ANSWERS: 4
  • All I could find about American Torpedos was one that could travel at 40+ knots. But...I found an article form Popular Science in 2000, it said that Russia had developed a torpedo that could travel at 200 knots (about 230 mph), which is 5 to 6 times faster than the speed of a normal torpedo. It was at that point being called a "shkual" torpedo. It has been reported that China has purchased the Technology for these torpedos. Hope this helps.
  • According to http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/mk-48.htm, the US Navy's Mark 48 torpedo has a maximum speed of 55 knots. This is the fastest torpedo in the US inventory.
  • The Russian Shkval utilizes an encapsulating rocket to shield the torpedo behind a jet of hot gas from the drag effects of the ocean. Rocket nozzles on the nose point backwards to shroud the torpedo, while the thrust comes from the main engine at the stern. Run distance is in excess of 10km. Top speed is over 200kts, but both run distance and speed depend on depth, salinity, and water temperature. Guidance is claimed but no acoustic quidance would be possible at that speed due to self-noise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shkval_torpedo
  • Well, there are a lot of things to consider here. First of all, let me give my qualifications: I am a retired US Navy submariner. I cannot tell you what I know, nor can I confirm or deny any information you may gather from any sources. So don't ask because I won't do that. However, I CAN talk about what information is commonly available as public information. Currently, Iran claims to have the record for the fastest torpedo. Called the "Hoot" (don't ask me, I don't name these things), it is a "supercavitating torpedo" reputed to be capable of speeds four times greater than conventional torpedos. They claim 233 mph. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4871078.stm However, it appears that this torpedo is designed primarily as a weapon for use against surface ships. High speed torpedos of such velocities encounter significant problems when used against submarines. The Mark 48 ADCAP (Advance capability) torpedo commonly carried by US submarines has a reported speed of 55 knots (officially reported as in excess of 28 knots). 55 knots is aproximately 63 mph. The Mk 48 ADCAP was specifically designed to counter high speed, deep diving submarines. It is one mean b*stard, too, because it's not likely to lose it's target once it's acquired it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_48_torpedo The US made UUM-44 SUBROC was not really a torpedo, in the conventional sense, but is worth noting here. It was a submarine launched rocket with a nuclear warhead intended for use as an anti-submarine weapon. The SUBROC was designed to be launched from a torpedo tube, come out of the water, and drop a 5 kt nuclear depth charge over the target. A direct hit was not necessary with a 5 mile kill radius. Top speed was supersonic. http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-44.html The ASROC (Anti-submarine Rocket) is a surface ship weapons system which uses a subsonic rocket. This one was capable of delivering non-nuclear payloads, unlike the SUBROC. The Soviet VA-111 Shkval torpedo is a supercavitating torpedo reportedly capable of reaching 200 knots, with some reports at 250 knots and supposed design efforts for a 300 knot version. Initially, this was intended to carry a nuclear warhead, so guidance systems and accuracy were not considered necessary. Which made this a truely frightening weapon, when one considers the original version only had a range of about 2,000 meters, or slightly more than one nautical mile. In the submarine world, this would have been refered to as a "suicide weapon", especially when you consider the effective kill radius of a small, 5 kt nuclear warhead to be about 5 miles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VA-111_Shkval At such speeds, this kind of weapon is essentially a "line of sight weapon" as internal active and passive sonar systems would be useless for tracking a target. Once launched, the weapon depends on it's great speed to reach it's target before the target can react soon enough to maneuver out of the expected impact point. This is the reason why I mentioned earlier that the Iranian "Hoot" would have dubious use as an anti-submarine weapon. In WWII, the Japanese had the Type 95 torpedo, capable of reaching 51 knots. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_95_torpedo For conversions, multiply knots by 1.15 to get mph.

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