[Equine1952]

Not just crappy torpedos, the only thing the Devastator torpedo plane devastated was the crews. Our Avengers were coming but very few saw action. The torpedos still sucked for them and our subs. When things got straightened out, Japanese Iron started rusting on the bottom.

[lapsus calami]

 

 

Also a change in overall strategy. After the war started there were orders for the sub fleet to expressly locate and target Jap capital ships. Consequently subs were being sent to station out in forlorn waters far from concentrations of shipping to take a crack at ships they couldn't catch anyway much less have a hope of lining up a shot at, provided they found anything to shoot at in the first place. That was a blunder that probably prolonged the war in the Pacific, since freight shipping was the lifeblood of their far-flung perimeter and they had a limited fleet to do it with since their manufacturing capacity to replace lost ships was feeble to nonexistent. Each tanker or freighter lost was a keen blow to their effort - even a damaged ship was almost as good as a sunk one since they were so slow and sloppy at repair work.

 

 

[oldvirginian]

“The torpedos still sucked for them and our subs.”

Ahhh.
The Mark 14 and Mark 15 torpedoes.

1. Ran 10 feet below settings
2. Magnetic exploder caused premature firing of the torpedo.
3. Contact exploder often failed to fire the torpedo.
4. Dreaded circular run causing the torpedo to circle back to the ship firing it.
4. Naval Torpedo Station, Rhode Island spent the early part of the war blaming everyone but themselves for the torpedo problems.

Things did get straightened out but by wars end the Mark 16 with it’s hydrogen-peroxide propulsion system was much preferred.