18-inch Mark XV Torpedo

18-inch Mk.XV

Information

Aerial / Ship-launched TorpedoType

Britain County of Origin

General Characteristics

45 cmDiameter

5.26 mLength

817 kgMass

TorpexExplosive Type

247 kgExplosive Mass

395.2 kgTNT Equivalent

61 km/hMax Speed

3.2 kmMax Range

50 mArming Distance

Aerial Specific Characteristics

0 - 443 km/hDrop Speed Range

0 - 122 mDrop Altitude Range

Torpedo Mode

54 km/hMax Speed

5 kmMax Range

Description

The 18-inch Mark XV, or simply Mark XV, is a British torpedo. It is used as both an aerial torpedo on some torpedo bombers and as a ship launched torpedo on some Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs).

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Firecrest
• Firebrand TF Mk IV
• Wyvern S4
• Fairmile D (697)
• Fairmile D (5001)

General info

The Mark XV is a mid-war torpedo. It was deigned for both aerial use and use on torpedo boats. Being an aerial torpedo it is smaller than the 21 inch (53.3 mm) torpedoes designed exclusively for use on ships.

The naval version of the torpedo has an optional "Torpedo Mode" modification which increases the range from 3.2 km to 5 km, but reduces the speed by 7 kph, bringing it to 54 kph.

Effective damage

The increased warhead size compared to the Mark XII, means that the it is capable of killing just about any player controlled ships with a single hit. It is sometimes possible for some cruisers to survive a hit from a Mark XV, but this is rare.

Comparison with analogues

Compared to the earlier Mark XII torpedo the Mark XV is slower but has a much more powerful warhead (more than twice the size).

Usage in battles

When dropped from aircraft the MArk XV has a much better speed range than the Mark XII, being able to be dropped at speeds up to 443 kph (compared to 281 kph), however the max drop altitude is only marginally improved to 122 m.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Large warhead for a 45 cm torpedo
• Better airdrop characteristics than the Mark XII

Cons:

• Slower than the Mark XII

History

The Mark XV entered service in 1942 with the Fleet Air Arm, RAF Coastal Command and Royal Navy. It was the first 18-inch torpedo to use Torpex (short for torpedo explosive) instead of TNT. Torpex is 50% more powerful than TNT by mass.

Media

An excellent addition to the article would be a video guide, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Wikipedia] British 18-inch torpedo