Bliss-Leavitt Mk7 torpedo, 1916

The Bliss-Leavitt Mark 7 torpedo was the first of Leavitt’s turbine-driven torpedoes to use the ‘wet heater’ design where water was sprayed into an external combustion chamber (burner) where a fuel (alcohol) was burning in the airstream. Heating the air from the pressure vessel gave significant improvement to a torpedo’s performance. The very hot gasses could, however, cause problems with the downstream materials. Spraying water into the burner had two advantages - the gasses were cooled, and the water turned to steam adding to the bulk of gasses delivered to the engine. In the USA, wet heater torpedoes were referred to as ‘Steam’ torpedoes, although the proportion of steam was a small fraction of the propelling gasses. Nowadays Leavitt’s turbines would probably be referred to as gas turbines.
The Mark 7 torpedo had a diameter of 17.7 inches (usually referred to as 18 inch), or 450 mm, and carried a warhead of 326 pounds of TNT. It had a maximum speed of 35 knots for a range of 2,000 yards, or 6,000 yards at 28 knots. The Mk 7 was introduced in 1912 and could be launched from surface ships and submarines, and remained in the US torpedo inventory into WW2 (to arm O class submarines and WW1 destroyers).
This model and animation are based on drawings from a 1916 manual. Certain components were not covered, and I have glossed over their operation. I have not included the complex oil distribution system feeding the bearings nor shown the oil accumulating in the torpedo’s bilge.
Animation created using Cinema 4D. Music credits are shown at the end of the movie.

[@britishmuzzleloaders]

Just incredible, these torpedoes. The engineering, the thought put into them to make them work. In addition, the guy who makes them all come to life with fully functioning digital models! Thanks Rob!

[@vbbsmyt]

Thank you.

[@ditzydoo4378]

Yep the Mk-7, 18-inch was a good torpedo, but its new replacements in the Mk-8 through the infamous Mk-14, Mk-15 and Mk-18 at the time war were declared in WW-II were anything but. The Naval Board of Ordnance never properly tested any because in their eye's it was a waste of money. Drachinifel's did a wonder full video on the Mk-14 and all the dirty secrets the the Board didn't want to admit to until Admiral King and others caught wind of their shenanigans, or tested the malfunctioning torpedoes for themselves

[@sirethanthegreat4069]

Eyyyy it’s britishmuzzleloaders! What up man

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

How does your wife feel about you always stealing her skirts for your vids?

[@63Hayden]

And so many safety features built in too. Pretty ahead of its time.

[@kchickenlord]

This animation is a thing of beauty.

[@stuartwhelan233]

Until it's hits your ship and you are lucky enough to escape the ship to find yours floating in the Atlantic. Brilliant video thanks for making it always wondered how they worked no wonder so many failed a lot of parts to go wrong.

[@XMarkxyz]

It's an impressive amount of technology made just to be blown apart, i guess it was the guided missile of its time

[@janko4620]

Think about the technology that technology blows apart :,)

[@womble321]

My Grandfathers Brother was an instructor on torpedoes in WW1 they were as secret as the stealth fighter. He couldnt even tell the family what job he did in the Navy.

[@stuartwhelan233]

@@womble321 l bet mate

[@Henry-dy2ty]

Guided missiles tend to cost $100,000 I believe so

[@womble321]

@@Henry-dy2ty I think you need to add a zero for some of them!

[@24th1879]

What an impressive amount of engineering and technology for 1916 .. amazing.

[@waterlife.1905]

Ya no way are we using disposable rockets to get to space anymore. We are being lied to it seems about how advanced we are. Or they are lol.

[@matthewfish6113]

Thank you for all your work you put into you videos, I hope that the research and time spent on sharing them brings you as much pleasure as it does for me watching them. Matthew.

[@MEGACOLOBOK]

A gas turbine torpedo at the beginning of the twentieth century!? No, I didn't expect this!!! 👍😍

[@llamallama1509]

I have no idea why KZbin recommended this video to me, but I found it interesting, and I liked the music. Thanks for your work!

[@nathandecrom2409]

ah yes the torpedo: a marvel of engineering making a object self steer under water with elegantly balanced :mechanics its purpose ? why to blow shit up of cours !

[@tenofprime]

Next step: add a nuke to the tip to replace the normal weak stuff we were to useing. I wish I was joking when I say that the US and USSR did that in the cold war.

[@arya31ful]

@@tenofprime Cold War is where both sides tried to slap nukes on anything. The gem would be that nuclear recoilless rifle.

[@scythewolfleader3251]

@@arya31ful not gonna lie I want that

[@phantomaviator1318]

@@arya31ful Oh right, the Davy Crockett

[@scottleft3672]

peace... through superior firepower.

[@elmundodeFreeman]

Thanks, I didn't know I wanted to learn how exactly a torpedo worked until now.

[@bessiebraveheart]

Marvelous engineering, even by today's standards.

[@crusinscamp]

Thanks for the good video. It's a reminder of the sophisticated level of technology used in WWI.

[@sweatbandandy]

Absolutely fascinting. Whilst having read about the various types before, I've never put much thought into how they work.

[@paulkouri7786]

WOW! An entire 7 min animation with thorough description of each process in perfect order. And i still don't know how the damn thing works lol

[@tyrannosaurusimperator]

Traditionally, they didn't

[@pajapajic8809]

Izuzetna animacija bravo za postavku

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Amazing engineering and similarly amazing animation. These weapons have incredible intricacy, ingenious. Thank you for the excellent animation.

[@Thesamjam5]

It really makes you think 100 years ago we think of it as a technological deprived age but in fact these here war made or not are absolute marvels

[@ZerokillerOppel1]

I don't think of 100 years ago as a technological deprived age...maybe only you do?

[@Thesamjam5]

@@ZerokillerOppel1 my apologies I meant to say technologically limited era

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

Wow, I had no idea they were that complicated back then!! I guess they had to be!!! Thanks :)

[@DFX2KX]

some of them where quite a bit simpler then this. However, having a gas turbine spin the props instead of just the compressed air made these quite a bit faster, so the extra complexity was worth it.

[@thomasblackwell9507]

Great explanation and animation. It makes it easy to understand.

[@JoeSmith-cy9wj]

It's an impressive amount of graphics for the video. 👍👍

[@rubenkerobyan6891]

Great to know about the evolution of torperdos

[@SSmith-fm9kg]

Well done and impressive video. I've always wondered how they worked. Thanks.

[@hansoblinger5216]

Sehr gute und anschauliche Dokumentation.

[@BesttBi]

This is wonderful. I was always curious about the design and engineering of a torpedo. Great video, great amount of information. I appreciate it! :)

[@Piqus3]

Technical details beside, with this soundtrack it's like watching "How It's Made". Great video!

[@flybywire5866]

Its always impressive to see what amount of effort, creativity and skill is used to create something which has only one purpose, to destroy and kill. We do not put that amount of effort into anything else. However, fantastic animation!

[@rajpawar9343]

Well nice to see complex torpedoes and great music.

[@MickTheDutch]

Thanks for another amazing and informative upload

[@Tobifumi]

Great work, just great. This torpedo is a marvel of technology, back in 1916 ... Greetings from Spain!

[@FrancSchiphorst]

Learned something new. The scuttling system makes sense as you don't want the torpedo floating about as a improvised sea mine (and hand high tech to the enemy)

[@Crosshair84]

Especially if you are on the offensive and will soon be occupying the area the enemy used to be.

[@gfr2023]

beautiful 3D work and amazing mechanics solution.. a today microcontroller can perform near all this function. I saw some gyros of torpedo in some museum, aAlways amazed by the skills of those workers.

[@Treblaine]

155 times atmospheric pressure, in that volume? Astonishing.

[@nucleus_underfire4666]

Such intricate work, only with the purpose to explode.

[@mattanderson3010]

Always wondered how they steer to stay flat at a depth, now I have my answer!!

[@GuitarSoloReactions]

GREAT VIDEO.

[@andersandersson5815]

You who are giving this video thumb's down must be, either, clicking wrong or are just stupid. It's a large amount of work behind this animation and to create this video. Excellent video and great animation! It's an amazing piece of engineering behind this design but mankind have always been good at creating things to kill each other with.

[@deejay1313]

Excellent video. Well done and thanks for the effort!

[@anvarito6226]

даже как то жалко в конце стало что вся эта красота взрывается

[@aliuyar3419]

Great piece of engineering.

[@benyes3607]

so much work put into one torpedo just for it to be shot to be either hit or miss

[@rayhilchey6706]

At last. I have looked for this information for years ever since reading how PT boat torpedo's would run hot if they didn't launch out of the tubes immediately and the crew needed to use sledge hammers to get them into the water.

[@4thforcon426]

Crazy amount of technology, engineering and labor to just blow apart or sink. The ocean has to be littered with these museum quality artifacts.

[@tommyfred6180]

that's unlikely mate. they will have all blown up by now. the TNT of the day destabilized into DNT quite readily and DNT hates to be at pressure. it heats up and goes bang. it also reacts badly to salt if i remember correctly. also the gain was not very stable stuff. same with the booster. so all in all they've all gone boom one way or the other. if someone dose find one surviving it would probably be a really bad idea to go say hello. :)

[@vincentchaza8111]

My internet connection is so slow. Cudnt dwnlod this wonderful technology video.

[@nuassul]

Impresionate el ingenio para hacer que algo así de complejo funcione a principios del siglo XX

[@karoltakisobie6638]

That is a lot of mechanism inone tube. It must have taken a lot of trial and error to get them all working reliably. Great animation as always.

[@DFX2KX]

yes, it did. And many models where far from reliable, well into the modern era.

[@nicknak112]

Don't want to forget the engine oil reservoir, got to keep this bad boy maintained for its long life...

[@dogsbd]

I would guess this to be one of the most technologically advanced devices of it's time. Certainly for the amount of technology crammed into one small package.

[@benriley-smith4729]

Awesome design

[@chasebh89]

never realized how complicated and expensive torpedos were

[@derkach7907]

The music just doesn't fit right.

[@SitioLumbia]

Pls. Do a Flak 88 video, it would be nice. As usual, great video ; a Masterpiece

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Your avatar is offensive.

[@Ryba125]

@@Surv1ve_Thrive "Offensive" is a trigger word for me. Please delete your comment.

[@leona_luna_556]

@@Surv1ve_Thrive nah I don't think so buddy.it looks so cool and badass to me

[@s.sestric9929]

@@leona_luna_556 "Who won the bloody war anyway?" kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5fPZ3-raN2EjZI&feature=emb_logo

[@victorboucher675]

Do you have a Mk 14 ... with all the failure issues? This was really great!

[@ritwikg2818]

Your works are great

[@wonniewarrior]

I never thought of it till now, but have trawlers or divers ever founded underwater unexploded torpedos that sunk after a missed run ? Would those torpedos still be live ?

[@vbbsmyt]

Handsome. The warhead main charge would still be dangerous, however these generally need a detonator and booster / gaine charge to detonate them. Torpedoes with electrically fired detonators short out their batteries at end of run, so would be reasonably safe (a relative term), but torpedoes with a mechanical fuse, such as used in the Bliss -Leavitt Mk 7, Brennan, Howell and early Whiteheads could be lethal if disturbed or knocked when armed. On the plus side, the detonators could degrade over the years in salt water and the mechanisms silt up with mud or sand. Would you want to take the risk? Rob

[@blok_pitaniya_460_watt]

серьезный агрегат!!! механизм довольно сложный, даже автомат удержания курса есть!!!

[@TonyLovell]

Amazing, Rob!

[@vbbsmyt]

Thanks.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

These things were the cruise missiles of their day.

[@joek6791]

Good job

[@thotexterminator5239]

imagine working hard at the engineering at this torpedo only to be used as a bomb and blown up, what a fascinating invention it is

[@76629online]

Hard to believe that these things were engineered more than 100 years ago - before the spaces that the engineers occupied were even air-conditioned.

[@chatter2765]

Hey, I just want to say that I've been a fan of your works ever since your video about Maxim Gun. I just thought that this channel isn't alive anymore but I was dead wrong, so here I am expressing my appreciation by a simple comment, and a subscription to your channel, as I recently rediscovered it. I wish I could be one of your Patreon but I ain't got anything. Cheers to your production. And if there's something wrong with my English, whoops. It isn't my mother language. Oh, btw, I'm in college picking MS mechanical engineering. Suffice to say, you're one of the people who influenced me to become one. -Ashy Jo

[@vbbsmyt]

Ashy Jo. Thank you for your comments and subscription. I make these animations as a hobby - I like finding out how things work, and find the mechanisms of the 'Victorian Age' fascinating - all the calculations were done by hand and drawings on paper - the engineers of those times really knew their stuff. I can usually only make one animation every 5-6 weeks, and this is getting harder as I cannot get out to do the research. Good luck with the college course. Rob

[@finnasaven]

What a great job!

[@dp-sr1fd]

British engineer Robert Whitehead invented the first self propelled torpedo that could run at a pre-set depth in 1866. Further developments like the Obry gyroscope invented by an Austrian naval officer in1898 improved it further. It certainly came a long way in a short time.

[@buttersstotch7981]

This is very important part for every college and high school student 1:41

[@joaquinmunozmeschke1919]

Nice! guess il build one and bring it to college tomorow.

[@vasiliygulakov]

So there are plenty of ARMED torpedoes lying on the seafloor... Thanks, it makes me feel much easier...

[@rcsavo]

It's insane what kind of complex shit people can come up with just to kill each other.

[@oldschoolfoil2365]

Love the pants pooping explosions these animation have towards the end 6:41

[@carloscrowcrow8799]

Nossa!!!!!!!! impressionante muito engenharia neste projeto.

[@ditzydoo4378]

Bliss-Leavitt Mk7, a torpedo done by a company so right. Just before the US Navy's Bureau of Ordnance did their Mark-14 so incredibly wrong.

[@nezircaglar2381]

so sophisticated..like a guided missile..

[@hughmc6986]

would love to see the mark 18! thanks

[@oceanhome2023]

Remember that they were so complex and expensive to produce in the USA that very few were actually tested so US torpedos were defective until late 1943 only then did the subs start sinking ships

[@Ashley161-o7]

I never thouht that a torpedo was so complex, I tought it was just an engine and a lot of tnt.....

[@carlospampillon6238]

Excellent!!!

[@thelurker43]

Pretty wild how much time and energy is put into destroying life

[@MrSabram07]

Wow just wow

[@bowmanzz1]

Can you imagine the dud rate? All those mechanical subsystems that weren't made in the factory just right by some dude in overalls by hand. If something was warped because something was too cold. man. to think!

[@vbbsmyt]

By 1914, let alone 1916, precision mass production engineering processes were well established (especially in the USA) , so your concept of hand made mechanisms is way way out of date. Each torpedo would be run several times to calibrate it before issue to the fleet, so the number of ‘duds’ from mechanical causes would be minimal. And torpedoes are designed to operate in cold sea water. Please think before posting.

[@bowmanzz1]

@@vbbsmyt thinking like a systems engineer. What about the Mark XIII?

[@bowmanzz1]

You know the bombs and torpedoes dropped and released during the attack on pearl harbor had a 60% dud rate?

[@herrkonstantin1518]

First of all, nice video. Torpedos are quite complex and yet so simple. Also, the music reminds me of the game Omori at certain times.

[@DIYRetro]

you have talent, nice if you would do an episode about the v2 rocket and its guidance system, cheers :)

[@ranierivalentini9266]

Fantastic!👏👏👏

[@gates531]

First torpedo to look like a freaking cigarette on the first glance

[@Fourth4Element]

Instant like for the strange music

[@TheMusic0nly]

The best! Thanks!

[@richardalvarado3759]

Jamás pensé que ese mecanismo fuese tan complicado.

[@964cuplove]

Truly great animation, now you should cooperate with drachinifel and let him explain the displayed functionality instead of the „elevator music“

[@SkyCharter]

Wonder how many of these are laying about the sea floor scuttled and armed.

[@gandalfwiz20007]

That's 1916 technology? pretty advanced for the time...

[@bulgaroid1545]

Благодаря )) Tenks.

[@trevorwest1357]

I always thought it was a giant tube of tnt

[@annyferreira8666]

Lol

[@centlaz1678]

If the engineer who invent this thing will be offered to leave again in this century i can’t imagine what he will update in his creation

[@peters972]

Surprising it took so long to develop the jet engine after looking at some of these components from 1916. However, technology transfer is much faster theses days.

[@reissner1967]

So, are all the torpedos that missed, lying on the ocean floor LIVE ? ? ?

[@vbbsmyt]

Just when you thought it safe to go back in the water ....

[@kamilfejtek81]

Thank you so much, I am from China and looking for new ideas, haha.

[@leonardjoseph3152]

impressive engineering in 1916

[@pjfisher6964]

damn the torpedo... music so groovy

[@jurgenhelgen212]

SPECTACULAR vídeo !!!! JH 🇩🇰

[@mirecporubiak6743]

amazing

[@DFX2KX]

you know, if you took one of these and ditched the warhead/added some basic controls, you'd have a hella fun snorkeling scooter...

[@muhamadsayyidabidin3906]

Basically recreational kaiten

[@wagnerfelix2100]

Muito Bom Parabéns

[@rfmonkey4942]

wunderbar !