Whitehead Mark 2 torpedo
Whitehead torpedo mechanism, published 1891
TypeAnti-surface ship torpedo[1]
Place of originAustria-Hungary
Service history
In service1896–1913[1]
Used byUnited States Navy[2]
Production history
DesignerRobert Whitehead
Designed1893[1]
ManufacturerTorpedofabrik Whitehead & Co.[3]
E. W. Bliss Company
VariantsWhitehead Mk 2 (Type C)[4]
Specifications
Mass845 pounds[1]
Length140 inches (3.55 meters)[1]
Diameter17.7 inches (45 centimeters)[1]
Effective firing range800 yards[1]
Warheadwet guncotton[1]
Warhead weight118 lbs[1]
Detonation
mechanism
War Nose Mk 1 contact exploder[1]
Engine3-cylinder reciprocating
Maximum speed 27 knots[1]
Guidance
system
depth control[1]
Launch
platform
battleships and torpedo boats[1]

The Whitehead Mark 2 torpedo[4] was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892.[2] It was identical to the Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo, except for some mechanical details.[1]

Characteristics

The Mark 2 was ordinarily assembled into three sections: the warhead, the air flask and the after-body. The warhead's charge of wet guncotton weighed 118 pounds. The Mark 2 was what was known as a "cold-running" torpedo.[1] The three-cylinder reciprocating engine ran on cold, compressed air which was stored in the air flask, which had a capacity of 7.154 cubic feet at 1350 pounds per square inch. The after-body carried the engine and the tail, which contained the propellers.[5]

The Mark 2 guidance component included the Pendulum-and-hydrostat control device which was called the "Whitehead Secret". This version of the Whitehead torpedo lacked the gyroscope gear designed by Ludwig Obry, which was incorporated in another Whitehead model, the Mark 3.

The Mark 2 was launched from battleships and torpedo boats. The first commissioned U.S. Navy submarine, USS Holland, was armed with three Mark 2 torpedoes. [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Torpedo History: Whitehead Torpedo Mk1". Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Artifact Spotlight: Whitehead torpedo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "Chronology: Torpedo in Word and Picture". Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  4. 1 2 Silverstone, Paul (2006). The New Navy, 1883-1922. Taylor & Francis Group. pp. xxiii. ISBN 0-415-97871-8.
  5. ↑ The Whitehead Torpedo. Bureau of Ordnance, United States Navy. 1898.
  6. ↑ "A Brief History of U.S. Navy Torpedo Development - References".

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