Acoustic torpedoAn acoustic torpedo is a torpedo that aims itself by listening for characteristic sounds of its target or by searching for it using sonar (acoustic homing). Acoustic torpedoes are usually designed for medium-range use, and often fired from a submarine. The first passive acoustic torpedoes were developed nearly simultaneously by the United States Navy and the Germans during World War II. The Germans developed the G7e/T4 Falke, which was first deployed by the submarines , and in March 1943.
G7es torpedoThe G7es (T5) "Zaunkönig" ("wren") was a passive acoustic torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was called the GNAT (German Navy Acoustic Torpedo) by the British. The forerunner of the Zaunkönig was the G7e/T4 Falke, codename "Falcon," which was introduced in March 1943, but saw limited use for trial and was rapidly phased out of service in favor of the later model that received a number of significant enhancements. It was faster, had more range, possessed a magnetic or contact detonator and could be equipped with a percussion pistol.
Battle of the River PlateThe Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood, comprising the light cruisers , (on loan to the New Zealand Division) and the heavy cruiser . Graf Spee had sailed into the South Atlantic in August 1939, before the war began, and had begun commerce raiding after receiving the appropriate authorisation on 26 September 1939.
Mark 6 exploderThe Mark 6 exploder was a United States Navy torpedo exploder developed in the 1920s. It was the standard exploder of the Navy's Mark 14 torpedo and Mark 15 torpedo. Early torpedoes used contact exploders. A typical exploder had a firing pin that stuck out from the warhead and was restrained by a transverse shear pin. The torpedo would hit the target with enough energy to break the shear pin and allow the firing pin to strike a percussion cap that ultimately detonated the warhead.
Argentine NavyThe Argentine Navy (ARA; Armada de la República Argentina) is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force. The Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory in 1814 at the Battle of Montevideo over the Spanish fleet during the war of Independence. The Argentine Navy was created in the aftermath of the May Revolution of May 25, 1810, which started the war for independence from Spain.
Midget submarineA midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered and which provide living accommodation for the crew and support staff. Both military and civilian midget submarines have been built. Military types work with surface ships and other submarines as mother ships.
Kaitenwere crewed torpedoes and suicide craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II. In recognition of the unfavorable progress of the war, towards the end of 1943 the Japanese high command considered suggestions for various suicide craft. These suggestions were initially rejected, but later deemed necessary. Various suicide craft were developed in the Japanese Special Attack Units. For the Navy, this meant Kamikaze planes, Ohka piloted bombs, Shinyo suicide boats, Kaiten submarines, and Fukuryu suicide divers or human mines.
Mark 50 torpedoThe 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. Instead the Mark 46 will be replaced with the Mark 54 LHT. 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.
KronstadtKronstadt (Kronshtadt, krɐnˈʂtat) is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head of the Gulf of Finland. It is linked to the former Russian capital by a combination levee-causeway-seagate, the St Petersburg Dam, part of the city's flood defences, which also acts as road access to Kotlin island from the mainland.
E-boatE-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: Schnellboot, or S-Boot, meaning "fast boat"; plural Schnellboote) of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; E-boat could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a large Torpedoboot. The name of E-boats was a British designation using the letter E for Enemy, The main wartime production boats, designated the S100 class, were very seaworthy, heavily armed and capable of sustaining , briefly accelerating to .
