I had never heard of this torpedo before today but it is not in service at this time. I think it was one of the very first nuclear torpedos which our Navy enployed but don’t take my word on that as gospel.
The MK 45 anti-submarine torpedo (aka ASTOR) was used against high speed, deep diving enemy submarines. It was 227 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 2,400 pounds. The MK45 could be rigged to run straight or it could be wire guided to the target by an operator. It was not capable of homing in on the target. Since it was a nuclear torpedo it had to be command detonated. That is it didn’t detonate on contact. It detonated on a command from the operator who guided it to its intended target.
You custom military ring customers already know this but this torpedo was replaced in 1976 by the Mark 48.
Related posts:
