The Mark 27 torpedo was the first of the United States Navy 19-inch (48-cm) submarine-launched torpedoes.[2] This electrically-propelled torpedo was 125 inches (3.175 m) long and weighed 1174 pounds (534 kg).[2] The torpedo employed a passive acoustic guidance system and was intended for both submarine and surface targets.[2] Nicknamed "Cutie" [3] by submarine crews, the Mark 27 entered service in 1943 as a defensive weapon.[4] The torpedo was classified as obsolete in the 1960s.[2]
The Mark 27 was essentially a Mark 24 mine which had been modified for submarine launching in a 21-inch (53 cm) submerged torpedo tube by the addition of 1" (25 mm) wooden guide studs mounted on the torpedo's outer shell.[1][5]
The Mark 27 Mod 4 torpedo was designed by the Ordnance Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University in 1946 as an improved version of the Mark 27 torpedo.[1]
Fully compatible with electrical setting fire control systems through the use of the standard 65-pin umbilical cable, this weapon was in service on submarines for about ten years. It was withdrawn from service use in 1960 with the introduction of the Mark 37 torpedo.[citation needed]
Kurak, Steve (September 1966). "The U. S. Navy's Torpedo Inventory". United States Naval Institute Proceedings. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
