How does a submarine fire a torpedo without flooding itself?
At any depth the sea pressure prevents the muzzle door from opening. When the tube is flooded and the pressure is equalized, the muzzle door can be opened and the torpedo is ready to fire. In actual practice the tube is flooded from tanks within the ship rather than the sea itself.
How did WW2 submarine torpedoes work?
Skippers firing the torpedo for a contact exploder hit on the side of the target would see an explosion and believe the contact exploder worked, but the explosions were triggered not by the contact feature, but rather by the magnetic influence feature at a distance far enough from the hull to cause little or no damage.
How were WW2 torpedoes powered?
In the “steam” torpedo, air, fuel, and water are simultaneously fed into the combustion pot. The fuel burns and the water reduces the temperature of the gases produced by combustion. The water turns into steam, thus increasing the mass of the gas.
What was the difference between surface and submarine attacks?
Surface vessels – torpedo boats, destroyers, cruisers – usually attacked jointly while the submarines attacked individually – even when operating in groups, attacks of individual submarines were not coordinated. Joint attacks of surface vessels could be easily spotted and proper countermeasures could be taken – i.e. an evading maneuver.
How did submarines deal with enemy evading action?
In such cases, enemy evading action was compensated for by a large number of torpedoes launched by many vessels. The submarines performed torpedo attacks when submerged or – in poor visibility conditions – on the surface. Generally, the attacking submarine was not spotted so there were no evading maneuvers.
What was the depth of a U-boat in WW2?
World War II German U-boats generally had collapse depths in the range of 200 to 280 metres (660 to 920 feet). How are torpedoes loaded into a submarine?
What was the best submarine in WW2?
The Best Submarine of the war was without question is the German Type XXI. The Best submarine in service in numbers during the war were the American Fleet submarines. I would suggest that the best submarine at the start of the war 1939 was from from Poland. Similarly one may ask, how deep did World War 2 submarines go?