Whitehead torpedo

Whitehead torpedo

Whitehead torpedo mechanism, published 1891
Type Anti-surface ship torpedo[1]
Place of origin Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service

1894–1922 (Mk1 and Mk2)
1898–1922 (Mk3)
1910-1922 (Mk5)

  • with United States Navy[1]
Used by See #Operators
Wars Russo-Turkish War[2]
Chilean Civil War of 1891[3]
Production history
Designer Robert Whitehead
Designed 1866[4]
Manufacturer Stabilimento tecnico Fiumano[5]
Torpedofabrik Whitehead & Co.[5]
Royal Laboratories
E. W. Bliss Company
Variants Whitehead Mk 1[6]
Whitehead Mk 1B[6]
Whitehead Mk 2[6]
Whitehead Mk 2 Type C[6]
Whitehead Mk 3 Type A[6]
Whitehead Mk 5[1]
Specifications
Weight 845 lbs (Mk 1)[1]
Length 140 inches (Mk 1)[1]
Diameter 17.7 inches (Mk 1)[1]
Effective firing range 800 yards (Mk 1)[1]
Warhead wet guncotton[1]
Warhead weight 118 lbs (Mk 1)[1]
Detonation
mechanism
 War Nose (Mk 1), contact[1]
Engine 3-cylinder reciprocating[1]
Speed 26.5 knots (Mk 1)[1]
Guidance
system
 depth control, gyroscope[1]
Launch
platform
 battleships, torpedo boats and submarines[1]

The Whitehead torpedo was the first self-propelled or "locomotive" torpedo ever developed.[lower-alpha 1] It was perfected in 1866 by Robert Whitehead from a design conceived by Giovanni Luppis of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. It was driven by a three-cylinder compressed air engine invented designed and made by Peter Brotherhood. Many naval services procured the Whitehead torpedo during the 1870s, including the US Navy.[7] This early torpedo proved itself in combat during the Russo-Turkish War when, on January 16, 1878, the Turkish ship Intibah was sunk by Russian torpedo boats carrying Whiteheads,[2] though this story has been disputed in one book.[8]

The term "torpedo" comes from the Torpedo fish, which is a type of ray that delivers an electric shock to stun its prey.[4]

History

Robert Whitehead with a battered test torpedo, Rijeka (todays Croatia), c.1875
Argentinian sailors with a Whitehead torpedo, Fiume, Austria, 1888

During the 19th century, an anonymous officer of the Austrian Marine Artillery conceived the idea of using a small boat laden with explosives, propelled by a steam or an air engine and steered by cables to be used against enemy ships; his papers came into the possession of Captain Giovanni Luppis upon his death. Luppis had a model of the device built; it was powered by a spring-driven clockwork mechanism and steered remotely by cables from land. Dissatisfied with the device, which he called the "coast-saver",[9] Luppis turned to Robert Whitehead, who then worked for Stabilimento Tecnico Fiumano, a factory in Fiume (Rijeka), present-day Croatia.[7] In about 1850 the Austrian Navy asked Whitehead to develop this design into a self-propelled underwater torpedo.

Whitehead developed what he called the Minenschiff (mine ship): an 11-foot long (3.3 m), 14-inch diameter (35.5 cm) torpedo propelled by compressed air and carrying an explosive warhead, with a speed of 7 knots (13 km/h) and the ability to hit a target up to 700 yards (640 m) away.[9] In 1868, Whitehead introduced a solution to the stability problem for his torpedo: Pendulum-and-hydrostat control. The Austrian Navy bought the manufacturing rights to the Whitehead torpedo in 1869.[10] By 1870 Whitehead's torpedoes were running at 17 knots (31.5 km/h). Still, there remained the problem of course correction: returning the torpedo to its correct course after it had deviated due to wind or wave action. The solution was in the form of the gyroscope gear, which was patented by Ludwig Obry, the rights to which was bought by Whitehead in 1896.[11]

Design

Whitehead torpedo's general profile, as illustrated in The Whitehead Torpedo manual, published by the US Navy in 1898: A. war-head B. air-flask. B'. immersion-chamber CC'. after-body C. engine-room DDDD. drain-holes E. shaft-tube F. steering-engine G. bevel-gear box H. depth-index I. tail K. charging and stop-valves L. locking-gear M. engine bed-plate P. primer-case R. rudder S. steering-rod tube T. guide-stud UU. propellers V. valve-group W. war-nose Z. strengthening-band
Mk3 Whitehead torpedo fired from East Dock, Goat Island, Newport Torpedo Station, Rhode Island, 1894

In 1868, Whitehead offered two types of torpedoes to the world's navies: one was 11 feet, seven inches (3.5 m) in length with a diameter of 14 inches (35.5 cm). It weighed 346 pounds (157 kg) and carried a 40-pound (18.1 kg) warhead. The other was 14 feet (4.3 m) long with a 16-inch (40.6 cm) diameter. It weighed 650 pounds (295 kg) and carried a 60-pound (27.2 kg) warhead. Both models could do 8-10 knots (17 km/h) with a range of 200 yards (183 m).

The United States Navy started using the Whitehead torpedo in 1892 after an American company, E. W. Bliss, secured manufacturing rights.[10] As manufactured for the US Navy, the Whitehead torpedo was divided into four sections: the head, the air flask, the after-body and the tail. The head contained the explosive charge of guncotton; the air flask contained compressed air at 1350 pounds per square inch, or 90 atmospheres; the after-body contained the engine and the controlling mechanism, and the propellers and rudder were in the tail. The air flask was constructed from heavy forged steel. The other parts of the shell of the torpedo were made of thin sheet steel. The interior parts were generally constructed out of bronze. The torpedo was launched above or below the waterline from a tube, using air or gunpowder discharge.[12]

Significance

In 1871, the Royal Navy bought manufacturing rights, and started producing the torpedo at the Royal Laboratories at Woolwich, England. The Royal Navy fitted the Whitehead torpedo on its earliest submarines, from the HMS Holland 1 onwards.[4] The French, German, Italian, Russian navies soon followed suit and began acquiring the Whitehead torpedo. By 1877, the Whitehead torpedo was attaining speeds of 18 mph for ranges of 830 yards.

By the 1880s, more of the world's navies acquired the Whitehead and began deploying torpedo boats to carry them into battle and engineers began to envision submarines armed with Whitehead torpedoes. In 1904, British Admiral Henry John May commented, "but for Whitehead, the submarine would remain an interesting toy and little more".[2][4]

Operators

 Royal Navy[4]
 Kaiserliche Marine[7]
 French Navy[7]
 Austro-Hungarian Navy[7]
 Regia Marina[7]
 Imperial Russian Navy[7]
 Argentine Navy[7]
 Belgian Marine Component[7]
 Royal Danish Navy[7]
 Hellenic Navy[7]
 Portuguese Navy[7]
 Chilean Navy[7]
 Royal Norwegian Navy[7]
 Swedish Navy[7]
 United States Navy[10]

See also

References

Explanatory notes

  1. ↑ Naval mines (which are typically static or passively mobile) were known as torpedoes when the Whitehead torpedo was developed.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Torpedo History: Whitehead Torpedo Mk1". Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Delgado, James P. (2011). Silent Killers: Submarines and Underwater Warfare. Osprey Publishing. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-84908-365-2.
  3. ↑ Newpower, Anthony (2006). Iron Men And Tin Fish: The Race to Build a Better Torpedo During World War II. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 15. ISBN 0-275-99032-X.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Curator's Choice: Whitehead Torpedo". Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  5. 1 2 "Chronology: Torpedo in Word and Picture". Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Silverstone, Paul (2006). The New Navy, 1883-1922. Taylor & Francis Group. pp. xxiii. ISBN 0-415-97871-8.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Torpedo History: Historical Background". Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  8. ↑ Robert Stem. Destroyer Battles: Epics of Naval Close Combat. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Robert Whitehead - a Brief History". Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 "Artifact Spotlight: Whitehead torpedo" (PDF). Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  11. ↑ Stein, Stephen K. (2007). From Torpedoes to Aviation: Washington Irving Chambers & Technological Innovation in the New Navy 1876 to 1913. University of Alabama Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-8173-1564-0. line feed character in |title= at position 28 (help)
  12. ↑ The Whitehead Torpedo:. Bureau of Ordnance, United States Navy. 1898.
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