Mark 45 ( Eng. ASTOR, Anti-Submarine TORpedo ) - American 483-mm anti-submarine torpedo underwater based with a nuclear warhead. Intended to combat high-speed deep-sea submarines. As a warhead carried a nuclear warhead W34 . The torpedo did not have a homing system, it was controlled by cable.
| Mark 45 | |
|---|---|
| basic information | |
| State |  USA |
| Development start | 1960 |
| In service | 1963-1976 |
| Current status | withdrawn from service |
| Options | |
| Weight | 1090 kg |
| Length | 5.77 m |
| Diameter | 483 mm |
| Warhead | nuclear warhead W34 (11 ct) |
| Technical details | |
| Engine | Electric |
| Range | 8–13 km [1] |
In the years 1963-1976, about 600 torpedoes of this type were produced. Subsequently, the torpedo was replaced by the Mk 48 .
Content
- 1 Design
- 2 History
- 3 Interesting Facts
- 4 notes
- 5 Links
Design
The torpedo was driven by an electric motor [1] [2] . As a warhead, a nuclear warhead W34 with a capacity of 11 kt was used. The signals for controlling the torpedo and detonating a nuclear warhead were transmitted through a cable, which, as the torpedo moved, was unwound from a special drum on the carrier boat.
By replacing a conventional nuclear warhead and dismantling the control system by wire, the torpedo turned into a conventional uncontrolled torpedo for surface targets [2] .
History
The design work on the creation of the torpedo was completed in 1960, in 1963 the torpedo was put into service. In the mid-1970s, the Mk 45 torpedo was replaced by a homing Mk 48 anti-submarine torpedo. The retired torpedoes were equipped with non-nuclear warheads and homing systems and were delivered to foreign fleets marked Mark 45 Mod 1 Freedom Torpedo [1] .
Interesting Facts
The radius of the nuclear warhead W34 exceeded the range of the torpedo, so there was a joke in the US Navy that the probability of destroying a boat with a torpedo was 2.0 (both the enemy boat and its own were destroyed) [3] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Polmar (November 1978) p. 160
- ↑ 1 2 Kurak (September 1966) p. 147
- ↑ Preston, Anthony. Submarine Warfare: an illustrated history. - San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 1998 .-- P. 86. - ISBN 1571451722 .
Links
- Kurak, Steve. The US Navy's Torpedo Inventory (Neopr.) . - United States Naval Institute Proceedings, 1966. - September.
- Polmar, Norman. The Ships and Aircraft of the US Fleet: Torpedoes: journal. - United States Naval Institute Proceedings, 1978. - November.
- United States of America Torpedoes since World War II
- US Navy Torpedoes .