Force and Cavitation Tests of the MK-26 Torpedo

The Mark 26 Tropedo is an underwater torpedo, electrically driven, 21.035 inches maximum diameter, and 245.875 inches long over-all. This report covers the results of tests made in the Hydrodynamics Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology on scale models of the Mark 26 Torpedo with four different designs of stabilizing fins. Tests in the High Speed Water Tunnel were made to determine the hydrodynamic forces under steady state conditions and to observe the pressure and velocity at which cavitation occurs. No tests were made to determine the damping forces. The tests were authorized by Dr. E. H. Colpitts, Chief of Section 6.1, National Defense Research Committee, in a letter dated October 8, 1943