Mark 43 torpedo

Mark 43 torpedo
Mark 43 torpedo mounted on an AD Skyraider
Type	Antisubmarine torpedo[1]
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1951–57[1]
Used by	United States Navy Royal Navy
Production history
Designer	Brush Development Company[1] Naval Ordnance Test Station Pasadena
Designed	1950[1]
Manufacturer	Brush Electronics Company[1]
Produced	1951–59
Number built	5000[1]
Variants	Mark 43 Mod 1[1] Mark 43 Mod 3[1]
Specifications
Weight	265 pounds (Mod 3)[1]
Length	91.5 inches[1]
Diameter	10 inches[1]
Effective firing range	4500 yards (Mod 3)[1] (6-minute search duration)
Warhead	Mk 100, HBX (Mod 3)[1]
Warhead weight	54 pounds (Mod 3)[1]
Detonation mechanism	Mk 19 Mod 13 contact exploder[1]
Engine	Electric[1]
Speed	21 knots (Mod 3)[1]
Guidance system	Helix search[1]
Launch platform	Helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and surface ships[1]

The 10" Mark 43 torpedo was the first and smallest of the United States Navy light-weight anti-submarine torpedoes. This electrically propelled 10-inch (25-cm) torpedo was 92 inches (2.3 m) long and weighed 265 pounds (120 kg).^[2] Described as "a submersible guided missile",^[3] the torpedo was designed for air or surface launch. The Mod 0 configuration was designed for launch from helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, and the Mod 1 configuration was for helicopters only. Both were electrically driven and deep-diving, but had relatively short range. They were classified as obsolete in the 1960s.^[2]

The Royal Navy purchased fifty examples of the Mark 43 in favour of an improved version of their 18 inch Mark 30 "Dealer B"

See also

• Mark 34 torpedo

References

Citations

1. Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: Torpedo Mk43". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
2. Kurak 1966, p. 145.
3. "Navy Builds Deadlier Anti-Sub Torpedo". Sarasota Journal (Lindsay Newspapers). January 16, 1958. p. 17.

Bibliography

• Kurak, Steve (September 1966). "The U. S. Navy's Torpedo Inventory". United States Naval Institute Proceedings.