Comments by "Vikki McDonough" (@vikkimcdonough6153) on "USS Vestal - Guide 356" video.

  1. "Physician, heal thyself." - USS Vestal, December 1941
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  2. One often hears it said that the Mk. 6 exploder's use of a firing pin that travelled perpendicularly to the direction of the host torpedo's motion was a design flaw, as it meant that impact forces could jam the firing pin against the side of its housing. However, looking at the reports of the Allied Technical Mission to Japan immediately postwar, specifically those regarding Japanese torpedo technology, it looks like the exploder used on the Japanese oxygen torpedoes (such as the Type 93 and Type 95) also used a firing pin perpendicular to the direction of torpedo motion. Given that impact force is proportional to speed (and impact energy is proportional to the square of speed), and that a Long Lance travels much faster than a Mk. 14, why were jammed firing pins essentially a nonissue for Japanese torpedoes but a massive problem for slower American torpedoes?
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