Photo showing a US Navy Mark 24 FIDO acoustic homing torpedo just entering the water. The torpedo can be seen beginning its track toward a submerged submarine. Mid-Atlantic, 12 Oct 1943.

Historical Information
Caption     Photo showing a US Navy Mark 24 FIDO acoustic homing torpedo just entering the water. The torpedo can be seen beginning its track toward a submerged submarine. Mid-Atlantic, 12 Oct 1943. ww2dbase
WW2-Era Location Name Atlantic Ocean
Date 12 Oct 1943
Photographer    Unknown
 
Source Information
Source    ww2dbaseUnited States Navy via UBoatArchives
 
Related Content
More on...   
TBF Avenger   Main article  Photos  
Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic   Main article  Photos  
U-402   Main article  Photos  
Card   Main article  Photos  
Mark XXIV   Main article  Photos  
Photos on Same Day 12 Oct 1943
 
Licensing Information
Licensing  Public Domain. According to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government".

Please contact us regarding any inaccuracies with the above information. Thank you.
 
Metadata
Added By David Stubblebine
Photo Size 682 x 526 pixels



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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed David Stubblebine says:
13 Oct 2021 12:24:59 PM

US Navy Lt(jg) Letson “Sam” Balliett piloting a TBF Avenger from USS Card interrupted a refueling operation between German submarines U-488 (“Milchkuh”) and U-402 in the mid-Atlantic. Lt(jg) Balliett approached them to strafe them but both began to crash dive. Switching to a FIDO attack and in order to reduce speed and lose altitude without overshooting the targets, Lt(jg) Balliett lowered his landing gear and full flaps while skidding radically side-to-side. Once he was nearly plunging toward the sea like a stone, he raised his wheels and flaps and dropped this Mark 24 just ahead of the swirl left by the submerging submarine. Since the FIDO was ineffective against a vessel on the surface, this frantic maneuver to transition a strafing run into a torpedo drop in a single approach became standard practice for Avenger pilots with Hunter-Killer groups like Lt(jg) Balliett’s. Although this attack claimed one sinking, both submarines escaped with only minimal or no damage.

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WW2-Era Location Name:
Atlantic Ocean

Latitude-Longitude:
49.6500, -30.2500

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