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 Author  Topic: Torpedo Firings in Narragansett Bay June-Sept 45
TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Aug 2, 2014 - 9:27pm
Andy;
According to the RON 4 war diary for NOV 1944;
PT 315 was conducting torpedo firing tests with the Duvall Torpedo Director(Gordon F. Duvall, the same guy who had the patent on the torpedo rack).
PT 316 and PT 487 were conducting special torpedo experiments with the MK 9 exploder(which was a contact influence exploder) using training heads. The MK 9 exploder was used on MK 16 and MK 18 torpedoes. But apparently, they had Newport install the MK 9's in MK 13 torpedoes.
Take care,
TED


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Andy Small

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Andy Small  Posted on: Aug 3, 2014 - 3:17am
Thanks Ted! Very interesting (and thanks for posting the photos!)

I guess an influence exploder would not only be good against ships, it could probably help a torpedo work against steel nets. Anything in the Diary for the summer of 45?

I've always wondered if they were able to successfully recovery all these torpedoes, or if there's a pile of these still sitting on the bottom in the Bay. I would have thought that with these numbers, many probably got away.

Guess the Mk 13-4 could carry the Mark 9 exploder. Date of Change 11 is interesting (Sep 45)

 photo d8521c92-15f1-4987-97aa-8a04d1dc6d97_zps5cb5a9e7.jpg

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  Jerry Gilmartin

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jerry Gilmartin   Send Email To Jerry Gilmartin Posted on: Aug 3, 2014 - 3:36am
Hi Ted and Andy,
I remember John Akin telling me about that Big 600 pound Mk7 Depth Charge experiment they conducted using PT24 and PT27 in Pearl Harbor. He told me they were testing them on minefields (that they themselves would set) just off the west coast of Oahu, and see if the extra big charges would clear a path in the minefields. He also mentioned this was in preparation for the landings at Iwo Jima, but he was fuzzy about the exact details. A nice side benefit of this testing, John told me was after the testing where several 600 pound charges of TNT exploded, there were literally hundreds of freshly killed or stunned fish floating up to the surface. The enterprising PT Boat crew would scoop up the bounty using nets (or whatever was handy) and take them to Pearl City to sell. The proceeds from the fish sales would go directly into the crews beer fund! The local residents of Pearl City formed big crowds at the gates to the PT Base at the old PH Yacht Club in order to get these fish. It was quite the popular test!

Also, Andy there is a wartime history of the Keyport Washington Naval Torpedo Station that you can read on their website. In it, they describe how when they would perform practice shots, they often lost several practice torpedoes from unknown reasons. When one particular individual kept returning these used practice shots for the reward money, the Navy followed him out to his place where they found a collection of lost practice torpedoes floating under his boathouse in the inlet! It seems that his property was right in the firing arc of the torpedoes from the test stand, and they often went much further than previously thought possible. Anyway the point is that they did indeed lose a lot of torpedoes and there are probably many stuck in the mud on the bottom somewhere in the vicinity. Pretty amazing when you think about it!

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

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  TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Aug 3, 2014 - 12:11pm
Jerry and Andy;
I second Jerry's recommendation as I ran across the Keyport records while researching the MK 9 exploder. Jerry back in the day as here on the east coast, when you bought a waterfront piece of property(as my parents did) your property line would frequently would go out into the water x number of feet or yards, this would be describe as "oyster rights" In our case it was 150 yards in front the shore/bank at low tide. This is probably the same story as the boathouse guy, so legally, the practice torpedoes were winding up on his property, so the Navy was legally obliged to compensate him.
Another, situation that this reminds me of is that of my Aunt Lil, her home "The Golden Eagle Landing" which is on Revell's Neck on the Manokin River, in Westover/Princess Anne, Md well in the 1970s to later 1980's, was on the approach track of Navy A6's, F4's and F'14's doing live practice bomb runs on Bloodsworth Island, MD.(On a clear day, it was nothing to see the Jets coming over the woods on the west end of her property and turn over the water)Well the house was built around 1904-1905(formerly known as the Judd Nelson Farm)or so and had ALOT of windows. Well on more than one occasion the windows were cracked or blown out by low flying jet jockeys. Well Aunt Lil had placed several calls to NAS Norfolk, NAS Oceana, and NOB Norfolk and just got the royal run around for several years, finally had enough and somehow(using my Dad's Name, all he said was "Well there goes my Navy retirement check...Thanks Lil"!)got the office phone number and called up ADM Harry D. Train ll, USN (ret) at the time CINCLANTFLEET. Well Aunt Lil was a very persuasive person when she wanted to be, and she talked to ADM Train for quite awhile that day asking him why "HIS" pilots always had to fly over her house and why so low, Navy pilots flew better in World War Two. Don't these boys today know how to fly? You know questions like that. The end result was the ADM told her, the Navy will replace all of her windows, he would speak to "his" pilots and if it ever happened again, the Navy will replace the windows again, Then he told her to mail the bill to him at CINCLANTFLEET. NOW that's NAVY for you!
Take care,
TED
P.S. Andy, all of RON 4's Diary is on fold3.com


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Andy Small

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Andy Small  Posted on: Aug 4, 2014 - 2:11am
Thanks for the pointer Ted. Ron 4 Diaries say these were just plain old student training launches, oh well.... A total of 198 during the 3 month period, so it looks like the Huckins accounted for 120 firings. Also, PT 315 was modified with a Mk 36 Torpedo Director and was conducting test firings at the same time.

PT 100 ended up sticking around a bit longer with Ron 4 and ended up as the squadron's last Huckins.


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Frank Andruss

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Frank Andruss   Send Email To Frank Andruss Posted on: Aug 4, 2014 - 12:27pm
It doesn't seem that the MTBSTC would fire that many dummy torpedoes for practice in training students at that time, unless as was mentioned you have something new for modification. Testing for replacements for the MK-13 happened late in the war, and if I am correct the boats still were using the MK-13 when the war ended. Wasn't the Mk-25 supposed to replace the Mk-13?


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David Buck

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Buck   Send Email To David Buck Posted on: Aug 5, 2014 - 1:13am
As Huckins is still around and appears to have most of their Boats Plans and mods tucked away, maybe if someone asked nicely they may be inclined to assist.

Just my two cents worth.

D.buck

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David Buck

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Buck   Send Email To David Buck Posted on: Aug 5, 2014 - 1:18am
Re my last forgot to add re the Exhaust Mods, "oops"!

D.buck

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  Andy Small

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Andy Small  Posted on: Oct 11, 2019 - 4:14pm
Pay dirt at NARA. Ron 4 was conducting a massive amount of shallow water firings of Mk13s for BuOrd (IRT Burod ltr dated 7 March 1945). Torpedoes and Mk 1 Mod 1 Racks performed uniformly excellent.


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  TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Oct 15, 2019 - 7:05pm
Awesome Andy!
It sounds like they were getting ready for the invasion of Japan, Many shallow water areas.
Take care,
TED


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