WEAPONS OF WAR
A vital Royal Navy weapon in the Cold War was designed to clear the seas, but could it have risen to the task? John Ash profiles the Mk.24 Tigerfish torpedo
“Conqueror became only the second of three post-World War Two submarines to sink a warship in anger… There was just one catch: Tigerfish lay unused in its torpedo racks”
It was May 2, 1982, and the submarine HMS Conqueror was about to change the course of the Falklands conflict. The ARA General Belgrano and its escorts posed little challenge for Conqueror, the submarine carrying several wire-guided Tigerfish torpedoes. It fired a salvo of three weapons, with two ‘fish’ striking the cruiser hard. She sank with 323 of her crew and the ripples from the attack resonated through the Argentine Navy, forcing its surface assets back to port for the duration of the campaign.
Conqueror became only the second of three post-World War Two submarines to sink a warship in anger and remains the sole nuclear-powered submarine to sink an enemy combatant. There was just one catch… Tigerfish lay unused in Conqueror’s torpedo racks. The boat’s captain and weapons officer placed their trust …
