan, at night, so they could observe their runs. An anchored gunboat was there, so they used it for a target. They had to fire 3 or 4 shots to hit it, though it didn't move. IIRC, he blamed manufacturing defects; said torpedo components were made by subcontractors, who had little understanding of what they were making or its function.
The popular conception is of torpedo designs being flawed at the start, and then at a certain date being "fixed", but I think the reality was more complicated. This should not be too big a surprise; torpedos were the most complex pieces of ordnance in their day, comparable to todays "smart weapons".