Re: Fun Fact
The other weapon Wreford-Brown had available was the wire-guided Mark 24 Tigerfish. It is unclear whether he picked the Mark VIII** for its bigger warhead for attacking a WW2-era armoured target, or for general distrust of the Marconi-developed Mark 24, which at that time had a reputation for not working properly on account of being unfinished.
On the way back from the Falklands the RN fired five Tigerfish torpedoes at a static target hulk. 2 failed to function, 3 missed. One sees why the Mark VIII** was the favourite for shooting at a surface ship.
Incidentally, the American Mk48 torpedo in it's original incarnation was also incapable of hitting a surface target. Both torpedoes were designed to hit submarines to be fair, so they might have been a bit more useful at doing that, but making submarines as targets is a bit expensive.
The limitation was well known, which is why the RN was carrying the MkVIII** in the first place, which was later replaced with the sub launched Harpoon missile, and still later replaced with the Spearfish torpedo.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
