GB1497040A - Method and device for the acoustic steering of torpedoes to a target - Google Patents

Abstract

1497040 Automatic control FRIED KRUPP GmbH ATLAS-ELEKTRONIK BREMEN 5 Dec 1967 [24 Dec 1966] 55362/67 Heading G3N A method of steering a submarine torpedo towards a target in which the bearing of the target is taken acoustically by a position finder placed either at the torpedo or at the station from which the torpedo is launched and in which the steering is corrected according to the position values obtained by the acoustical bearing of the target, is characterized in that the speed of the torpedo is reduced from time to time during the run of the torpedo and that the position values obtained by the position finder during the periods of reduced speed are used for correction of the steering. Owing to the noise emitted by a torpedo when it is travelling fast, the range of target detection by the torpedo is very limited, but by providing the reduced speed intervals, this disadvantage is overcome. As shown in Fig. 1, a torpedo driven by a motor 4 is steered by means (not shown) controlled by acoustic signals derived from the scanning of a directional receiver 3 mounted on the torpedo head 1 and having a search characteristic 2. The steering may be according to a dog curve Fig. 5 (not shown) or proportional navigation procedure Fig. 6 (not shown). The periods of reduced torpedo speed are obtained by a changeover switch 5 which is moved from the maximum speed position in which the voltage U 1 is applied to the motor 4 to the position shown in which a reduced voltage U 2 is applied to the motor. The switch 5 is controlled by a cam 8 driven by a motor 9, the speed of this motor being varied by a switch 10 having a contact a 1 movable between a position of maximum voltage U 4 and the position shown of lower voltage U 5 . Contact a 1 is controlled by a relay A and the latter is energized by the receiver 3 immediately a target is detected so that the contact moves from the slow to the high speed position, a holding contact a 2 maintaining the contact a 1 in that position whereby motor 9 continues to operate at the high speed. A relay B energized by the receiver 3 operates with a time delay caused by circuit C, R to move a contact b 1 to the maximum voltage U position so that with increasing signal-to-noise ratio the length of the reduced speed periods of the motor 4 is reduced and also the extent of the speed reduction is reduced. A contact 13 synchronizes the movement of the cam 8 with the receiver 3 to ensure that the commencement of a low speed period coincides with the search characteristic 2 being at one of its two limit positions.