Rigorous torpedo testing was a high-value reform available without hindsight about Pearl Harbor. Reports were already raising questions about performance, and the United States still had time to examine the Mark 14 thoroughly. Realistic trials by the Bureau of Ordnance could have turned those early warnings into evidence before American submarines entered combat. Finding the defects before war would have protected submarine crews and reduced failed attacks during the opening campaigns.
Notable Point · 33:25-34:15
Test the Mark 14 torpedo before America enters the war
Early performance concerns gave the Bureau of Ordnance time to conduct realistic Mark 14 trials before US submarines depended on it in combat.