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Topic: Great Source of Torpedo Development Information |
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Andy Small |
MASTER
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Posted on: Jun 2, 2016 - 2:00pm
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I just spent some time at the Naval War College looking through their Newport Torpedo Station records. This is a fantastic resource for anyone looking into researching the development of the MkVII, MkVIII, and MkXIII torpedoes with details on production, tests, tubes and modifications including many hand drawn proposals/production modifications.
I was hoping (long shot) to shed some light on the tubes used on Hickman's WW1 Sea Sled Motor Torpedo Boat since Albert Hickman was actively at the station in August thru September 1915. I was also trying to find information (another long shot) on why Huckins PT 100 launched 101 torpedoes between June and September 1945, but No Joy on either.
I did almost go down yet another rabbit hole reading about the pre-war (that's pre WW1) development of the MkVII and Mk VIII (IX and X) torpedoes. There were so many wicked smart developments going on and being able to read the reports with the follow on comments and proposals all bundled together was quite the treat for the nerd in me.
If anyone would like to see the records or has questions of the archivists, we have their permission to contact them at nhc@usnwc.edu. Dara Baker is the Head Archivist. The Naval War College is located in Newport, RI and is just down the road from Melville.
Cheers,
Andy
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alross2
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jun 2, 2016 - 4:05pm
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Did you see anything on the short tubes for the MK13s? I'd love to get a set of general arrangement drawings for the Higgins book.
Al
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Andy Small
MASTER
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Posted on: Jun 2, 2016 - 6:44pm
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Hi Al,
I did not find anything directly related to PT boat employment during my search, but that doesn't mean it's not there. I was concentrating on 19I2-1918 and then late 1945. I feel like I only actually looked at about .001% of the material they have. I did locate drawings such as the Mk VII Collapsible Head (Jan 1915).
I'm also still hoping to find info on the stern launch setup for PT-3.
I would recommend asking Dara for information on their holdings.
Andy
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TED WALTHER |
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Jun 2, 2016 - 8:09pm
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Andy;
Sounds like you found a pot of gold. I would be interested in photos from the Newport area torpedo ranges and underway testing, did you see a lot, while looking for your 1945 info?
Take care,
TED
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Andy Small
MASTER
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Posted on: Jun 3, 2016 - 3:20pm
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Hi Ted,
The 8 boxes that I looked through were paperwork files. The one portion with photos looked to be staged post war photos of men attending various torpedo classes around 1946-47. They might have other photos in the files, but I didn't see them, or notice them from the box topics.
Andy
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Total Posts: 262 | Joined:
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