Hello all:

I'm going through "Naval Weapons of WWII" by John Campbell,
published by Conway Maritime Press -2002, and under
Homing Torpedoes, pages 264/265, mention is made of the developmentof an improved T5, but nowhere can I find that the T5
was ever wire-guided.

However, on page 265 under the title "Lerche" mention is made of
"the development in 1942 by AEG and experimental runs were made in 1944. It was apparently in one U-boat for tests at the end of the war, but its success was not certain. Much of the gear was captured by the Russians."

"The orders for the movement of the hydrophone (in the nose) disconnecting the torpedo gyro and port and starboard rudder for
any length of time, were transmitted at different frequencies to
frequency-sensitive relays so that a single wire carried data and
orders to the torpedo. The wire was paid out from the torpedo and from the firing U-boat."

I have a problem with launching a wire-guided a 20.9" diameter T5, from a U-boat. As we all know, a large "piston" was loaded into the torpedo tube behind the torpedo, in order to prevent the impulse air bubble from reaching the surface.


There had to be a reel or drum in the torpedo and on the inside or
outside of the torpedo tube's breech door, for the guidance wire. If this was the case, how did the guidance wire pass through the large "piston" at the rear of the tube? The answer may be found in the following paragraph......

On page 264, under the title "T10 Spinne" the following statement is made: "A standard electric torpedo (was) modified for wire guidance and developed from 1942 for coast defence. Total weight was 1620kg (3571#) and range 5000m (5470 yds) at 30 knots. Steel wire 0.010in diameter, with insulation which reduced the specific gravity to a little over 1, was used with 5000m (5470 yds) in a fixed coil, the lightly-greased turns unwinding from the inside like a ball of string and paying out through a tube which kept the wire clear of the propellors. About 200 were made and first issued in the summer of 1944, but results were apparently dubious."

Does anyone have any additional info on wire-guided T5 torpedoes?

Any help will be appreciated,

ROBERT M.