Mk8 Torpedo - Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
S 30° 18.252 E 153° 08.409
56J E 513475 N 6647497
Next to the start of the Coffs Harbour Jetty is this Mk8 Torpedo.
Waymark Code: WMXN46
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 01/31/2018
Views: 1
I don't know if this is a Bliss-Leavitt Mk8 Torpedo, but it does look like the 21 inch, 21 foot long torpedo shown in the Wikipedia article
Mk8 Torpedo, which was made in the USA. But it is more likely to be either British, or even Australian made, as Australia had difficulty in obtaining supplies in World War Two from both England and America, so began to make their own model [ex-RAN:
Torpedo factory] at the North Sydney gas works in 1943 (for aircraft usage).
The Australian War Memorial has an article on the arming mechanism of the Mk8 torpedo, used by the British service from as early as 1925, in a 533mm diameter Mark VIII torpedo, that was 6.6 metres long - which I would estimate to be the size of the one at Coffs Harbour Jetty.
Mk VIII 21 inch torpedo.
This silver/grey/blue torpedo is mounted over a metre high, on two metal cradles secured to the concrete slab. It is in front of the white-painted concrete-block building of the Australian Navy Cadets, 'Training Ship Vendetta'. Beneath it is a dark grey boulder with a metal plaque, with the following engraved inscription, that had been 'highlighted' with white paint that has largely flaked out, so it is hard to read.
This Mk8 Torpedo 1936-1979
was restored by
The Sawtell Naval Association
For display at T.S. Vendetta
to commemorate
the Naval Reserve Cadets
participation in the
re-dedication of the
Coffs Harbour Jetty
Unveiled by
R.H. Old CDR RAN
Senior Officer NSW & Aust.
on 25th October, 1997
Visited: 1606, Thursday, 16 February, 2017
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