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The U-Boat "Torpedo Crisis."

107K views · Feb 9, 2026 · Education

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

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Comments · 332

@Eric_Hutton.1980 · 7 months ago
The Mark 14 torpedo was like "Hold my beer."
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@tomschmidt381 · 7 months ago
I was aware of the problems with the US Mark 14 torpedo. This is the first I have heard about similar problems with German torpedoes.
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@model7374 · 7 months ago
Wow.    I thought it was just our American torpedoes that sucked early in the war
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@vcv6560 · 7 months ago
First (2nd?) rule of engineering: "If its not been tested its already failed."
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@Ibuki01 · 7 months ago
It almost makes you think German Torpedo Developers and USN BuOrd were in a conspiracy together...
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@barrag3463 · 7 months ago (edited)
It's funny how this is nearly exactly parallel to the saga of the US Mark 14 torpedo, all the way down to admirals having to personally get involved forcing technical bureaus to actually find and fix all the problems.
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@vanroeling2930 · 7 months ago
I’m glad that Churchill was looking over your right shoulder during this video!
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@kevinbarry71 · 7 months ago
premature detonation can be awkward and embarrassing
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@vanroeling2930 · 7 months ago
I thought that the USN was the only country with lame torpedoes in WW2
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@tommy-er6hh · 7 months ago
WWII Torpedo problems were wide spread: Key aspects of Soviet No Problem torpedo performance included:    • Reliability: Unlike the notorious American Mark 14 or early German torpedoes, Soviet models, often using horizontal engines, operated effectively throughout the war.        ________________________________________________________________________ Key Problems with British WWII Torpedoes:    • Deep Running: Torpedoes often ran 10 feet deeper than the set depth, causing them to pass harmlessly under targets.    • Defective Exploders: Magnetic exploders (Mk-6) were highly unreliable, causing premature explosions. Contact exploders often failed to ignite on impact, or the firing pin would shear off.    • Inadequate Testing: The torpedoes, such as the Mark XIV, were not adequately tested before entering service, and the problems were not immediately addressed due to bureaucratic inertia and a, sometimes, "Great Torpedo Scandal" mentality.    • Circular Runs: Some torpedoes failed to straighten out after firing, running in a circle and risking hitting the firing ship.    • Impact Failure: On many occasions, the torpedo would strike the target but fail to explode due to structural failure or a damaged, rather than ignited, warhead.    • Logistical Issues: The crisis was worsened by limited production capabilities, making failed, or "dud," torpedoes a critical issue for operational efficiency. These defects plagued the Royal Navy's early, and often, submarine campaigns in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic, causing significant frustration until the issues were gradually identified and fixed. ____________________________________________________________ German Key “Torpedo Crisis” Problems (1940-1942): covered in video ____________________________________________________________________ Japan's World War II torpedoes, notably the Type 93 "Long Lance," were technologically superior in range and speed but suffered from fatal flaws, including: Safety issues and high manufacturing costs hindered their overall effectiveness.    • Oxygen Instability: The use of compressed pure oxygen (instead of air) allowed for high speed, long range, and no bubble trail, but made the torpedoes highly volatile. Contamination in the fuel lines, such as oil or grease, often led to premature, internal explosions within the torpedo tubes or storage, damaging Japanese ships.    • Sensitive Fuzes: Many torpedoes suffered from early detonation (premature) or, ironically, failed to detonate upon impact, with roughly half of the fuzes tested after the Battle of the Java Sea found to be defective.    • Safety Compromises: The high-performance oxygen system was dangerous to maintain, and the sensitivity of the detonators led to a high, "eternal regret" rate of duds or premature explosions, as noted by rear-admiral of engineering Ōyagi Shizuo.    • Manufacturing and Handling Issues: Early in the war, Japanese torpedo crews were known to tinker with and adjust their own fuses, which actually reduced the effectiveness of the weapon. These technical issues, particularly the volatility of the oxygen fuel, caused significant losses to the Japanese fleet throughout the war, often creating as much danger to their own ships as to enemy vessels. ___________________________________________________________________ USA 3 "Torpedo Scandal" problems: Mark 13 Aerial, Mark 14 Submarine, Mark 15 Destroyer. 1. Early US WWII Mark 13 aerial torpedoes (1942–1943) suffered from severe reliability issues. These flaws, caused by poor testing and rigid, low-altitude/low-speed launch requirements (under 100 knots at 100 feet), led to high dud rates and heavy aircraft losses, particularly during the Battle of Midway. Key problems and improvements included:    • Performance Failures: The Mk 13 often ran deeper than set, missed targets, or suffered from "duds" due to a fragile contact exploder.    • Operational Limitations: Early in the war, the weapon required extremely low and slow delivery (less than 100 knots, below 100 feet), making torpedo bombers sitting ducks for Japanese fighters and antiaircraft fire.    • Structural Weakness: The torpedo often broke upon hitting the water.    • The "Fix": By 1944, the introduction of improved stabilisers, a box-shaped tail (to prevent tumbling), and a wooden "pickle barrel" drag ring on the nose allowed for safer, high-speed launches (up to 400 knots) from higher altitudes (2,400 feet).    • Bureaucratic Resistance: The Bureau of Ordnance initially denied these defects, blaming poor performance on the crews. 2. Key problems with the Mark 14 Submarine torpedo included:    • Deep Running: The torpedo ran about 10 feet deeper than set, often passing harmlessly under target ships. This was caused by the pressure tap for the depth sensor being in the wrong location (the rear cone) and the heavier weight of the warhead compared to the test dummy, which was not properly tested.    • Defective Magnetic Exploder (Mark 6): The magnetic pistol was intended to detonate underneath a ship, but it was too sensitive, causing premature explosions, especially near the equator where the Earth's magnetic field differed from the testing areas.    • Failed Contact Exploder: The contact exploder often failed to trigger because the firing pin was too heavy and would break or jam upon impact, making the weapon useless even if it hit.    • Circular Runs: In some cases, the torpedoes failed to straighten their run, instead running in a large circle and returning to strike the firing submarine. Reasons for Failure and Fixes The U.S. Naval Institute notes that these issues persisted for 21 months into the war. The Naval Submarine League explains that the Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was reluctant to accept that the weapon was faulty.    • Neglect and Secrecy: The Navy did not adequately test the torpedoes before the war due to budget constraints. The magnetic exploder was kept so secret that proper field testing was limited.    • Initial Fixes: Submarine commanders, including Rear Admiral Ralph Christie and later ComSubPac Admiral Charles Lockwood, insisted on disabling the magnetic exploder and relying on the contact exploder, although this still required fixing the firing pin.    • Final Corrections: By late 1943, after testing ordered by Nimitz confirmed the issues, the depth-setting mechanisms were corrected, the magnetic detonator was disabled, and the contact detonator was redesigned. 3. Key problems associated with the Mark 15 surface ship torpedoes:    • Deep Running: The torpedoes ran approximately 10 feet deeper than intended, causing them to pass under targets. This was caused by flawed depth-sensing mechanisms in the tail.    • Magnetic Detonator Failures: The Mark 6 magnetic exploder was unreliable and often caused premature detonation or failures to fire.    • Contact Exploder Defects: Upon impact, the firing pin often sheared or jammed due to the heavy weight of the torpedo and inadequate design, resulting in duds.    • Manufacturing Issues: Due to a crash-building program, production quality was poor. Some torpedoes suffered from circular runs, endangering the firing ship.    • Inadequate Testing: Due to budget constraints during the 1930s, the torpedoes were never properly tested, leaving these defects undiscovered until after the war began. These issues were not fully corrected until 1943–1944, often requiring the disabling of the magnetic exploder and modifying the contact exploder, as noted by the Destroyer History foundation. ____________________________________________________________________ Key issues with Italian torpedoes and related weapon systems:    • Deep Running and Reliability: Similar to other nations, Italian torpedoes often ran too deep (10 to 11 feet too deep), passing under targets. This was caused by poor testing procedures and inadequate understanding of high-speed hydrodynamic pressure, along with manufacturing flaws.    • Production Limitations: Regia Marina struggled with shortages of modern 533-mm torpedoes, relying on older 450-mm models that were less effective against modern ships.    • "Myali" Human Torpedo Problems: The SLC (Siluro a Lenta Corsa), nicknamed the "Myali" or "pig," was very difficult to steer and navigate. Despite this, it was successfully used in audacious, small-scale sabotage attacks, such as against the British battleships HMS Valiant and Queen Elizabeth.    • Development of "Radio-Controlled" Projects: Late in the war, there were attempts to develop radio-guided weapons, but these faced immense technological limitations, as radio waves did not travel efficiently to submerged targets.
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@Kevin-s1c5z · 7 months ago
The technical flaws with the German torpedoes you describe are so similar to those with the US Mark 14 torpedo.  I found it strange you didn't make that comparison in your video.
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@raitchison · 7 months ago
German Navy:  We have created the most problematic torpedoes imaginable. U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordinance: Hold my beer.
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