Q&A · 1:27:07-1:30:38

Rotating submarine torpedo launchers

An external rotating launcher could complicate anti-submarine tactics but creates a formidable engineering problem.

Question

What if K-class submarines retained and developed rotating deck torpedo launchers?

Short answer

It offers tactical flexibility, but the mechanical and hull-design penalties explain why it is not a simple improvement.

Notes

The proposed system would let a submarine fire without pointing its hull directly at the target, widening the uncertainty facing escorts about where the attacker was headed. Paired launchers beside the conning tower could offer broadside fire and unusual engagement geometry. The engineering price would be severe because the mount must remain waterproof, survive depth pressure, fire remotely, and ideally reload from inside the hull. The concept therefore offers tactical flexibility, but pressure-hull integrity, maintenance, and fire-control reliability explain why it was not a simple improvement.