Mark 50 torpedo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mark 50 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo | |
|---|---|
 Mark 50 torpedo being fired |
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| Type | Torpedo |
| Place of origin | United States of America |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United States Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Honeywell |
| Designed | 1974 |
| Manufacturer | Alliant Techsystems |
| Produced | 1991- |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 750 lb (340 kg) |
| Length | 112 in (2.84 m) |
| Width | 12.75 in (2.84 m) |
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| Warhead | HE shaped charge |
| Warhead weight | 100 lb (45 kg) |
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| Engine | Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System |
| Operational range |
Classified |
| Speed | 40+ knots (74+ km/h) |
| Guidance system |
Active/passive acoustic homing |
The Mark 50 torpedo is a U.S. Navy advanced lightweight torpedo for use against fast, deep-diving submarines. The Mk-50 can be launched from all ASW aircraft, and from torpedo tubes aboard surface combatant ships. The Mk-50 was intended to replace the Mk-46 as the fleet's lightweight torpedo. Instead the Mark 46 will be replaced with the Mark 54 LHT.
The torpedo's Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System (SCEPS) uses a small tank of sulfur hexafluoride gas which is sprayed over a block of solid lithium, which generates enormous quantities of heat, in turn used to generate steam from seawater. The steam propels the torpedo in a closed Rankine cycle.
[edit] General characteristics, Mk-50
- Primary function: air and ship-launched lightweight torpedo
- Contractor: Alliant Techsystems, Westinghouse
- Length: 2.84 m (112 in)
- Weight: 340 kg (750 lb)
- Diameter: 324 mm (12.75 in)
- Speed: > 40 kn (46 mi/h, 74 km/h)
- Power Plant: Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System
- Guidance system: Active/passive acoustic homing
- Warhead: approximately 45 kg (100 lb) high explosive (shaped charge)
