![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() When the Americans adapted to that kind of fighting (Vella Gulf, Cape St. OTOH, as you note, training and tactics for the kind of fighting seen in the Solomons was integral to Japanese success. ![]() I can't dispute that the Type 93 was a potent weapon, with superb speed, range, and striking power. This aspect was directly attributable to the Type 93's prodigiously superior speed versus range performance characteristics. But much of the success of IJN torpedo attacks was a function of USN commanders placing themselves in exposed tactical positions on the basis of a mistaken belief that Japanese torpedoes possessed performance characteristics similar their own USN types. One can argue, with truth, that much of this success was due to the intensive pre-war IJN preparation and training for night combat. The reason more US Battleships were not hit is there were none in any off the surface engagements around Guadalcanal except one, and they got the destroyers in that one.īyron Angel wrote: Two-thirds of warship losses suffered by the Allies in the Solomons campaign came at the hands of the Type 93 Long Lance torpedo. Wasp was sunk and O'Brien sank later under tow, and North Carolina was out of action for several months. Wasp, O'Brien, and North Carolina were all hit by the same spread of type 95 torpedoes. The submarine version scored an impressive success. Indeed, there's some irony that the Type 93 never took any big game aside from USS Hornet, which was already dead/abandoned. It's also notable that for reasons unknown, the Type 93 didn't connect with SoDak at Guadalcanal, in spite of the ship being blind, deaf, and dumb in the words of Admiral Lee. The crews were extensively trained in safe handling and the tubes were given some protection from splinters however, at least a few heavy cruisers were seriously damaged or lost as a result of torpedoes cooking off. Of course, even the Type 93 had its faults, namely in terms of safety. Steve-M wrote:The Type 93 was certainly a potent weapon, so much so that the Allies didn't really realize its potential at first. ![]()
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