L-8: Difference between revisions
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<small>Photo contributed by Clifford Chapski. His grandfather, Alfred G. Benjamin, took this photo while serving aboard the USS Charles Whittemore.</small> | <small>Photo contributed by Clifford Chapski. His grandfather, Alfred G. Benjamin, took this photo while serving aboard the USS Charles Whittemore.</small> | ||
[[File:Red bar sub.jpg]] | |||
[[File:Ss-048 l-8 nh 88457.jpg|left|500px]] | |||
L-8 ended its life as a target for tests of the new and highly secret Mk 6 magnetic exploder, later to gain infamy in WWII. For this test the ex-L-8 was moored in Narragansett Bay off Newport, R.I. and a Mk 8 torpedo equipped with a prototype of the new exploder was fired from a barge. As can be seen from this May 26, 1926 aerial photo, the weapon passed directly underneath the sub, exactly as it was supposed to. However, the exploder failed to detect the boat's magnetic field and did not detonate the warhead. This should have been a warning that something was amiss. But the Naval Torpedo Station Newport staff and their leadership at the Bureau of Ordnance dismissed the failure as a fluke and they lined up for a second shot. | |||
<small>Photo NH 88457 courtesy of NHHC.</small> | |||
[[File:Red bar sub.jpg]] | |||
[[File:Ss-048 l-8 nh 88458.jpg|left|500px]] | |||
A short time after the first shot (shown above) the team was ready for another try on that fateful day of May 26, 1926. This time the shot was successful and the ex-L-8 was destroyed in a massive blast. The development team took this a proof that the concept worked and they pushed the Mk 6 exploder into production. No other at-sea testing was ever conducted at any location. Congratulating themselves on their brilliance and convinced of the perfection of their device based on this single test, the Mk 6 exploder was put into production and installed on all new Mk 14 and Mk 15 torpedoes produced at Newport. In actuality, the exploder had some serious technical flaws and it failed miserably in combat in WWII. It was a major factor in the near impotency of our submarines in the early days of the war. | |||
<small>Photo NH 88458 courtesy of NHHC.</small> | |||
[[File:Red bar sub.jpg]] | [[File:Red bar sub.jpg]] |
Revision as of 00:46, 3 April 2024
![](/images/thumb/f/fe/0804804.jpg/500px-0804804.jpg)
NHHC photo NH 46541 courtesy of the Naval History & Heritage Command.
![](/images/b/b0/L-8tt-b.jpg)
Photo from the private collection of Ric Hedman.
![](/images/3/32/L8contrl.jpg)
Photo from the private collection of Ric Hedman.
![](/images/thumb/9/95/L-8.jpg/500px-L-8.jpg)
U.S. Navy photo.
![](/images/7/73/L-8-2.jpg)
Photo contributed by Clifford Chapski. His grandfather, Alfred G. Benjamin, took this photo while serving aboard the USS Charles Whittemore.
![](/images/thumb/7/72/Whettemr.jpg/500px-Whettemr.jpg)
Photo contributed by Clifford Chapski. His grandfather, Alfred G. Benjamin, took this photo while serving aboard the USS Charles Whittemore.
![](/images/thumb/f/f0/Ss-048_l-8_nh_88457.jpg/500px-Ss-048_l-8_nh_88457.jpg)
L-8 ended its life as a target for tests of the new and highly secret Mk 6 magnetic exploder, later to gain infamy in WWII. For this test the ex-L-8 was moored in Narragansett Bay off Newport, R.I. and a Mk 8 torpedo equipped with a prototype of the new exploder was fired from a barge. As can be seen from this May 26, 1926 aerial photo, the weapon passed directly underneath the sub, exactly as it was supposed to. However, the exploder failed to detect the boat's magnetic field and did not detonate the warhead. This should have been a warning that something was amiss. But the Naval Torpedo Station Newport staff and their leadership at the Bureau of Ordnance dismissed the failure as a fluke and they lined up for a second shot.
Photo NH 88457 courtesy of NHHC.
![](/images/thumb/9/93/Ss-048_l-8_nh_88458.jpg/500px-Ss-048_l-8_nh_88458.jpg)
A short time after the first shot (shown above) the team was ready for another try on that fateful day of May 26, 1926. This time the shot was successful and the ex-L-8 was destroyed in a massive blast. The development team took this a proof that the concept worked and they pushed the Mk 6 exploder into production. No other at-sea testing was ever conducted at any location. Congratulating themselves on their brilliance and convinced of the perfection of their device based on this single test, the Mk 6 exploder was put into production and installed on all new Mk 14 and Mk 15 torpedoes produced at Newport. In actuality, the exploder had some serious technical flaws and it failed miserably in combat in WWII. It was a major factor in the near impotency of our submarines in the early days of the war.
Photo NH 88458 courtesy of NHHC.
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