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]
| Mark 39 torpedo | |
|---|---|
 Artist's impression of a USN Mark 39 wire-guided torpedo approaching a hostile submarine. | |
| Type | ASW Homing torpedo[1] |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1946-1956[1] |
| Used by | United States Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Vitro Corporation[1] Ordnance Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University |
| Designed | 1946[1] |
| Manufacturer | Philco[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1275 pounds[1] |
| Length | 133 inches[1] |
| Diameter | 19 inches[1] |
| Effective firing range | 13000 yards[1] (26-minute search duration) |
| Warhead | Mk 39 Mod 0, HBX[1] |
| Warhead weight | 130 pounds[1] |
Detonation mechanism | Mk 19 Mod 10 contact exploder[1] |
| Engine | Electric[1] |
| Maximum speed | 15.5 knots[1] |
Guidance system | Wire[1] |
Launch platform | Submarines[1] |
The initial production run consisted of 120 Mark 27 torpedoes converted to Mark 39 by Philco, with initial field deployment circa 1956 on seven of the GUPPY attack submarines. A total of approximately 3000 Mark 39 torpedoes would be ultimately produced. In operation, the weapon was used as a "bearing rider", tracked using the launching submarine's passive sonar and thereby kept to a particular bearing; a form of MCLOS guidance.[3]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: Torpedo Mine Mk39". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ DiGiulian, Tony. "Post-World War II Torpedoes of the United States of America".