The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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U.S. Navy. Via Wikipedia
| Dimensions
|
21" by 20'10" 53.3cm by 6.35m |
| Weight |
3050 lbs 1383 kg |
| Range | 13,500 yards (12,300m) at 27 knots |
| Warhead | 385 lbs TNT 175 kg TNT |
| Propulsion | Alcohol-air two-stage impulse turbine |
The Bliss-Leavitt Mark 8 was the first 21" destroyer
torpedo deployed by the U.S. Navy, in 1915. It was a significant
improvement over earlier types, with a much longer range and larger
explosive charge, but it was considered
obsolescent by the time war broke out in the Pacific. However, it was
used on PT boats (primarily as the Mod 3) until
early 1944. The age and low speed of these torpedoes likely contributed
to the ineffectiveness of U.S. PT boats as torpedo boats.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2009, 2014 by Kent G. Budge. Index
