Mark 39 torpedo

TypeASW Homing torpedo[1]
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1946-1956[1]
Used byUnited States Navy
Production history
DesignerVitro Corporation[1]
Ordnance Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
Designed1946[1]
ManufacturerPhilco[1]
Specifications
Mass1275 pounds[1]
Length133 inches[1]
Diameter19 inches[1]
Effective firing range1300 yards[1]
(26-minute search duration)
WarheadMk 39 Mod 0, HBX[1]
Warhead weight130 pounds[1]
Detonation
mechanism
Mk 19 Mod 10 contact exploder[1]
EngineElectric[1]
Maximum speed 15.5 knots[1]
Guidance
system
Wire[1]
Launch
platform
Submarines[1]

The Mark 39 torpedo was the first homing torpedo in United States Navy service to use a trailing wire for mid-course guidance through the submarine's fire control system. In 1946, shortly after the Mark 37 Mod 0 had been prototyped, the wire guidance system was reverse-engineered from the G7ef(TX) "Spinne" following the arrival of technical documentation from Germany. This resulted in the development of a wire-guided prototype the same year. The Mark 39 was a Mark 27 Mod 4 torpedo converted for development of wire guidance techniques, which were eventually incorporated into the Mark 37 Mod 1 and the Mark 45. Due to this development, the Mark 39 was considered obsolete and the remaining inventory was scrapped.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: Torpedo Mine Mk39". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  2. ^ Burke, Arthur (2017). "Chapter 17: The Modern Torpedo". Torpedoes and their Impact on Naval Warfare (PDF) (Report). Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division. pp. 171–172. AD1033484. Retrieved 10 July 2025.

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