Item Description
Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind. Here we have a fantastic piece of WWII and U.S. Navy history: the gyroscope for a WWII Mark 14 Torpedo, along with a treasure trove of original design plans, schematics, and other documents.
The Mk14 was the main torpedo used by U.S. Navy Submarines for most of the war, which was subsequently in service for decades afterwards. It was a "wet-heater" design torpedo propelled by alcohol and a steam turbine, and the gyroscope was a critical piece of the design, responsible for correcting the effects of turbulence in the water so that the aim remained true.
The gyroscope is a highly complex piece of equipment, measuring12"L x 11"W x 8"H, and weighing in close to 30 lbs. It has numerous components and adjustments, and is made of mostly non magnetic components. It is attached to a small base plate with some modern hex bolts.
We cannot be sure, but as far as we can tell all of the included plans and schematics deal with the massive number of components for the gyroscope. Many are too large to scan and too curled to be able to photograph, but they are all original and have WWII dates on them. These are most likely from the many revisions that the Mark 14 had to go through during WWII to make it a design that actually functioned well, as when originally fielded in the early days of WWII, it performed very poorly. It took almost two years during the war to iron out all of the problems with the system.
The plans are printed / drawn on a variety of different types of paper, and some may be memeographs of original plans. The condition varies quite widely due to the conditions they must have seen over the years, as well as the material they are made of. Some roll up nicely and are clear, while others show significant crumbling / tearing of the edges and degradation of the printed material. They do not look to have been stored properly, most likely having sat in an attic for decades.
This would make a fantastic display piece as well as a great engineering research project for the motivated collector. A great piece of U.S. Naval history, ready to add to your collection!
Mark 14 Torpedo
The Mark 14 torpedo was the United States Navy's standard submarine-launched anti-ship torpedo of World War II. This weapon was plagued with many problems which crippled its performance early in the war. It was supplemented by the Mark 18 electric torpedo in the last two years of the war. From December 1941 to November 1943 the Mark 14 and the destroyer-launched Mark 15 torpedo had numerous technical problems that took almost two years to fix. After the fix the Mark 14 played a major role in the devastating blow U.S. Navy submarines dealt to the Japanese naval and merchant marine forces during the Pacific War.
By the end of World War II, the Mark 14 torpedo was a reliable weapon ultimately remaining in service for almost 40 years in the U.S. Navy, and even longer with other navies.
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