AIRCRAFT TORPEDO ROYAL AIR FORCE INSTRUCTIONAL FILM MARK XII TORPEDO 75624

This instructional film made by the Royal Air Force describes the Mark XII aircraft launched torpedo, used by Fleet Air Arm and RAF Coastal Command. There have been a number of 18 inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom. These have been used on ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force, while Royal Navy surface ships and submarines use 21 inch torpedoes. The 18 inch MK XII torpedo was used by the Swordfish in sinking the German battleship Bismarck. The contact pistol (seen at the 2:51 mark) is fitted and when the point of one of the "whiskers" strikes the enemy hull, the detonator is fired and the TNT warhead explodes.
Date Of Design: 1935
Date In Service: 1937
Weight: 1,548 lbs. (702 kg)
Overall Length: 16 ft 3 in (4.953 m)
Negative Buoyancy: about 230 lbs. (104 kg)
Explosive Charge: 388 lbs. (176 kg) TNT
Range / Speed: 1,500 yards (1,370 m) / 40 knots
3,500 yards (3,200 m) / 37 knots
Power Burner-cycle, about 140 hp @ 40 knots
Note: The Mark XII was an improved Mark XI. It was the standard airborne torpedo for the first half of World War II and still in limited use until the end.
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with its target or in proximity to it.
Historically, it was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive or fish torpedo; colloquially called a fish. The term torpedo was originally employed for a variety of devices, most of which would today be called mines. From about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate an underwater self-propelled weapon. The original torpedo is a kind of fish: an electric ray.
While the battleship had evolved primarily around engagements between armoured ships with large-caliber guns, the torpedo allowed torpedo boats and other lighter surface ships, submersibles, even ordinary fishing boats or frogmen, and later, aircraft, to destroy large armoured ships without the need of large guns, though sometimes at the risk of being hit by longer-range shellfire.
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Пікірлер: 91

  • @karatepirus
    @karatepirus8 жыл бұрын

    I had no idea that Torpedoes were quite so complex. It was nice to have the issues of Torpedo operation explained and how they are overcome by the design. Quite impressive.

  • @mushmorant9253

    @mushmorant9253

    6 жыл бұрын

    From the movie "African Queen" (1951) starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart: Rose (Hepburn): Could you make a torpedo? Charlie (Bogart): A torpedo?...You don't really know what you're askin'. You see, there ain't nothin' so complicated as the inside of a torpedo. It's got gyroscopes, compressed air chambers, compensating cylinders...

  • @nonna_sof5889

    @nonna_sof5889

    4 жыл бұрын

    They're basically self guided mini-subs and have a price to match. The US Mark 14 sub torpedo cost ~$10,000, for comparison a F2F fighter aircraft cost ~$12,000 at the time.

  • @ZerokillerOppel1

    @ZerokillerOppel1

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@nonna_sof5889 Was that the one that didn't work?

  • @nonna_sof5889

    @nonna_sof5889

    3 жыл бұрын

    ​@@ZerokillerOppel1 It's the one that didn't work the worst, at least in American service. The BuOrd refused to properly test them before the war preventing them from properly debugging them. If you're interested I'd recommend. kzread.info/dash/bejne/l4VptNdwitjFYaw.html

  • @agwhitaker

    @agwhitaker

    2 жыл бұрын

    ...and this was a simple WWII torpedo which ran at a preset course, speed and depth. Modern torpedoes have sensors and are programmable for wide range of attack modes.

  • @whirledpeas3477
    @whirledpeas34773 жыл бұрын

    Anybody that loves high-end mechanisms should be impressed

  • @SquillyMon
    @SquillyMon3 жыл бұрын

    Cant say how many times I have pondered how a non electric torpedo motor/engine functioned under water...and I cant say how many times I meant to and also forgot to look it up as well. 220 Hp at 40 knots!! Holy S&^% I feel like a kid on Christmas Morning watching this right now! Thank you so much for posting this video! It is now saved in my Favorites section.

  • @swagner58
    @swagner582 жыл бұрын

    When they said the engine was liquid cooled with salt water my first thought was "that's going to cause a lot of corrosion". Then I had the "Duh" moment that it wasn't going to matter for its one run. 😀

  • @JohnK3ZX

    @JohnK3ZX

    2 жыл бұрын

    This may help you feel better about your brain fart. When I was watching a documentary and first learned that Stephen Hawking was British, I actually said out loud (thankfully I was alone,) "I didn't know that, he doesn't have an English accent." Biggest "Duh" moment of my life.

  • @kevinbreckenridge6729

    @kevinbreckenridge6729

    Жыл бұрын

    I saw the exposed gears and thought the same thing! No lube?

  • @freebeerfordworkers
    @freebeerfordworkers3 жыл бұрын

    I read that the RAF's torpedo bomber crews had the highest relative casualties of any group in the war. Bomber crew men were rested after a tour of about 30 operations while torpedo bomber crews might go on patrols when nothing happened, but they were rested after three attacks.

  • @ericmelton4186
    @ericmelton4186 Жыл бұрын

    It’s amazing to think of how carefully and hand made each torpedo actually is

  • @torbenhellborn3175
    @torbenhellborn3175 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you very much for this nice, slow educational movie that above all shows - that the same amount of just, imagnitative preciseness in building and construction is needed whether you create or destroy . Torben, DK

  • @jayg1438
    @jayg1438 Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating. So much technology in a one fire weapon.

  • @rob1248996

    @rob1248996

    Жыл бұрын

    If you fired it and it didn't work you were screwed.

  • @marthakrumboltz2710
    @marthakrumboltz2710 Жыл бұрын

    These incredibly complex machines were designed and built by engineers who could read and understand slide rules. I’ll bet there are not 200 people world wide that could operate one now.

  • @jackgee3200

    @jackgee3200

    11 ай бұрын

    This keeps coming up 😞 Slide rules were *v rarely used* for detail design calculations requiring *precision* as better methods were available. On the occasions they were, they had to be of a v specialised large type. The overwhelmingly common *daily use* was for 2 things : Rapid *approximate* results during eg, general design, experimental work, etc for quick checks. Number *scaling* during the detail design drafting process. Any reasonably intelligent person can operate one after a few minutes. It then just takes practice + a few _tips & tricks_ to improve technique and become proficient. You ideally need to be able to add & subtract mentally though, as they typically only multiply & divide + optionally, give approximate values for roots, trigonometric & similar mathematical functions.

  • @paulissus8974
    @paulissus8974 Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating to think the contra-rotating props do the same thing as a helicopter tail rotor.

  • @midlanddisplay
    @midlanddisplay4 жыл бұрын

    Fascinating information

  • @johnpelhamingram2228
    @johnpelhamingram22282 жыл бұрын

    Thank you. Very interesting primer on torpedo mechanics and operation.

  • @thedolt3367
    @thedolt33673 жыл бұрын

    More… Must have more… This is great stuff

  • @kevinbreckenridge6729
    @kevinbreckenridge6729 Жыл бұрын

    I don't know if Anyone could design this today without using their computer, or without a computer onboard the torpedo. Sad.

  • @marthakrumboltz2710

    @marthakrumboltz2710

    Жыл бұрын

    Constructed when engineers could read a slide rule and understand what it means.

  • @Anony_Mouse_V
    @Anony_Mouse_V Жыл бұрын

    very clever engineering needed before the days of electronics ..

  • @labrat2069
    @labrat20692 жыл бұрын

    Most fascinating scientific endeavor, at one time surely classified Top Secret.

  • @garethgriffiths8577
    @garethgriffiths85773 жыл бұрын

    It happens at Peasholm park every year! Love from Scarborough North/Yorks

  • @paulissus8974
    @paulissus8974 Жыл бұрын

    I had no idea torpedoes were attitude guided! Great upload.

  • @GuyFowler
    @GuyFowler Жыл бұрын

    I'm gonna make one

  • @bravodelta3083
    @bravodelta3083 Жыл бұрын

    I do believe the narrator is Patrick Moore of The Sky at Night fame.

  • @jonka1
    @jonka13 жыл бұрын

    I had no idea they had fuel type engines. I always believed they were powered by compressed air alone.

  • @cassandra2860

    @cassandra2860

    Жыл бұрын

    Some used compressed air, some used compressed air heated by fuel, some mixed water in with the fuel and air, and some used steam turbines. Some of those replaced the air with pure oxygen instead.

  • @rob1248996

    @rob1248996

    Жыл бұрын

    @@cassandra2860 Older U.S. torpedoes burned alcohol mixed with water to produce steam. Next was hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that was sent through a catalyst screen to break down the peroxide into hydrogen and oxygen which were burned to run a turbine. After that they used a liquid fuel called Otto Fuel (named after an actual guy named Otto) which ran a small but powerful piston engine.

  • @nicholasmaude6906
    @nicholasmaude69064 жыл бұрын

    Does Periscope Films have a similar film for the British 21 inch Mark VIII Torpedo?

  • @minxythemerciless
    @minxythemerciless2 жыл бұрын

    The film says the warhead has 445 lbs of explosive, not the 388 lbs stated in the text. 2:33

  • @alanrogers7090
    @alanrogers70903 жыл бұрын

    Would the contra-rotating propellers also increase speed as well as help keep the torpedo on an even keel? I know that many aircraft use contra-rotating propellers for the purpose of speed alone. For an example, the Russian Tu-95 "Bear" bomber, which has propellers that spin at supersonic speeds, thus giving almost jet-like speed to the bomber.

  • @jonka1

    @jonka1

    3 жыл бұрын

    I suspect that this was purely to ensure lack of reaction from torque which would require finely balanced thrust from each set of blades.

  • @marthakrumboltz2710
    @marthakrumboltz2710 Жыл бұрын

    It certainly explains the huge cost of each. With each system dependent upon the other, it’s surprising more torps. didn’t run amok. Certainly some did, but still……..

  • @Puzzoozoo
    @Puzzoozoo5 жыл бұрын

    How effective was the Mark 12 i.e. its combat record?

  • @paintedblue1791

    @paintedblue1791

    3 жыл бұрын

    Excellent ! It ran true at correct depth and at the right speed. It also exploded when it hit something so it did everything the USN Mk 14 didn't.

  • @MJRSoap

    @MJRSoap

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@paintedblue1791 The Mark 14 was a British pattern torpedo. The US only used it because they didn't have a torpedo available of their own design at the time. The British constantly said the Mark 14 operated fine, despite never having actually tried to blow the damned thing up.

  • @wolf310ii

    @wolf310ii

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@MJRSoap The Mk 14 was not a british pattern torpedo, it was designed and developed by the US Naval Torpedo Station Newport and it was also the one who said the Mk 14 is fine without doing any live tests, not the British, they didnt even use the Mk 14. The US had massive problems to supply its own fleet with the Mk 14 so they couldnt supply other navys with it. Also the US navy still had the Mk 9 and Mk 10.

  • @rinzler9775
    @rinzler97752 жыл бұрын

    This is what you call an analogue computer.

  • @oldschoolfoil2365
    @oldschoolfoil23653 жыл бұрын

    What if there is a bird strike on the torpedo pistol striker vanes during flight? since they remove the safety pin before take off?

  • @lukestrawwalker

    @lukestrawwalker

    3 жыл бұрын

    Then it goes BOOM! Obviously it was designed to require a certain amount of impact force to actually trip the mechanism and set off the detonator... like the force of an 1200 pound torpedo slamming into a ship's steel hull at 40 knots... that's a lot of force! It would have to have a pretty decent amount of trip force required to not be accidentally tripped when the torpedo slammed into the water during the drop... or from inadvertent contact with the drop aircraft... Later! OL J R :)

  • @oldschoolfoil2365

    @oldschoolfoil2365

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@lukestrawwalker Yeah i guess that's probably why there was so many duds, Torpedo pistols were a huge problem in the day as far as i read.

  • @lukestrawwalker

    @lukestrawwalker

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@oldschoolfoil2365 biggest problems were with American torpedoes... Took a long time to figure that out and fix the problem. OL J R

  • @wolf310ii

    @wolf310ii

    2 жыл бұрын

    I dont know this specific pistol, but usually they have also a safety flap wich flips only if the torpedo moves at a certain speed in water.

  • @sarkybugger5009
    @sarkybugger50097 жыл бұрын

    Is that Sir Patrick Moore, the famous astronomer, narrating? It certainly sounds like him... Thanks for all these fascinating uploads.

  • @Nick-ye5kk

    @Nick-ye5kk

    2 жыл бұрын

    I thought it sounded like the actor playing the pompous politician from the Bond film Thunderball, Roland Culver

  • @Aengus42

    @Aengus42

    2 жыл бұрын

    I thought it was Patrick Moore too!

  • @rdallas81
    @rdallas81 Жыл бұрын

    Clever ways man utilizes to destroy one another.

  • @marthakrumboltz2710

    @marthakrumboltz2710

    Жыл бұрын

    Not just destroy anyone my peacenik individual, only lovers of fascism and such

  • @rdallas81

    @rdallas81

    Жыл бұрын

    @@marthakrumboltz2710 Thou shall not kill. Never tempt the Lord. He is a jealous God. Love your enemies and your neighbors. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

  • @SquillyMon
    @SquillyMon3 жыл бұрын

    My God how much did that thing COST ??! I've always wondered about what was inside. I thought they were electrically driven !

  • @cjgangi0123

    @cjgangi0123

    3 жыл бұрын

    a LOT. They were all built by hand too

  • @garywatson

    @garywatson

    3 жыл бұрын

    They cost much less than the ships they sunk, so a bargain.

  • @wolf310ii

    @wolf310ii

    2 жыл бұрын

    Back then around 10.000$

  • @txkflier
    @txkflier Жыл бұрын

    It must have been designed by Lucas Electric. They couldn't have made it any more complicated if they tried..

  • @BitBuhkit

    @BitBuhkit

    Жыл бұрын

    Only as complicated as necessary...

  • @marthakrumboltz2710

    @marthakrumboltz2710

    Жыл бұрын

    Having driven Triumphs and BSA for some time, I always considered Lucas Electrics as the inventors of darkness.

  • @nunyabusiness8538

    @nunyabusiness8538

    Жыл бұрын

    i agree. at some point someone should’ve said scrap it well start from square one. obviously there’s a more simple solution to all this. they really did complicate all of this for no reason

  • @loginavoidence12
    @loginavoidence122 жыл бұрын

    1:16 jaaaahrahscope

  • @loneranger5349
    @loneranger5349 Жыл бұрын

    Now I know why they never sunk anything.

  • @nicholasmaude6906
    @nicholasmaude69064 жыл бұрын

    I wonder if there were any air-dropped 21 inch torpedoes?

  • @paintedblue1791

    @paintedblue1791

    3 жыл бұрын

    No a 21' torpedo was just to heavy and long to withstand dropping from an aircraft.

  • @nicholasmaude6906

    @nicholasmaude6906

    3 жыл бұрын

    @keith moore Even for something like, say, a Lancaster or a Halifax.

  • @paintedblue1791

    @paintedblue1791

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@nicholasmaude6906 Total weight is not the problem its mass. The torpedo will pick up so much momentum in the drop it would break up when it hit the water. It is a long thin object and stresses to its case would bend or break it unless its reinforced to the point it would not be able to float. It also not practicable to go that large and it would restrict the types of planes able to carry it. Better to carry two 18" than one 21! which He 111 did. Getting a clean drop and a "Runner" was a difficult skill to master. Torpedoes can clip a wave top and bounce before getting into the water properly and then they could be off in the wrong direction at that point.

  • @wolf310ii

    @wolf310ii

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@paintedblue1791 Mk 13, Mk 21, Mk 25 are aerial 22.5" torpedos and the Mk 41 is a 21" torpedo

  • @garyspooner2892
    @garyspooner28922 жыл бұрын

    I had no idea the airforce were disciplined

  • @jwenting
    @jwenting4 жыл бұрын

    what they should have said is to just leave the darn thing behind at base and use your guns and bombs

  • @slateramalgamated7620

    @slateramalgamated7620

    4 жыл бұрын

    Agreed. There are a lot of amazing stories of engineering and development to come out of world war two, but the torpedo is not one of them.

  • @victoracunamendez7525
    @victoracunamendez7525 Жыл бұрын

    Esté video lo deberían poner es las escuelas públicas. Perfecto para los niños de tercer grado, para qué los niños aprendan a defenderse de cualquier tiburón, animal extraño qué los quiera atacar cuando vallan de excursión, vacaciones a la playa.

  • @dkoz8321
    @dkoz83212 жыл бұрын

    I want to point that hydrostatic valve and pendulum action righting mechanism for torpedo guidance, is based on same principle as human male uses to keep himself upright. Female humans, have a different, yet unknown biological mechanism to keep themselves upright, but it is not effective as male version, as human females keep falling down and spending much of their time on their back. The theory, yet unproven, for human female vertical instability is that it is required for continuation of the species. It has been observed that in the wild, among human population, that consumption of alcohol mixed with water adversely affects righting mechanism of both male and female gender of the species. More field study is needed.

  • @dkoz8321

    @dkoz8321

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mytube9367 OK please answer following questionnaire 1. What is your gender? A male. B female . C Uncertain D. Both E. Gender fluid. F. Unknown G Other gender ( for example emale). 2. Are you willing to consume large amounts of watered down rum, cheap tequila, mezcal, and watermelon soaked in Everclear? 3. Are you willing to expose yourself lewdly , whole inebriated, for sake of scientific knowledge? Please note that all prococeedings will be recorded. 4.Are you willing to undergo full body Brazilian waxing without Ibuprofen? All participants are required to be smooth operators.

  • @rdallas81

    @rdallas81

    Жыл бұрын

    Seems in the United States lately, males have been experiencing with males testing these theories on such a large scale that thousands have contracted viral infections with their monkey business. 65 million abortions for women who cant seem to understand the data.

  • @marthakrumboltz2710

    @marthakrumboltz2710

    Жыл бұрын

    That does explain a lot. I’ve wondered.

  • @rdallas81
    @rdallas81 Жыл бұрын

    Too many commercials. Click off.

  • @txkflier

    @txkflier

    Жыл бұрын

    Adblock Plus is free..

  • @dgwrigh
    @dgwrigh2 жыл бұрын

    What a waste of an amazing engine!

  • @AnthonyEvelyn
    @AnthonyEvelyn4 жыл бұрын

    RN torps must have been better than USN torps.

  • @flybobbie1449

    @flybobbie1449

    3 жыл бұрын

    This is a mark 12, so that tells you something. Were the other 11 not much good?

  • @paintedblue1791

    @paintedblue1791

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@flybobbie1449 The previous marks were slower had less range and carried a smaller war head, but work fairly well for there time in service. The Mk 12 was a 18" torpedo that was for air launch while the earlier marks were surface or sub launch weapons.

  • @curtislowe4577

    @curtislowe4577

    3 жыл бұрын

    The American torpedoes for the first 21 months of the war suffered from a poor design of the firing mechanism. The Pacific War could very possibly have been shortened if the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance hadn't had such effective political protection. Here's a video link: kzread.info/dash/bejne/l4VptNdwitjFYaw.html

  • @nicholasmaude6906
    @nicholasmaude69064 жыл бұрын

    "Horizontal Rudders"? I believe they're more commonly known as elevators.

  • @bobbyd6680

    @bobbyd6680

    3 жыл бұрын

    Rudders is correct for water craft, whether for horz or vert. Elevator is correct for airborne craft. On a submarine they are referred to as planes, ie: dive planes.

  • @Nick-ye5kk

    @Nick-ye5kk

    2 жыл бұрын

    This is the Navy we are talking about, they were never going to use Air Force terminology.

  • @fourfortyroadrunner6701
    @fourfortyroadrunner67012 жыл бұрын

    I wish to Christ the Brits would learn to speak ENGLISH!!!

  • @soppdrake
    @soppdrake Жыл бұрын

    Currently building a TFx Beaufighter and it somes with an air stabilizer for the torpedo, but no instruction as to fit it. Also the propeller screws are moulded at the same angle, which I want to fix so that they are in the starting position. Also I notice the brush-marks left by the oil-guy. Must include those! 🛬