Torpedo Washes Ashore, Aussie Beach on 'Lockdown' (Video)
On the shores of the Main Beach, on Australia's Gold Coast, about 17 clicks north of Snapper Rocks, a curious piece of debris washed ashore, sparking a 'lockdown.' It was a torpedo, one used by the Royal Australian Navy against submarines, which had been floating in the water for months before arriving on the sand, and was allegedly used in a training exercise.
Still, out of caution, after the Australian Defense Force was called in and confirmed it was one of their own, officials cleared the beach of civilians. Luckily, nobody was blown to bits.
'It's a Mark 24 torpedo,' said Dr. Peter Layton of the Griffith Asia Institute. 'It's a sophisticated underwater guided missile, if you will. You would not want one of those guidance systems being handed over to an unfriendly country.'According to the news report, Australia purchased 200 of these submarine-sinking missiles from the United States 15 years ago. And during training exercises, which officials are saying this one was used in, the explosive is typically swapped for a lead weight. Dr. Layton continued:
'The lead weight was dropped, and the torpedo floated to the surface, where it is buoyant. It's just a few meters long, weighs about 200 kilograms. It is relatively difficult to find. It is surprising, though, that they didn't find it, and surprising that it ended up here.'
The Mark 24 (also called FIDO) was developed by the United States, and used by Allied forces, during WWII. Hailed as the first American homing torpedo, it was primarily utilized as a deterrent against the dreaded German U-Boats. And, according to uboat.net, the FIDO missiles sunk around 37 German and Japanese submarines since its inception in 1943.
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