Toothless Tiger: USS Cod’s Submarine Exercise Torpedoes!

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[@bloodworthmagic]

I was a sonarman aboard the Daniel Webster ssbn in the late seventies. Coming out of dry dock after a conversion, We have not yet requallified to carry mark 48 torpedo's. I was told there was a law that a u s ship could not put to sea without a means of defense. So we carried one mark fourteen torpedo. I was told that the weapon's log book which travels with the weapon and records its history, indicated It was present at the battle of the coral sea in World War 2.

[@paulfarace9595]

Well not likely in an unaltered condition. Torpedoes were frequently rebuilt and upgraded and certainly were since early WWII.

[@anthonycordovano2438]

Paul, you crack me up with your off hand comments, innuendos and inside jokes. As a former submariner they are hilarious. A fish in the bellie of a puddle pirate might give them pause!

[@earlyriser8998]

This is why I contributed to COD museum

[@USSCod]

Thank you both!

[@chrismaverick9828]

Looking at that cutaway makes one marvel at just how incredible the manufacturing and design of weapons were back then, the analog versions of things we can do with twenty pounds of electronics and motors. The Mark-14 would have been spectacularly deadly throughout the war and likely would have made it at least six months shorter. What BUORD did to the torpedo, Captains, Crews, and Navy as a whole should have resulted in a whole bunch of court marshals and declared a war crime.

[@paulfarace9595]

Can't argue with that 😢.

[@cmcb7230]

I toured the USS Pasadena and saw the orange practice torpedo had a phone number stenciled on it and something that said “reward if found.” I called the number to see how much the reward was, but it went to the answering machine of the Quarter Deck in Groton CT.

[@zxggwrt]

Thank you for protecting us from Canada!

[@dennisfariello4852]

"All of the Mark 14 war shots were war-shotted and blew up" Well, that was one of the main problems with the Mk 14, that they WOULDN'T blow up!

[@paulfarace9595]

But sadly the Japanese refused to return them...😢

[@JoshuaTootell]

They returned the Type 93 instead. How nice of them ​@@paulfarace9595

[@BB12659]

U-505, in Chicago, as my dad used to tell it had one of the original crew members giving tours. I'm so happy that Paul has all that knowledge to share and pass along. He may not have been part of the crew, but he knows his boat, no doubt. Thanks, Paul.

[@1SemperDad]

Had the opportunity of firing a MK14 exercise sometime in the late 70s. Cantankerous old thing. Had to exercise the gyro daily so that it didn't seize up. I also seem to recall dropping in a few dye-packs into the exercise section as to help to relocate after fire. Once the run was over, the torpedo would blow ballast and the dye would go out as well. I also seem to recall that the torpedo would float in a vertical orientation after it's run.

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes I'm sorry I didn't mention the dye in the head. And depending on various things it likely could stand vertically. I'm told most were slightly angled upwards. Pity the recovery swimmers.

[@oldtugs]

No need to feel sorry for the swimmer. I was that guy when we worked out of Guantanamo Bay supplying "ping time" for destroyer training. Torpedo recovery was a great chance for a swim (and a bath) and the regs called for a miniature of brandy after coming back aboard.

[@thejohnbeck]

Paul must be happy the snow is gone

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes I am😂

[@crazyguy32100]

I imagine the practice shot Mk14s were about as effective in the early part of the war as the fully loaded ones.

[@paulfarace9595]

Sadly, they gave no clue as to the issues facing warshots.

[@JV-pu8kx]

"A big bunch of boom in there." 😂

[@connorkilgour3374]

No working torpedo's eh? That means us here on the Henry have nothing to worry about haha.

[@paulfarace9595]

We can fire coconuts 🥥 from the deck gun!!!

[@perpetualgrin5804]

Just visited the Bowfish at Pearl Harbour, seemed much longer than the German U-boot I visited near Keil. Great to see😅.

[@paulfarace9595]

The US Navy fleet subs are substantially bigger than the Type 7 you visited in Kiel.

[@perpetualgrin5804]

@@paulfarace9595 So true, did my research about 100ft longer. My obsession with Subs continues .

[@glocke380]

"What's the difference of the mark V?" It blows up when it hits something.

[@paulfarace9595]

Please clarify 😮

[@glocke380]

@@paulfarace9595 I meant Mod 5. sorry

[@pizzaivlife]

@@paulfarace9595 the mark 14 torpedoes were notorious for failing to fire- they would often thud into something, and then that was the end of it. Drachfinafel did a video on it a while back

[@nigelterry9299]

Love "A Big Bunch of Boom!!!!"

[@terryrogers6232]

Single tone whistling sounds do not aid in location and recovery if the detection equipment is a person.

[@illiaflannery7312]

Great video as usual. the talk of torpedoes has me wondering if you could do a video talking about rearming a submarine. I've struggled to find ay info about the procedure for replenishing USN sub's stocks of torpedoes whether from submarine tenders or tied alongside peers. I imagine sub tenders might be beyond the scope of this channel but more info about them out in the world would also be very cool.

[@paulfarace9595]

Your post is basically an outline for us for three consecutive programs. In the future!!! We try to do one per week... we're not like to run out of subjects for years to come 😮

[@illiaflannery7312]

@@paulfarace9595 great to hear. I'll look forward to them one day

[@robp7652]

@@paulfarace9595Pretty please let’s hear about this. I promise not to watch Ryan on Sat or Sunday !!! Lol

[@avgjoeavglife]

I love the USS Cod and this channel, Paul is so funny.

[@andrewd.1113]

How do you heat the Cod during the Winter; and how do you keep her cool in the Summer ? Also how do you keep the Cod dehumidified in damp weather? Very good Video. Please keep them coming!

[@paulfarace9595]

Cod is cold iron in winter, to reduce moisture and prevent corrosion. In summer we use the ship's supply blower ventilation system and supplemental compartment fans (her shipboard air conditioning plant is not operatiobal). Thankfully our moderate weather and lake water berth mean we don't suffer the extremes very often. Glad you enjoy the channel!

[@Panguinguy]

Love watching your videos and seeing your white NB’s. I wear them, my dad wore them. My Kids call them Grandpa shoes😂

[@paulfarace9595]

Indeed they are dad/grandpa shoes!

[@charinabarcillo9160]

As you dont wear them with black socks and shorts

[@jeffsr8300]

Thank you for a Great presentation.👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@oldtugs]

That device is not a whistle, it is the valve that supplies air pressure to the exercise head and blows the water out of the valve at the bottom at the end of a run when air flask pressure drops to around 500 pounds or so. Maybe it makes a whistling noise when opened but it is definitely not a location whistle.

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes. That's what the manual says ... my information came from a recovery swimmer... so he interpreted it as a whistle😂. I thought it was likely not quite accurate but it made for an interesting discussion. I hoped some torpedoman would provide the straight information! Why does it need a top valve? To prevent over-pressurizing the exercise head?

[@oldtugs]

The "top valve" is connected to the air flask and supplies the air needed to empty the head and make the torpedo float. When flask pressure is above around 500 psig it is closed. When it senses a differential between external sea pressure and flask pressure below about 500 psig it opens and discharges air into the head. That valve with all the holes in the bottom of the head opens when head pressure exceeds sea pressure and the ballast water blows out making the torpedo buoyant and floating head upward.

[@paulfarace9595]

Great information!

[@donchaput8278]

I think the lead is to orient the training torpedo correctly in the water, especially when the ballast is blown out to surface it. The main payload probably resides in the same location on a live one.

[@paulfarace9595]

Checked the manual (an insane act for us guys) and warheads had lead in the keel too... but it was located against the aft end of the warhead and not against the front or nose like an exercise head.

[@gregoryhumphrey2831]

Please provide greater detail of the incident with CCGS Alexander Henry

[@wfoj21]

I think he has mentioned that ship before. Using that ships Wiki page it is 500 miles NW - near Minnesota. - ......

[@paulfarace9595]

Watch our recent program on depth charge light bukbs... you'll see first hand the Infamy of that ice breaker!😅

[@joes8087]

great video can you make one going over a typical torpedo attack like how there loaded, aimed and fired id also love i video going over your working TDC

[@paulfarace9595]

In the works.

[@rfarevalo]

Great video.

[@ghost307]

Do you happen to have any video of loading your display torpedoes onboard the sub? I've seen the various hatches and such, but I'd like to the see the actual operation of getting the fish from the deck to the storage locations in the torpedo room.

[@USSCod]

We do! It will be uploaded in the future.

[@ghost307]

@@USSCod Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[@stevewindisch7400]

She should get credit for destroying O-19 too :) Would only be another 1,100 tons, though.

[@robertwikeljr-1522]

Just a guess as to weight in "warhead" area - possibly to keep light, smoke, whistle facing up if surfaced in semi horizontal position ?

[@paulfarace9595]

Lead block on the bottom keeps it upright.

[@adotare9180]

I mean, do you really have to do anything special to get a Mark 14 to run deep and not blow up though.

[@paulfarace9595]

You're cruel 😢... and correct 😅

[@danlewis9304]

Great video!!!! 👍👍👍

[@rwdavidoff]

Ryan Szimanski over at New Jersey is always talking about going into new spaces on his ship for the first time. As a smaller boat, is there anywhere on your boat you _haven't_ gone you physically can?

[@chrismaverick9828]

The ballast tanks? Not the easiest to get into but physically possible.

[@paulfarace9595]

I have been inside all the tanks but a good sampling of them. Yes it's the good side if a small ship... no surprises!

[@shaider1982]

Mk14, because, according to Drach, failure is like an onion: it has many layers.

[@paulfarace9595]

Great quote from Alex!

[@chrismaverick9828]

Still the best story of the Mk14 out there. His accent and dry wit are pretty much the only thing calming the listener down from the rage they will naturally feel as the story is revealed.

[@randyogburn2498]

Could Cod still flood a tube & opem her outer door if you wanted to? Not to mention generate the air pressure to shoot a fish.

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes we can do that and have opened our tubes on several occasions. But we use our compressed air for engine starts and horn operations.

[@Trlthericklang]

Paul. Can we get a video about the last time the time the Cods engine ran?

[@paulfarace9595]

Why the last time? How about the next time? 😮 Our engine restoration program will be covered in future episodes.

[@Trlthericklang]

Oh goody!

[@brianperry843]

I toured the Becuna in Philadelphia years ago. Veteran torpedoman at his station explained the torpedos used alcohol for fuel. I asked about sailors using some of that alcohol for consumption. He admitted it was done, mixing it with pineapple juice. He said if a sub sailor didn’t drink torpedo juice he didn’t serve on a sub. Anyone serve as a torpedoman want to comment on this?

[@paulfarace9595]

We will on a future program.

[@anthonylowder6687]

Do you have any videos of that depth charge attack from that Canadian ship?

[@Russojap2]

WOW! 3000 psi sounds crazy scary... 😮😬😂

[@the_lost_navigator]

This is Canada calling... what's that about the CCGS Henry A? Please elaborate?

[@paulfarace9595]

We are blaming them for an unprovoked (well maybe slightly provoked) depth charge attack several weeks ago during our depth charge light bulb program.

[@paulfarace9595]

BTW ... a Canada's representative... please send a case of maple syrup to us for our upcoming pancake breakfast and get a periscope for HMCS Ojibwa😂😂😂

[@dw3897]

Just wondering, since there appears to be open voids inside the torpedo that I would assume are at atmospheric (sea level) pressure. Once the torpedo tube was flooded in would be under the pressure of the surrounding water. Was there a limit in depth which they could be fired?

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes the impulse air limited firing depth. But what fish was accurate if fired from below 100 feet in this era?

[@WolfdogKitok]

There are old videos of Cods diesels running can they still run and do they still tun?

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes...we returned all five to operable condition. We leave the two mains in the forward room alone. The three in the after room have been run. The nextvtimecwecrun them they will be recorded with high-def gear I promise!

[@NoewerrATall]

@@paulfarace9595 Ooo, yes, please!

[@pedenharley6266]

Can an otherwise operational torpedo with an inert warhead punch a hole in a steel hulled ship just through kinetic energy?

[@paulfarace9595]

Ask the Japanese 😂... many a maru returned home with dud torpedoes sticking out of their sides.

[@HootOwl513]

What percentage of alcohol [ABV, Proof] was used as torpedo propellant? I knew a Marine SBD pilot [my Dad's friend] who said on Guadalcanal -- while getting shelled by the IJN, they used to get bombed thenselves with a cocktail of Torpedo Fluid and Dole Pinapple juice.

[@paulfarace9595]

A subject for a future program ...

[@HootOwl513]

@@paulfarace9595 It had to be the Primordial Tiki Drink. I wonder if BuWeps had switched to Methanol in mid '43, if the Mark 14's score would have gone up -- along with a rash of suddenly-blinded old Chiefs?

[@chrismaverick9828]

The Soviets has to go to extensive lengths with the coolant of the MiG-25 Foxbat to prevent the ground crews from swiping some when the vodka ran dry at remote bases. Because of the Mach2.5+ design of the airframe and the vacuum tube electronics they had to use pure alcohol to cool things down.

[@HootOwl513]

@@chrismaverick9828 I saw that on a KZbin presentation. While Vacuum Tube electronics [Fluid State] may seem archaic in the West, they do not have the foible that Solid State electronics have under an EMP burst.

[@williamcooper126]

hook up 20 psi air to the whistle to hear it simple connection to do

[@paulfarace9595]

But I don't want to disconnect the unit... what if something breaks!?😢

[@rfarevalo]

Yes. Historians try to handle artifacts as infrequently as possible to prevent damage. Perhaps another boat has a broken or corroded practice torpedo that already has damaged fittings. @@paulfarace9595

[@oldtugs]

It is a valve, not a whistle.

[@fishua5564]

I think you nailed it. The lead was probably there to keep it upright so the recovery aids were pointing up.

[@rfarevalo]

The torpedos were recovered at near vertical angles in the water. That means the nose was up and the tail was down. So it is debatable if the lead weight was to keep the recovery aids pointed up (as they would be pointing sideways or horizontal with the ocean). More than likely, the lead is to trim the torpedo and simulate the weight of the warhead for accuracy of firing exercises. As Paul mentioned it is likely that the real warhead enabled torpedos had similar weights in the nose.

[@tomhenry897]

Like to know more how the torpedo was programmed

[@paulfarace9595]

Coming!

[@paulfarace9595]

A future program!

[@thejohnbeck]

Pun name Declawed Cod, or Declod

[@dwaltjj]

How many torpedoes did the Cod carry when it went out on a patrol?

[@paulfarace9595]

24 full size fish.

[@richardh3540]

What is the ring on the nose of the torpedoe?

[@ghost307]

Check the video about 12:30.

[@paulfarace9595]

For locking the loading cap in place and for recovering the fish after firing.

[@michael-dm2bv]

What keeps the torpedo tube water tight?❤❤

[@paulfarace9595]

Tiny rubber gasket rings. They're about 1.5 inches thick by 0.75 inches deep and 25 inches in diameter. But the actual sealing contact is thinner than a soda straw.

[@bigsarge2085]

⚓️

[@gjs9871]

How do torpedos get loaded

[@paulfarace9595]

In the works!

[@1SemperDad]

On my boat (SSBN 657) we were still using block and tackle. If we were underway and submerged, we could ask the Diving Officer for a couple of degrees of up or down angle a a little "assist".

[@kanrakucheese]

Mark 14 torpedoes exploding? What kind of nonsense is that?

[@shaider1982]

🤣 well, it got more explody after it got fixed but, yeah, was close to useless at the start of the war, no thanks.to the USN Bureau of ordnance