Mark 50 torpedo
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 anti-submarine 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.
Mark 50 torpedo
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Joshua LeGrand · This image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 050324-N-8604L-091 (next). This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required · Public domain
- Name
- Mark 50 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo
- Field
- anti-submarine weapon · torpedo
- Region
- United States
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Documentary summary
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 anti-submarine 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.
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wikidata · Q1899856 · wikipedia · Mark 50 torpedo
In this article
Overview
Overview
Instead the Mark 46 will be replaced with the Mark 54 LHT.
Arabian Gulf (June 23, 2004) - Sailors assigned to the weapons department aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), hoist an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) MK-50 Torpedo off of the flight deck while participating in exercises aimed at fighting the global war on terrorism in the Arabian Gulf. Bulkeley is on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Brien Aho · This image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 040623-N-5319A-001 (next). This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required
Arabian Gulf (June 26, 2004) – An Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) MK-50 Training Torpedo is launched from guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) while participating in exercises aimed at fighting the global war on terrorism. The Norfolk, Va. based Bulkeley is on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Brien
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Brien Aho · This image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 040626-N-5319A-006 (next). This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Mark 50 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo • Origin — United States • Type — Lightweight ASW torpedo • Is Missile — yes • Used By — United States Navy • Designer — Honeywell • Design Date — 1974 • Manufacturer — Alliant Techsystems • Production Date — 1991– • Number — 1000 • Weight — approx. 800 lb • Length — 9.5 ft • Width — 12.75 in • Filling — HE shaped charge • Filling Weight — 100 lb • Engine — Stored chemical energy propulsion system pump-jet • Propellant — sulfur hexafluoride, lithium • Vehicle Range — 15 km • Depth — > 1,900 ft • Speed — > 40 kn • Guidance — Active or passive/active acoustic homing • Launch Platform — Mark 32 surface vessel torpedo tubes, ASW aircraft (P-3 Orion), RUM-139 VL-ASROC
Propulsion system
Propulsion system
The torpedo's stored chemical energy propulsion system uses a small tank of sulfur hexafluoride gas, which is sprayed over a block of solid lithium, which generates enormous quantities of heat, which generates steam. The steam propels the torpedo in a closed Rankine cycle, supplying power to a pump-jet. This propulsion system offers the very important deep-water performance advantage that the combustion products—sulfur and lithium fluoride—occupy less volume than the reactants, so the torpedo does not have to force these out against increasing water pressure as it approaches a deep-diving submarine.
General characteristics, Mk 50
General characteristics, Mk 50
section • Primary function: air and ship-launched lightweight torpedo • Contractor: Alliant Techsystems, Westinghouse • Length: 9.5 ft • Weight: approx. 800 lb • Diameter: 12.75 in • Speed: > 40 kn • Power plant: Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System • Propulsion: Pump Jet • Guidance system: Active/passive acoustic homing • Warhead: 100 lb high explosive
Comparable weapons
Comparable weapons
• Stingray torpedo • MU90 Impact • Yu-11 torpedo
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- United States
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reference work
- “Mark 50 torpedo”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1899856: Mark 50 torpedo
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Thomas, Vincent C. The Almanac of Seapower 1987. Navy League of the United States (1987). . p. 190.
- 2."Mark 50". Deagel, 2012. Accessed 5 Dec 2012.
- 3."U.S. Navy Fact File: Mk-50 Torpedo" . The U.S. Navy—Fact File. Department of the Navy, 27 Nov 2012. Accessed 4 Dec 2012.
- 4."Ticonderoga Class Aegis Guided Missile Cruisers, United States of America." Naval-technology.com. Net Resources International, 2012. Accessed 5 Dec 2012.
- 5.Zimmerman (2000), pp. 129-130.
- 6.Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System for Underwater Applications. Journal of Energy. 7. 2. 128–33. 1983. 10.2514/3.62644.
- 7.Friedman (1991), p. 714.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 5
- MK-50 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo via FAS
- USA Torpedoes since World War II - navweaps.com
- Issues Related to the Navy's Mark-50 Torpedo Propulsion System, General Accounting Office, January 1989 - has diagrams showing internal general arrangement, retrieved December 18, 2012
- Friedman, Norman. The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems 1991/1992. Naval Institute Press. 1991. 0-87021-288-5.
- Zimmerman, Stan. Submarine Technology for the 21st Century. Trafford Publishing. 2000. 1-55212-330-8.
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1- anti-submarine weaponTerminology
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Mark 50 torpedo is connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
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