1950-1954 Commonwealth 21 inch torpedo project

The plan

It was a plan to develop a Commonwealth and [British] Empire wide common torpedo derived from the best of the 21 inch Mark VIII Torpedo and 18 inch Mark XVI torpedo. The Dutch and French had also showed some interest since their native industry had been badly damaged in WW2, but only the Dutch would stay with project to the end. Whilst the torpedo would all be of the same design, except for a few technical differences in the S. African one. Each got a different name so as to confuse Eastern Bloc spies. Canada, S. Africa and Australia would also make there own issues, unlike the rest which would be made in the UK.

Ideas were floating around in the late 1940s and go underway in 1950, but it did not last. The project was put on indefinite hold in 1952 and scrapped in 1954.

It was reportedly to be launched by Submarines, escorts frigates, ASW frigates and ASW aircraft, but no firm decision was ever made on it's actual launch platform.

The participants

Australia\New Zealand\UK

1. Enid (planned 21 inch torpedo)

Canada\UK

1. Eunice (planned 21 inch torpedo)

S. Africa\UK

1. Gloria (planned 21 inch torpedo)

British Empire

UK

1. Victoria (planned 21 inch torpedo)
2. Odette (faked planned 21 inch torpedo)

British colonial authorities in coastal Africa

1. Millicent (planned 21 inch torpedo)

British colonial authorities in the Far East

1. Estelle (planned 21 inch torpedo)

Netherlands\UK

1. Vincent (planned 21 inch torpedo)

France\UK

1. Claudine (planned 21 inch torpedo)

Norway\UK

1. Ingrid (planned 21 inch torpedo)

Abandonment

France left early on and only the Netherlands and Canada were willing to see then British lead project to it's conclusion. Both resources and money was scares at the time. The electric torpedo project failed in the prototype stage and thus not completed.

Also see

1. Steel Fish!\Staal Vis!
2. 21 inch Mark VIII Torpedo
3. 18 inch Mark XVI torpedo

Sources

• UK news papers in the early 1980s.