Iron Men and Tin Fish: The Race to Build a Better Torpedo during World War II
From the American entry into World War II until September 1943, U.S. submarines experienced an abnormally high number of torpedo failures. These failures resulted from three defects present in the primary torpedo of the day, the Mark XIV. These defects were a tendency to run deeper than the set depth, the frequent premature detonation of the magnetic influence exploder, and the failure of the contact exploder when hitting a target at the textbook 90-degree angle. Ironically, despite using a completely independent design, the Germans experienced the same three defects. The Germans, however, fixed their defects in six months, while it took the Americans 22 months. Much of the delay on the American side resulted from the denial of senior leaders in the operational forces and in the Navy’s Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) that the torpedo itself was defective. Instead, they blamed crews for poor marksmanship or lack of training. In the end, however, the submarine force itself overcame the bureau… More >>
Iron Men and Tin Fish: The Race to Build a Better Torpedo during World War II
As one interested in submarine warfare, particularly during WWII, I highly recommend this volume to all. My father was involved in the development of improved torpedoes for the U.S. Navy. It is well known that Germany had many “duds” but not as well known that throughout the war, our Mark 14, the standard, was virtually as bad as theirs. Anyone wishing to gain perspective on how close we came to defeat in this area will be fascinated by this book. Well researched, and readable. The only warning I’d make is that much of the developments of that period are, as yet, classified. Therefore, don’t consider any such book a final authority.