24 Oct
2002
24 Oct
'02
11:03 a.m.
I recommend Gray's The Underwater War and the U-boat War. They cover the
British and German submarine fleets of WW I.
On Thu, 24 Oct 2002, Joe wrote:
At 07:51 AM 10/24/02 -0400, Bob wrote:
M. K. Peirce
Rhode Island Computer Museum, Inc.
Shady Lea, Rhode Island
"Casta est quam nemo rogavit."
- Ovid
This is very close to the story I heard while in
the service.
Apparently the torpedos have a safety mechanisim that deactivates the
warhead should it make a 180 degree turn, to prevent a 'wild' torpedo
from sinking the sub that launched it.
The story I heard said that they had a 'hot run' of a torpedo in the
tube, and were unable to eject it. So the sub made a 180 degree turn to
return to base and rather than deactivate the warhead, it detonated.
I think you misunderstand. You're right about the torpedoes having a safety
mechanism that disarms the torpedo in the event of a 180 degree turn to prevent
"wild" torpedo hits. However in the event of a hot run (torpedo starting inside
the sub) the torpedo would become armed after a certain amount of time. Therefore the sub
has to make a 180 degree turn in an effort to disarm the warhead before it can arm
(exactly the same procedure as disarming a "wild" torpedo but now you have to
turn the entire sub). However the sub has to do it before the torpedo becomes armed and
it's not easy to make 180 degree turn that quick in something as large as a sub.
Apparently the Scorpion didn't make it in time.
Another possible scenerio is that some of the batteries in one of the torpedoes shorted
out and burst into flames. That started a chain reaction among the other batteries and at
some point the fire became hot enough to cook off (detonate) one or more of the torpedo
warheads. The batteries used in some of the Scorpion's torpedos came from a KNOWN bad
lot but the Navy had such a problem getting enough batteries that they decided to use them
anyway. Somewhere I have a book on the subject including interviews with several people
that witnessed a torpedo battery fire in a land based repair depot. Even in a relatively
open area with unarmed torpedoes, fire extinguishers and modern fire fighting equipment
the damage was extensive. In a confined area with numerous armed topedoes the results
would be disasterous.
I gotta say, it sure takes guts to serve on those boats.
You aren't kidding. And the early boats were even worse! Conditions in them could
only be called in-human. I just finished reading 'Silent Victory, the US Submarine War
Against Japan' (two volumes) by Clay Blair, Jr. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone
interested in submarine warfare or the war in the Pacific.
Joe