96 AIR CLASSICS/August 2022
off when the torpedo entered the
water. These tests also disproved
that slow speed was needed for an
accurate drop. For the Avenger, an
ideal 22 to 31-degree water angle was
proposed as well as drop altitudes as
high as 800-feet with speeds as high
as 280-knots. New aircraft made the
Mk. 13 obsolete but the drag rings
and stabilizers renewed the weap-
on’s usefulness. Development of the
“pickle barrel” further improved the
torpedo’s usefulness. Constructed of
plywood, the ring was attached to the
head of the torpedo and it served as
a stabilizer for the time the weap-
on was airborne. Oscillations were
reduced and the ring effected a 40%
deceleration in air speed, then acted
as a shock absorber when the torpedo
struck the water. The drag ring went
a long way toward making the Mk.
13 a reliable torpedo. Development
would continue during the war to
increase the effectiveness of the Mk.
13 but it is obvious that it was a brave
group of men that went forth to
attack the Japanese during the dark
days of 1942 with a weapon that was
classified as questionable.Mark Appleton
San Diego, CA ACwould fill a book and the immense
amount of work done during 1942/43
still left the Navy with an unpopular
weapon. By mid-1943, a study of
some 105 torpedoes dropped in ex-
cess of 150 knots
revealed that 36%
ran cold, 20%
sank, 20% had
poor deflection
performance, 18%
had unsatisfactory
depth perfor-
mance, 2% ran on
the surface, while
only 31% complet-
ed a satisfactory
run. The reason
the figures are in
excess of 100% is
because many of
the torpedoes had
more than one of
the defects.
Intense testing
showed that
the box-shaped
wooden tail not
only stabilized
the torpedo in
flight but it also
absorbed energy
as it was strippedNavy considered the Mk. 13 to be a
weapon of extreme importance and
it was assigned the highest priority.
Basically, the program had a blank
check. Overcoming all the problems
H AIRLINES H AIRLINES H AIRLINES H AIRLINES H AIRLINES H AIRLINES H AIRLINES H AIRLINES HA Mk. 13 fitted with the wooden break-away nose and tail being loaded aboard an
Avenger on the USS Wasp during 1944.