What mechanism allows some submarine torpedos to be fired at surface ships and some to be fired underwater?

Question

at other submarines?

Answer 1

The captain

Answer 2

the"adjusting the subs attitude" answer is.er, wrong......

now adays there's two different technologies at work.
a torpedo has its own sonar head that send sound waves; they hit the target ( or a decoy launched by a target) and bounce back; the torp homes in till it either actually hits the target or a magnetic sensor picks up the metal in the target and goes BOOM. On board sonar heads work well against other subs, fairly well against surface targets.

The sonar head can also work passively; not send out a ping, but just listen for and home in on the prop noises of its targets. The Russians have ( supposedly) developed a very long range torpedo that can sense the disturbance left in the water by the wake of a passing ship; follow that disturbance ( called wake-homing) to the source.

This is how most surface, sub surface and especially air-launched ASW torps work.

Torps also can have very thin wires attached to the back;
when the torp is fired the wire spools out from the ship or sub launching it and the torp can then be steered into the target by the launching platform..yes that's right, miles long thin wires trailing behind a torp running at 40 knots........

a far cry from WW2 when you set the angle of the torpedoes course relative to the direction the sub was pointing when you fired it; adjusted the depth for it to run by setting a pressure sensitive switch; lead the target by eye ( periscope) or by feel ( sonar bearings ) and let her fly!.
US torpedoes had major troubles with the depth setting the first two years of the war; they would run deep, pass under the target and not explode.......once we got that cleared up US Subs eliminated the Japanese merchant marine in about 18 months.

Of course in WW2 most attacks were from within 3,000 yards; today you can hear a Russian sub 20 miles (or more!) away and engage from outside of ten......

Answer 3

Torpedos are launched via a tube that essentially gives them a push to get them started.

Older torpedos required that the submarine take an 'attitude' - that is, moved the steering fins to push the front of the sub up and the back down to fire a torpedo toward the surface.

Now, however, torpedos have guidance systems in them, and can be steered toward a general target.

Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpedo for a lot of torpedo information.

Answer 4

First there is hearth extinguishers. sort ABC for all small fires. The rooms in a deliver are compartmentalized so as that sections would be close down one after the different. So the area with the hearth would be closed downThe air would be close right down to those areas. there is likewise overhead sprinklers and automated extinguishers in some areas. Fires on board deliver would be frightening because of the fact there is not any place to pass. On a sub could be even worse with a hearth utilising the oxygen.

Answer 5

no diffrence, the torpedo stays under water. it just depends on which the torpedo locks onto.

Answer 6

It all has to do with the target solution...you shoot where the target is (or where you think it is)...Surfaced or Submerged its all done by a target solution...