The Whitehead Mark 5 torpedo was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the

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for use in an anti-surface ship role in 1910. The Mark 5 was the first torpedo to be manufactured by a foreign company, the Whitehead facility in the

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, and in 1908, by the

Naval Torpedo Station The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons ...

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. It was also the first torpedo to allow the firing ship to vary the torpedo's speed and range.

Characteristics

The Mark 5 was a "hot-running" (powered by heated air) torpedo, as opposed to previous Whitehead designs, which were "cold-running". It was similar in performance to the Bliss-Leavitt torpedoes of that era. Around 500 units were produced by the Naval Torpedo Station and

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. The Mark 5 had variable speed; at a high speed of 40 knots, it had a range of 1000 yards. A low speed of 27 knots allowed the weapon a range of 4000 yards; at medium speed of 36 knots, its range was 2000 yards. This variable speed was set before loading the torpedo in its

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by adjusting the reducing valve. The Mark 5 was, however, overshadowed by the increasing efficiency and range of Bliss-Leavitt torpedoes. In 1922, all torpedoes prior to the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 7 torpedo in the US Navy's inventory were condemned in favor of more modern versions. The Mark 5 was launched from

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s and other small ships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead Mark 5 torpedo Torpedoes of the United States Whitehead torpedoes

Characteristics

See also

References