Mark XIV Torpedo Case Study

Abstract

The U.S. Navy submarine force entered World War II with a defective primary weapon system, the Mark XIV Torpedo. It was developed in the mid 1920s, but was never adequately tested developmentally or operationally prior to entering full-rate production. After the inception of hostilities, submarine commanders reported multiple problems with malfunctioning torpedoes. This case study presents the Mark XIV's developmental history, initial combat performance, and the 21-month effort to find and remedy the three root causes that were significantly degrading the torpedo's combat effectiveness. The study subsequently analyzes the derived lessons learned in requirements development, developmental testing, and operational testing.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 26, 2011
Accession Number
ADA550699

Entities

People

  • David F. Matthews

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boats
  • Business Administration
  • Case Studies
  • Lessons Learned
  • Logistics
  • Management Personnel
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Organizational Structure
  • Public Policy
  • Second World War
  • Ships
  • Students
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Undersea Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace Test and Evaluation
  • Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.