Whitehead Mark 3 torpedo

The Whitehead Mark 3 torpedo was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892.[2]

Whitehead Mark 3 torpedo
Mark 3 Whitehead torpedo fired from East Dock, Goat Island, Newport Torpedo Station, Rhode Island, 1894
Type	Anti-surface ship torpedo[1]
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1898–1922[1]
Used by	United States Navy[2]
Production history
Designer	Robert Whitehead
Designed	1893[1]
Manufacturer	Torpedofabrik Whitehead & Co.[3] E. W. Bliss Company
Specifications
Mass	845 pounds[1]
Length	140 inches (3.55 meters)[1]
Diameter	17.7 inches (45 centimeters)[1]
Effective firing range	800 yards[1]
Warhead	wet guncotton[1]
Warhead weight	118 pounds[1]
Detonation mechanism	War Nose Mk 1 contact exploder[1]
Engine	3-cylinder[1]
Maximum speed	26.5 knots[1]
Guidance system	gyroscope[1]
Launch platform	battleships and torpedo boats

The primary difference between the Mark 3 and the previous versions of the 3.55-meter Whiteheads was the inclusion of the Obry steering gyro for azimuth control. This device reduced the maximum deviation right or left of the target from 24 to 8 yards.[4] About 100 Mark 3s were purchased from the E. W. Bliss Company; in 1913, these were redesignated Torpedo Type A.[5] They were used on submarines of the A, B, C and D classes. These were withdrawn from service use in 1922 when all torpedoes designed before the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 7 torpedo were condemned.[1]

Characteristics

Obry gyroscopic gear installed in the Mark 3; the gyroscope itself is labelled F, G and H

The Mark 3 was ordinarily assembled into three sections: the warhead, the air flask and the after-body. The warhead's charge of wet guncotton weighed 118 pounds. The Mark 3 was what was known as a "cold-running" torpedo.[1] The three-cylinder engine ran on cold, compressed air which was stored in the air flask. The after-body carried the engine and the tail, which contained the propellers.[6]

The Mark 3 was launched from battleships and torpedo boats.

See also

• American 18 inch torpedo

References

1. "Torpedo History: Whitehead Torpedo Mk1". Retrieved 8 June 2013.
2. "Artifact Spotlight: Whitehead torpedo" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2013.
3. "Chronology: Torpedo in Word and Picture". Retrieved 8 June 2013.
4. "United States of America Torpedoes Pre-World War II". Retrieved 24 June 2013.
5. Silverstone, Paul (2006). The New Navy, 1883-1922. Taylor & Francis Group. pp. xxiii. ISBN 0-415-97871-8.
6. The Whitehead Torpedo:. Bureau of Ordnance, United States Navy. 1898.