| Mark 24 Tigerfish |
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The Mk24-2 Tigerfish torpedo is a heavy Acoustic Homing Torpedo used by the Royal Navy for several years. It has been replaced in service by the much more capable Spearfish Torpedo . It is fitted with both active and passive sonar and can be remotely controlled through a thin wire which connects it to the launching submarine. Early models suffered from poor reliability - only 40% of the Mod 0 ASW model performed as designed. The torpedo depended in large part on the remote control system but the weapon tended to dip during launch, severing the control wire. The Mod 0 failed its initial fleet acceptance trials in 1979 but was nevertheless issued to the fleet in 1980. The Mod 1 anti-ship model also experienced problems, though a redesigned version passed sea trials in 1978 and was issued the following year. When HMS Conqueror sank the ARA General Belgrano during the 1982 Falklands War she used more than 50 year old, but far more reliable, Mark 8 Torpedoes rather than the Tigerfish which she also carried. In a test carried out after the war two of five Mod 1 Tigerfish fired at a target hulk failed to function at all and the remaining three failed to hit the target. A Program by Marconi during the mid-1980s produced the Mod 2 with reliability improved to 80%, which the Navy considered to be satisfactory. by 1987 all 600 Tigerfish were modified to this standard. In 1990 Cardoen of Chile was granted a license to manufacture Tigerfish for the Chilean, Brazilian and Venezuelan navies. The Royal Navy retired the last of the Tigerfish torpedoes from service in February 2004. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
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