What is a torpedo. Modern torpedo: what is and what will be. Examples of the use of the word torpedo in literature

"Torpedo boat", "torpedo tube", "torpedo attack" - such phrases are not uncommon in books on the history of military operations at sea. But what is the "self-propelled underwater weapon" doing on board a vehicle that is not at all going to attack the battleship. AvtoVesti are trying to figure it out.

It would seem that the "front panel" is a simple and understandable combination of two well-known words. Why not limit them? But you hear from the owners of various cars every now and then - "torpedo", "torpedo" ... Moreover, the origin of this unofficial term is opaque: what can the front panel of a car have in common with the torpedo that the submarine launches towards the enemy ship?

It is worth saying that the French term torpille and its derivatives in other languages \u200b\u200b(including our "torpedo") have been used by motorists in different ways at different times. For example, at the beginning of the twentieth century, streamlined cigar-shaped bodies were called so. This fact does not require special explanations - it is obvious that the bodies resembled those same naval torpedoes in their shape - but it does not help to clarify the issue with the dashboard.

In the twenties, thirties and forties, the word Torpedo was found in the names of many car brands. Perhaps the most striking of these was the American Tucker Torpedo, which began production in 1947. Attention to him was attracted not only by the dynamic outlines of the body, but also by the front panel. More precisely, its absence: all instruments and switches were grouped around the steering wheel, and all the space between the front seats and the engine shield was at the disposal of passengers. However, this information does not clarify the question of interest to us. How could the fashion for the word denoting the front panel be introduced by a car in which this panel looked different from the vast majority of other cars - both those produced in those years and those produced now?

Tucker Torpedo cars did not have a front panel in the current sense of the word at all.

Therefore, the origins of the term "torpedo" should be sought not in the names of cars, but in the names of companies. More precisely, one company that operated in Germany in the middle of the twentieth century and specialized in the production of automotive instruments. As you might guess, the company was called Torpedo. Its instruments were often found on cars of various brands, so at first the word "torpedo" began to be used to refer to the dashboard, and then the entire front panel.

The new heading AutoVestey is looking for answers to questions that almost every person who is not indifferent to cars has thought about more than once - he thought, but did not find it necessary to waste time looking for answers. After all, these answers satisfy curiosity rather than bring practical benefit. But sometimes curiosity turns out to be no less powerful instinct than concern for one's own well-being and comfort. Therefore, this week AvtoVesti publishes the answer to one of these questions every day. By the way, this will not be the first "week. simple questions": we're going to look for answers further - including answers to the questions you ask in the comments.

Modern torpedo - a formidable weapon of surface ships, naval aviation and submarines. It allows you to quickly and accurately deliver a powerful blow to the enemy at sea. It is an autonomous, self-propelled and guided underwater projectile containing 0.5 tons of explosives or a nuclear warhead.
The secrets of the development of torpedo weapons are the most guarded, because the number of states possessing these technologies is even less than the members of the nuclear missile club.

Currently, there is a serious growth in the lag of Russia in the design and development of torpedo armament... For a long time, the situation was somehow mitigated by the presence in Russia of the Shvkal missile-torpedoes adopted in 1977, but since 2005, similar torpedo weapons have appeared in Germany.

There is information that the German Barracuda missile-torpedoes are capable of developing a speed greater than the Shkval, but so far Russian torpedoes of this type are more widespread. In general, the lag of conventional Russian torpedoes from foreign counterparts reaches 20-30 years .

The main torpedo manufacturer in Russia is the Marine Underwater Weapons - Gidropribor Concern OJSC. This enterprise during the international naval show in 2009 ("IMDS-2009") presented its developments to the public, in particular 533-mm universal remote-controlled electric torpedo TE-2... This torpedo is designed to destroy modern enemy submarine ships in any area of \u200b\u200bthe World Ocean.

The TE-2 torpedo has the following characteristics:
- length with coil (without coil) of telecontrol - 8300 (7900) mm;
- total weight - 2450 kg;
- mass of a warhead - 250 kg;
- the torpedo is capable of speeds from 32 to 45 knots at a distance of 15 and 25 km, respectively;
- has a service life of 10 years.

The TE-2 torpedo is equipped with an acoustic homing system (active on a surface target and active-passive on an underwater one) and non-contact electromagnetic fuses, as well as a sufficiently powerful electric motor with a noise reduction device.

The TE-2 torpedo can be installed on submarines and ships of various types and at the request of the customer made in three different versions:
- the first TE-2-01 assumes mechanical input of data on the detected target;
- second TE-2-02 electrical input of data on the detected target;
- the third version of the TE-2 torpedo has smaller weight and dimensions with a length of 6.5 meters and is intended for use on NATO-type submarines, for example, on German project 209 submarines

Torpedo TE-2-02 was specially developed for arming the Project 971 nuclear-powered multipurpose submarines of the Bars class, which carry missile and torpedo armament. There is information that a similar nuclear submarine was purchased under a contract by the Indian Navy.

The saddest thing is that such a TE-2 torpedo already does not meet a number of requirements for such weapons, and is also inferior in its technical specifications foreign counterparts... All modern Western-made torpedoes and even the new Chinese-made torpedo weapons have hose telecontrol.

On the domestic torpedoes, a towed coil is used - a rudiment of almost 50 years ago. This actually puts our submarines under fire from the enemy with much greater effective firing distances.

The task of any military action is to hit the enemy, while remaining invulnerable. This definition of purpose was necessary condition when developing new types of weapons. In its most complete form, this manifested itself when creating marine species remote-action weapons, which led to the appearance of torpedoes in the fleet.

The forerunners of torpedoes were river floating mines, the inventor of which was a full member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, BS Yakobi.

Thanks to the creation of steam engines, pole and towed mines appeared. The first one was attached to a ten-meter metal pole mounted on board the boat. When the boat approached the enemy ship at a certain distance, the mine hit the side of the ship below the waterline. The second was towed by a cable, and it was necessary to drag it so that it touched the enemy ship. Since their use required close proximity to the enemy, this was dangerous and not always feasible.

The creation of a self-propelled mine became possible after the appearance of compact power plants (engines) operating on compressed air.

In 1865, the Russian designer I.F.Aleksandrovsky proposed to the Naval Ministry a project of a self-propelled projectile. However, this development was recognized as premature. Three years later, the Aleksandrovsky project was considered again, and the inventor was offered to make a mine at his own expense, with subsequent reimbursement of costs in case of successful tests. But by this time, the priority in creating a torpedo already belonged to the Englishman R. Whitehead.

In 1866, Whitehead, who worked in Austria-Hungary at a plant in the city of Fiume (now Rijeka), officially announced a self-propelled mine, designed by him together with Lieutenant of the Austrian fleet I. Lup-pis, and named "torpedo" (from the Latin word torpedo - "electric Stingray"). A year later, a prototype of the new weapon was manufactured.

Aleksandrovsky succeeded in designing his own torpedo in 1874, and he was a strong competitor to Whitehead.

Tests have shown that Aleksandrovsky's weapons are not inferior to foreign ones, and in some parameters are superior to them. Nevertheless, the Naval Ministry bought torpedoes abroad. In total, Russia acquired 250 foreign self-propelled mines.

During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. the young lieutenant of the fleet S.O. Makarov, the future famous admiral, made sure that he was given four torpedoes (Whitehead mines), bought before the war in Fiume. To launch them, a pipe was installed under the keel of one of the boats - a prototype of a torpedo tube, the other boat was supposed to launch a torpedo from a raft tied to the side.

January 14, 1878 went down in the history of the fleet as the date of the first successful torpedo strike. From a distance of 60 m, two boats simultaneously fired torpedoes. They hit the Turkish escort ship "Intibah" on board. There was an explosion, then a strong crack from the broken ship. The steamer lay down on the right side and quickly sank to the bottom. It took one or two minutes before the masts disappeared.

The boats "Chesma" and "Sinop", from which the torpedoes were fired, are rightfully considered the ancestors of torpedo boats and the tactics of group torpedo strikes. An important result of the bold attacks of Makarov and his associates was that Russian shipbuilders created another class of ships - destroyers. They could sail in the open sea and there to deliver torpedo attacks on enemy ships.

In the second half of the XIX century. the torpedo was one of the most convincing incarnations of the latest advances in science and technology. Since the time of the invention, the torpedo has been improved, its parameters have improved significantly.

The experience of the First World War has clearly shown that torpedo weapons are one of the most effective combat weapons in the fleet. In the period between the world wars, interest in this type of naval weapon increased even more. The search for new types of charges for torpedoes, fuses, combustible substances, engines, homing systems continued.

A modern torpedo is a self-propelled, self-guided and self-guided underwater projectile of a cigar-shaped shape, carrying a warhead (conventional or nuclear) at the head to destroy ships, destroy piers, docks and other objects.

Torpedoes are armed with submarines, surface ships, torpedo boats, airplanes, helicopters. On ships, they are produced using torpedo tubes.

A torpedo tube is a device on ships for storing and firing torpedoes: a tube with a diameter and length corresponding to the caliber of the torpedo being fired, devices for entering data into the torpedo from the firing control system.

After the Second World War, the torpedo was improved, and its modernization acquired a clear anti-submarine orientation. It is the homing torpedo shell that has become the main enemy of modern nuclear submarines. Currently, most torpedoes are anti-submarine or dual-purpose.

In the latest modifications of torpedoes, in addition to complex automation, computing technologyhosts computers that control power plant, choosing the optimal mode of movement, as well as the homing system. This makes it possible to recognize and classify targets, distinguish them from imitators and traps, and ensure that they hit the most vulnerable spot of the enemy's military equipment.

Currently, there is a serious growth in Russia's lag in the design and development of torpedo armament. For a long time, the situation was somehow mitigated by the presence in Russia of the Shkval missile-torpedoes adopted in 1977, since 2005 similar weapons have appeared in Germany. There is information that the German Barracuda missile-torpedoes are capable of developing a speed greater than the Shkval, but so far Russian torpedoes of this type are more widespread. In general, the lag of conventional Russian torpedoes from foreign counterparts reaches 20-30 years.

The main torpedo manufacturer in Russia is the Marine Underwater - Gidropribor Concern OJSC. This enterprise, during the international naval show in 2009 ("IMDS-2009"), presented its developments to the public, in particular 533 mm. universal remote-controlled electric torpedo TE-2. This torpedo is designed to destroy modern enemy submarine ships in any area of \u200b\u200bthe World Ocean.


The torpedo has the following characteristics: the length with the telecontrol coil (without the coil) is 8300 (7900) mm, the total mass is 2450 kg, the mass of the warhead is 250 kg. The torpedo is capable of speeds from 32 to 45 knots at ranges of 15 and 25 km, respectively, and has a service life of 10 years.

The torpedo is equipped with an acoustic homing system (active on a surface target and active-passive on an underwater one) and non-contact electromagnetic fuses, as well as a sufficiently powerful electric motor with a noise reduction device.

The torpedo can be installed on submarines and ships of various types and, at the request of the customer, is made in three different versions. The first TE-2-01 assumes mechanical, and the second TE-2-02 electrical data input on the detected target. The third version of the TE-2 torpedo has a smaller weight and dimensions with a length of 6.5 meters and is intended for use on NATO-type submarines, for example, on German project 209 submarines.

The TE-2-02 torpedo was specially designed to arm the Bars-class project 971 nuclear multipurpose submarines, which carry missile and torpedo armament. There is information that a similar nuclear submarine was purchased under a contract by the Indian Navy.

The saddest thing is that such a torpedo already does not meet a number of requirements for such weapons, and is also inferior in its technical characteristics to foreign counterparts. All modern Western-made torpedoes and even new Chinese-made torpedo weapons have hose telecontrol. On the domestic torpedoes, a towed coil is used - a rudiment of almost 50 years ago. This actually puts our submarines under fire from the enemy with much greater effective firing distances. Not one of the domestic torpedoes presented at the IMDS-2009 exhibition did not have a telecontrol hose reel, all were towed. In turn, all modern torpedoes are equipped with a fiber-optic guidance system, which is placed on board the submarine, and not on the torpedo, which minimizes interference from false targets.

For example, the modern American long-range remote-controlled torpedo Mk-48 developed to destroy high-speed underwater and surface targets is capable of speeds up to 55 and 40 knots at distances of 38 and 50 kilometers, respectively ( at the same time evaluate the capabilities of the domestic torpedo TE-2 45 and 32 knots at ranges of 15 and 25 km). The American torpedo is equipped with a multiple attack system that is triggered when the torpedo loses a target. The torpedo is able to independently detect, capture and attack the target. The electronic stuffing of the torpedo is tuned in such a way that it can engage enemy submarines in the area of \u200b\u200bthe command post located behind the torpedo compartment.


Missile-torpedo "Shkval"


The only one positive point at the moment, it is possible to consider the transition in the Russian fleet from thermal to electric torpedoes and rocket-fueled weapons, which are an order of magnitude more resistant to all sorts of cataclysms. It should be reminded that the Kursk nuclear submarine with 118 crew members on board, which died in the Barents Sea in August 2000, sank as a result of a thermal torpedo explosion. Now the torpedoes of the class with which the Kursk submarine missile carrier was armed have already been taken out of production and are not in operation.

The most likely development of torpedo weapons in the coming years will be the improvement of the so-called cavitating torpedoes (they are also rocket torpedoes). Their distinctive feature is a nose disk with a diameter of about 10 cm, which creates an air bubble in front of the torpedo, which helps to reduce water resistance and allows you to achieve acceptable accuracy at high speed. An example of such torpedoes is the domestic "Shkval" torpedo missile with a diameter of 533 mm, which is capable of speeds up to 360 km / h, the warhead weight is 210 kg, the torpedo does not have a homing system.

The spread of this type of torpedo is hindered not least by the fact that at high speeds of their movement it is difficult to decipher the hydroacoustic signals to control the missile-torpedo. Such torpedoes, instead of a propeller, use a jet engine as a propeller, which in turn makes it difficult to control them, some types of such torpedoes can only move in a straight line. There is information that work is currently underway to create a new model of "Shkval", which will receive a homing system and an increased weight of the warhead.

This section contains information on torpedo armament both domestically produced and foreign. You will be able to get information about torpedoes that are currently in service, as well as samples of these weapons that were used earlier.

A torpedo is a self-propelled underwater projectile containing an explosive that is used to destroy enemy ships. A combat torpedo is a very complex mechanism, consisting of an engine, propellers or jet nozzle, control devices and a warhead.

Today sea torpedoes are one of the main weapons of surface ships and submarines. They are especially important for arming submarines.

Domestic historiography believes that the first torpedo was invented by the Russian designer Aleksandrov in 1865, but this project was not implemented in Russia. The first operational copy of this weapon was developed by the Englishman Whitehead in 1866, for the first time torpedoes were used in battle in 1877.

Marine torpedoes became widespread in the 20th century. Special ships appeared - destroyers, they had torpedo armament, high speed and poor booking.

The Japanese actively used torpedo weapons in the Russian-Japanese war of 1905. The "finest hour" of torpedoes was the First World War and the appearance of the first submarines. Torpedoes became the main weapon of these warships. The first torpedoes worked thanks to steam-gas installations or compressed air, so they left a clearly visible trail behind them. This unmasked the torpedo and allowed enemy ships to evade them.

An electric torpedo was created by the Germans before the outbreak of World War II. Submarines and torpedo weapons were also actively used in this conflict.

Modern torpedoes pose a deadly threat to any ship. They are much more dangerous than anti-ship missiles. The fact is that if during the explosion of a rocket part of the energy is dissipated, then all the energy of the torpedo explosion goes to the destruction of the ship's hull. Torpedoes are less visible than missiles, carry more explosives and are very difficult to destroy while in motion.

Modern torpedoes can be guided by sonar or remotely controlled from a ship via a special cable. This is exactly how many foreign samples of torpedo weapons are arranged, including torpedoes from the USA, Germany, and Great Britain. We have collected for you information on the latest trends in the development of torpedo weapons in different countries.

Russia is a manufacturer of torpedo weapons. In the Soviet era, a huge reserve was created in this direction, today the torpedoes of the Russian Navy are among the best in the world.

The Russian fleet is armed with a special torpedo that can hit the enemy at high speed - about 200 knots. This is the Shkval torpedo rocket.

To achieve such an unprecedented speed, "Shkval" uses an interesting physical principle - supercavitation. That is, during movement around the "Shkval" a gas bubble is created, which significantly reduces the resistance of the water environment. But this is not enough: to achieve such a speed, a jet engine is installed on the torpedo instead of the usual propeller.

It should be noted that the development of modern torpedoes is moving along a slightly different path: designers are trying to increase their firing range, reduce noise and increase accuracy. The latest torpedoes of the Russian Navy and western countries have a range of tens of kilometers, they are controlled by cable, they are very difficult to detect.

 

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