| 词条 | G7es torpedo |
| 释义 |
The G7es (T5) "Zaunkönig" ("wren") was an acoustic torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was called the GNAT (German Navy Acoustic Torpedo) by the British. DescriptionThe forerunner of the Zaunkönig was the G7e/T4 Falke, codename "Falcon," which was introduced in March 1943, but only fired by three U-boats by September of that year when the G7es (which was faster, had more range, possessed a magnetic exploder and could also be equipped with a percussion pistol) became available. The torpedo was electric and had an effective range of 5700 metres at a speed of 24 knots (44 km/h). This torpedo employed passive acoustic homing to find its target, becoming active after a straight run of 400 metres. The homing mechanism consisted of two hydrophone receivers which sensed the sound waves of ship propellers and altered the direction of the rudder via an electropneumatic device. There were three variants:
UseThe {{convert|400|m|ft}} limit was employed for safety reasons. However, there were at least two unconfirmed instances of U-boats ({{GS|U-972||2}} in December 1943 and {{GS|U-377||2}} in January 1944) sinking after being hit by their own torpedo. This risk was later mitigated by requiring submarines to dive to {{convert|60|m|ft}} and go completely silent after launching acoustic torpedoes. The first 80 T5's were delivered on 1 August 1943, and the weapon was first used in September. Despite some success, in particular sinking destroyers and corvettes, the Zaunkönig often detonated behind the enemy ship because the acoustic steering was very imprecise. This was particularly evident at its first large-scale use from 20 to 24 September 1943 in the attacks on convoy ON-202. The commanders reported a number of torpedo strikes and recorded the sinking of nine commercial steamers and 12 escort ships after the battle. In fact six merchant ships and three escort vessels, a destroyer, a frigate and a corvette were sunk. A total of 640 TVs were fired in combat, sinking 45 ships. The Zaunkönig was countered by the introduction by the Allies of the Foxer noise maker. The Zaunkönig was nicknamed Zerstörerknacker (destroyer cracker) by the German submariners, as it was especially used against convoy escorts. See also
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|url=http://uboat.net/technical/torpedoes.htm |title=A brief synopsis of German torpedo evolution during World War II |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net }}
1 : World War II torpedoes of Germany |
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