*British, c.1966, Royal Navy, Mark 23 Grog Torpedo Tail*
Approximate measurements:
Total Height: 95cm.
Torpedo Tail: 78cm tall, 43cm diameter.
Wooden Base: 17cm tall, 45cm diameter.
British, Royal Navy Torpedo Tail, for the Mark 23 Grog, unmarked, mounted on hollow wooden base.
The Mark 23 was a modified Mark 20 torpedo equipped with a wire-guidance system connecting the battery compartment to the afterbody. Development began in the 1950s, with the prototype tested in 1955, but it was not released for service until 1966 and did not become fully operational until 1971. By then, it was considered outdated and too slow to effectively target modern submarines, but it was deployed as an interim solution until the Mark 24 became available. The Mk. 23 was designed for launching from submarines, but could also be launched from surface craft.
The tail completes the torpedo assembly. It carries the tail blades and the depth and steering rudders, which maintain the torpedo’s depth and course, and also the two propellers which propel it through the water. The propellers revolve in opposite directions, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise, so that the torque or turning power of the one counteracts that of the other. A single propeller would tend to make the torpedo itself revolve in the water, making it difficult or impossible to control its course and depth.
Attached please see reference pictures of (not part of this sale):
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Loading a torpedo into the forward torpedo compartment. The ‘fish’ has been lowered through the forward torpedo hatch. On board the Royal Navy Polaris submarine HMS RESOLUTION. © Crown copyright reproduced under delegated authority from The Keeper of Public Records. Image: IWM (TR 42836)
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A Mark 23 torpedo repainted as an advertisement in front of The Ancient Mariner restaurant in Lynmouth, United Kingdom.