Type 93/95 torpedo

[jimmie]

[Type 93-I]
length: 900cm
diameter: 61cm
weight: 2700kg
range: 40km @ 36kt / 20km @ 48kt
warhead: 490kg

[Type 93-III]
length: 900cm
diameter: 61cm
weight: 2800kg
range: 30km @ 36kt / 15km @ 48kt
warhead: 780kg

[Type 95-I (against submarine]
length: 715cm
diameter: 53.3cm
weight: 1665kg
range: 12km @ 45kt / 9km @ 49kt
warhead: 400kg

Data excerpt from http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%85%...AD%9A%E9%9B%B7


With this kind of speed and range with invisible bubble trail, I could shoot valuable, normaly-difficult-or-dangerous targets safely... In the atlantic you shoot at about only 1km in a dark night to be successful, but if you can shoot 40km invisible, what would the tactics be like?

[Safe-Keeper]

Harbour raids from 40 k out... [drools]:p

[Sea Wolf]

also in english:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_93_torpedo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_95_torpedo

[Sailor Steve]

A little deeper reading would have told you that the 61cm torpedoes were only used by surface ships. Further, the chances of hitting even a sitting target at that range were effectively nil. Further still, from the conning tower of a surfaced submarine the horizon is only about 14km away, and though you can see the upper works of a ship at a greater distance, actually being able to target it is also pretty much impossible.

[LZ_Baker]

Whats the warhead size compared to normal torpedoes too?

[Sailor Steve]

OOPS!!! I forgot the link!
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WTJAP_WWII.htm

Actually the submarine torpedo carried a bigger charge (550kg vs 490kg). The range was still a phenomenal 12,000 metres.

[TheSatyr]

In "Japanese Destroyer Captain",Hara talks about how the standard procedure (which he actually came up with before the war),was to approach enemy ships in a hyperbolic curve,hold fire with the guns,launch at approx. 500 meters at the apex of the curve then fall back and start shooting once the torps hit. (A tactic that only really worked at night...and only before radar became prevelant in US ships).

While the torps did have amazing range he considered them to be highly inaccurate at over 1500 meters.

[bookworm_020]

It still worked well after Radar had made it's appearance,
First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13 1942 shows what can happen if you don't use radar correctly

[TheSatyr]

True. Early radar doctrine left alot to be desired...and that battle was a total furball. Hara damn near got the Amatsukaze blown out from under him there...made one near fatal mistake.

Got to like a guy who considered "going down with the ship" to be a stupid anachronism that cost Japan and other navies too many leaders. (Such as Yamaguchi at Midway).

[peterloo]

They are EXTREMELY dangerous torpedoes... Never wanta to sleep with anyone of them

More than 400kg explosives... A matter of wasting explosives... It seems that it is relying on the impact instead of the magnetic mode of tigger...

German T1 only get 5xx kg of explosive (I cannot remember the exact weight) but later cut to 3xx in T2. Modern heavyweight torpedoes (As a Chinese, I prefer TEST-71M and Yu-4 than Mk.48, sorry...) contains only 3xx kg explosives. British tigerfish fish contains 2xx kg explosives.

This proves that gigantic warhead is not a real threat to enemy ship... But guidence system and accuracy instead. If you can always hit ammo bunker, a small warhead is powerful enough to settle everything

Remember that Germans crews hates sleeping with torplex, and hopping that they can fire all fireworks in their boats and escape

Also, they are inaccurate when fired in long range... In range = 20km, a 0.25 degrees difference (which cannot be adjusted by your targetting computer) can result in 116.66m of horizontal difference (assume that your original gyro angle is 30 degree to starboard and you are crossing the T of the enemy) This can give you a miss if you aim at the middle of a battleship/even carrier)

At close range, since they have to be launched on surface, so it is impossible to do so...

To Japanese: "SAVE SOME EXPLOSIVES FOR YOUR KAMIKAZE PLANES. SAVE SOME OXYGEN TO THOSE SUCIDIAL KAITEN TORPEDOES"

[bookworm_020]

Modern Torpedoes ahve the advantage in that they carry a more powerful type of explosive, as well as shaped charges to improve the effectiveness. With the modern homing torpedo, aslong as it's in hearing range it's hard for it to miss, except when you have some very good decoys.

[jimmie]

Sure aiming for 20km is like hoping a luck shot but if I had a torp which isn't visible and runs 6km at 40knots, I could attack whatever else in atlantic much more safely, I think. Aiming a long shot reducues success rate but it gains safety. There will be a lot more chance for escaping after attack.