Flight Journal - June 2013

Several things could scuttle a torpedo: failure to run; erratic depth control; improper heading; and failure to explode. Some just sank for no obvious reason. Mark 13s did help sink some important ships, including the carrier Shoho at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, and the battleship Hiei off Guadalcanal in November. But as one TBF skipper said, a Mark 13 was apt to run “like a wild hippopotamus with its head above water,” veering any way but toward the target.

In vivid contrast, Japanese torpedoes proved supremely reliable and effective, even with smaller warheads than the American weapon. The Mark 13’s counterpart, the early Type 91 dating from 1931, could be dropped safely from 200 feet at 175 knots, with wartime improvements ensuing. Type 91s were used with devastating effect at Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, and the Guadalcanal battles.

Late-war fixes finally made the Mark 13 a viable weapon. The “ring tail” version with a shroud around the propellers and a cone protecting the nose did much to improve performance and accuracy. Avengers sank Japanese carriers and battleships in 1944- 1945 with reliability approaching 100 percent.

Perhaps most remarkably, the 13’s last combat use was against a North Korean dam in 1951 (Check out R.R. “Boom” Powell’s article, “The Last Torpedo” in the April 2013 issue of Flight Journal). 

Grumman TBF-1s during a 1943 exercise, releasing torpedoes in a “spread” At Truk Atoll in February 1944, one Marine ordnance men service Mark 13s prior to loading at Okinawa in May 1945. (Photo courtesy of USMC)