Article on U.S. dud torpedos

bookworm_020 · 01-15-07, 10:42 PM

IT was the bit about what happened to the first electric torpedoes made by westinghouse that had me shaking my head.

In June 1942, the first test models were shipped to the only test facility at the time, NTS Newport within 15 weeks of starting the project. They sat there out in the weather with no testing or even care given by NTS. Suffering from severe NIH Syndrome, NTS Newport held up this torpedo from reaching the frontlines by obstrucionism at every turn.

Delivered in May 1942 for testing, the Mk XVIII prototypes did not get wet by salt water till June 1943. This required the shanghaiing of Lapon for a test bed since Newport would not cooperate. September found the first few on war patrols out of Pearl Harbor.

When the first report of problems appeared for the electic topredos what did whestinghouse do?? Fix it!!

The Mk XVIII when first fielded was a direct copy of the German G9e. It ran at 30 knots and left no wake. The original Mk XVIII model had performance problems. Sea water temperature effected the battery?s chemical reaction rate. The time since the last battery charge also showed to be a problem. But since the Mk XVIII was a Westinghouse product, not an NTS Newport heirloom, request for changes went through quickly and easily. Excide changed to a salt water battery which improved the electric power and reduced weight. By this time, even BuOrd was cooperative

Got to love it!

01-15-07, 10:42 PM	#4
bookworm_020 Navy Seal Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast Posts: 5,966 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	IT was the bit about what happened to the first electric torpedoes made by westinghouse that had me shaking my head. In June 1942, the first test models were shipped to the only test facility at the time, NTS Newport within 15 weeks of starting the project. They sat there out in the weather with no testing or even care given by NTS. Suffering from severe NIH Syndrome, NTS Newport held up this torpedo from reaching the frontlines by obstrucionism at every turn. Delivered in May 1942 for testing, the Mk XVIII prototypes did not get wet by salt water till June 1943. This required the shanghaiing of Lapon for a test bed since Newport would not cooperate. September found the first few on war patrols out of Pearl Harbor. When the first report of problems appeared for the electic topredos what did whestinghouse do?? Fix it!! The Mk XVIII when first fielded was a direct copy of the German G9e. It ran at 30 knots and left no wake. The original Mk XVIII model had performance problems. Sea water temperature effected the battery?s chemical reaction rate. The time since the last battery charge also showed to be a problem. But since the Mk XVIII was a Westinghouse product, not an NTS Newport heirloom, request for changes went through quickly and easily. Excide changed to a salt water battery which improved the electric power and reduced weight. By this time, even BuOrd was cooperative Got to love it! __________________ "There is always one person in any organization who knows whats going on, That person must be fired"