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Torpedo tube

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A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.[1]

There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboard surface vessels. Deck-mounted torpedo launchers are usually designed for a specific type of torpedo, while submarine torpedo tubes are general-purpose launchers, and are often also capable of deploying mines and cruise missiles. Most modern launchers are standardized on a 12.75-inch (324 mm) diameter for light torpedoes (deck mounted aboard ship) or a 21-inch (533 mm) diameter for heavy torpedoes (underwater tubes), although other sizes of torpedo tube have been used: see Torpedo classes and diameters.

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Torpedo

Torpedo

A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such a device was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive, or fish torpedo; colloquially a fish. The term torpedo originally applied to a variety of devices, most of which would today be called mines. From about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate a self-propelled underwater explosive device.

Submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Submarines are referred to as boats rather than ships irrespective of their size.

Naval mine

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any vessel or a particular vessel type, akin to anti-infantry vs. anti-vehicle mines. Naval mines can be used offensively, to hamper enemy shipping movements or lock vessels into a harbour; or defensively, to protect friendly vessels and create "safe" zones. Mines allow the minelaying force commander to concentrate warships or defensive assets in mine-free areas giving the adversary three choices: undertake an expensive and time-consuming minesweeping effort, accept the casualties of challenging the minefield, or use the unmined waters where the greatest concentration of enemy firepower will be encountered.

Cruise missile

Cruise missile

A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high precision. Modern cruise missiles are capable of travelling at high subsonic, supersonic, or hypersonic speeds, are self-navigating, and are able to fly on a non-ballistic, extremely low-altitude trajectory.

Submarine torpedo tube

A submarine torpedo tube is a more complex mechanism than a torpedo tube on a surface ship, because the tube has to accomplish the function of moving the torpedo from the normal atmospheric pressure within the submarine into the sea at the ambient pressure of the water around the submarine. Thus a submarine torpedo tube operates on the principle of an airlock.

Torpedo tube operation

A simplified diagram of a submarine torpedo tube
A simplified diagram of a submarine torpedo tube

The diagram illustrates the operation of a submarine torpedo tube. The diagram is somewhat simplified but does show the working of a submarine torpedo launch.

A torpedo tube has a considerable number of interlocks for safety reasons. For example, an interlock prevents the breech door and muzzle door from opening at the same time.

The submarine torpedo launch sequence is, in simplified form:

Submarine torpedo tube breech doors of USS Nautilus in their closed position
Submarine torpedo tube breech doors of USS Nautilus in their closed position
MU90 Impact triple launcher onboard F221 Hessen, a modern Sachsen-class frigate of the German Navy
MU90 Impact triple launcher onboard F221 Hessen, a modern Sachsen-class frigate of the German Navy
Rear torpedo tube of a former German Jaguar class Schnellboot (MTB)
Rear torpedo tube of a former German Jaguar class Schnellboot (MTB)
Torpedo tubes of the French SNLE Redoutable: French submarines use pistons to push the torpedo outside the tube, instead of blowing it out with compressed air.
Torpedo tubes of the French SNLE Redoutable: French submarines use pistons to push the torpedo outside the tube, instead of blowing it out with compressed air.
  1. Open the breech door in the torpedo room. Load the torpedo into the tube.
  2. Hook up the wire-guide connection and the torpedo power cable.
  3. Shut and lock the breech door.
  4. Turn on power to the torpedo. A minimum amount of time is required for torpedo warmup. Fire control programs are uploaded to the torpedo.
  5. Flood the torpedo tube. This may be done manually or automatically, from sea or from tanks, depending on the class of submarine. The tube must be vented during this process to allow for complete filling and eliminate air pockets which could escape to the surface or cause damage when firing.
  6. Open the equalizing valve to equalize pressure in the tube with ambient sea pressure.
  7. Open the muzzle door. If the tube is set up for Impulse Mode the slide valve will open with the muzzle door. If Swim Out Mode is selected, the slide valve remains closed. The slide valve allows water from the ejection pump to enter the tube.
  8. When the launch command is given and all interlocks are satisfied, the water ram operates, thrusting a large volume of water into the tube at high pressure, which ejects the torpedo from the tube with considerable force. Modern torpedoes have a safety mechanism that prevents activation of the torpedo unless the torpedo senses the required amount of G-force.
  9. The power cable is severed at launch. However, if a guidance wire is used, it remains connected through a drum of wire in the tube. Torpedo propulsion systems vary but electric torpedoes swim out of the tube on their own and are of a smaller diameter. Torpedoes with 21 inches (530 mm) diameter and fuel-burning engines usually start outside the tube.
  10. Once outside the tube the torpedo begins its run toward the target as programmed by the fire control system. Attack functions are programmed but with wire guided weapons, certain functions can be controlled from the ship.
  11. For wire-guided torpedoes, the muzzle door must remain open because the guidance wire is still connected to the inside of the breech door to receive commands from the submarine's fire-control system. A wire cutter on the inside of the breech door is activated to release the wire and its protective cable. These are drawn clear of the ship prior to shutting the muzzle door.
  12. The drain cycle is a reverse of the flood cycle. Water is returned to the boat's tanks and can be moved as necessary. The tube must be vented to completely drain the tube since it is usually by gravity.
  13. Open the breech door and remove the remnants of the torpedo power cable and the guidance wire basket. The tube must be wiped dry to prevent a buildup of slime. This process is called "diving the tube" and tradition dictates that "ye who shoots, dives".
  14. Shut and lock the breech door.

Spare torpedoes are stored behind the tube in racks.

Speed is a desirable feature of a torpedo loading system, but safety is paramount. There are various manual and hydraulic handling systems for loading torpedoes into the tubes. Prior to the Ohio class, US SSBNs utilized manual block and tackle which took about 15 minutes to load a tube. SSNs prior to the Seawolf class used a hydraulic system that was much faster and safer in conditions where the ship needed to maneuver.

The French destroyer Kersaint prepares to launch a torpedo in 1970
The French destroyer Kersaint prepares to launch a torpedo in 1970

The German Type 212 submarine uses a new development of the water ram expulsion system, which ejects the torpedo with water pressure to avoid acoustic detection.

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Airlock

Airlock

An airlock, air-lock or air lock, often abbreviated to just lock, is a compartment with doors which can be sealed against pressure which permits the passage of people and objects between environments of differing pressure or atmospheric composition while minimizing the change of pressure in the adjoining spaces and mixing of environments. The lock consists of a relatively small chamber with two airtight doors in series which do not open simultaneously.

Interlock (engineering)

Interlock (engineering)

An interlock is a feature that makes the state of two mechanisms or functions mutually dependent. It may be used to prevent undesired states in a finite-state machine, and may consist of any electrical, electronic, or mechanical devices or systems. In most applications, an interlock is used to help prevent a machine from harming its operator or damaging itself by preventing one element from changing state due to the state of another element, and vice versa. Elevators are equipped with an interlock that prevents the moving elevator from opening its doors, and prevents the stationary elevator from moving. Interlocks may include sophisticated elements such as curtains of infrared beams, photodetectors, a computer containing an interlocking computer program, digital or analogue electronics, or simple switches and locks.

MU90 Impact

MU90 Impact

The MU90 Impact is an advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo of the 3rd generation developed by France and Italy for navies of France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Australia and Poland. It is designed to compete with and outperform the United States-built Mark 54 in the anti-submarine role, and has also been developed in a special MU90 Hard Kill version for torpedo anti-torpedo defence. The MU90 is built by EuroTorp, a consortium of French and Italian companies.

German Navy

German Navy

The German Navy is the navy of Germany and part of the unified Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the Bundesmarine from 1956 to 1995, when Deutsche Marine became the official name with respect to the 1990 incorporation of the East German Volksmarine. It is deeply integrated into the NATO alliance. Its primary mission is protection of Germany's territorial waters and maritime infrastructure as well as sea lines of communication. Apart from this, the German Navy participates in peacekeeping operations, and renders humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It also participates in anti-piracy operations.

Motor torpedo boat

Motor torpedo boat

A motor torpedo boat is a fast torpedo boat, especially of the mid 20th century. The motor in the designation originally referred to their use of petrol engines, typically marinised aircraft engines or their derivatives, which distinguished them from other naval craft of the era, including other torpedo boats, that used steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines. Later, diesel-powered torpedo boats appeared, in turn or retroactively referred to as "motor torpedo boats" for their internal combustion engines, as distinct from steam powered reciprocating or turbine propulsion.

French submarine Redoutable (S611)

French submarine Redoutable (S611)

Le Redoutable was the lead boat of her class of ballistic missile submarines in the French Marine Nationale.

G-force

G-force

The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g equal to the conventional value of gravitational acceleration on Earth, g, of about 9.8 m/s2. Since g-forces indirectly produce weight, any g-force can be described as a "weight per unit mass". When the g-force is produced by the surface of one object being pushed by the surface of another object, the reaction force to this push produces an equal and opposite weight for every unit of each object's mass. The types of forces involved are transmitted through objects by interior mechanical stresses. Gravitational acceleration is the cause of an object's acceleration in relation to free fall.

Fire-control system

Fire-control system

A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more accurately.

Ohio-class submarine

Ohio-class submarine

The Ohio class of nuclear-powered submarines includes the United States Navy's 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and its four cruise missile submarines (SSGNs). Each displacing 18,750 tons submerged, the Ohio-class boats are the largest submarines ever built for the U.S. Navy. They are the world's third-largest submarines, behind the Russian Navy's Soviet-designed 48,000-ton Typhoon class and 24,000-ton Borei class. At 24 Trident II missiles apiece, Ohio-class boats carry more missiles than either the Borei class or the Typhoon class (20).

Block and tackle

Block and tackle

A block and tackle or only tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift heavy loads.

Seawolf-class submarine

Seawolf-class submarine

The Seawolf class is a class of nuclear-powered, fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy. The class was the intended successor to the Los Angeles class, and design work began in 1983. A fleet of 29 submarines was to be built over a ten-year period, but that was reduced to 12 submarines. The end of the Cold War and budget constraints led to the cancellation of any further additions to the fleet in 1995, leaving the Seawolf class limited to just three boats. This, in turn, led to the design of the smaller Virginia class. The Seawolf class cost about $3 billion per unit, making it the most expensive United States Navy fast attack submarine and second most expensive submarine ever, after the French Triomphant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.

France

France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and had a total population of over 68 million as of January 2023. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.

Source: "Torpedo tube", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, December 19th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpedo_tube.

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See also
Torpedo tubes on the nuclear submarine Pacific Fleet
Torpedo tubes on the nuclear submarine Pacific Fleet
References

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