Mark 108 Weapon alfa

The Mark 108 Weapon alfa on the Isuzu

Description

The Mark 108 Weapon alfa, also known as the RUR-4, is a submarine-launched anti-submarine rocket (ASROC) system that was developed by the United States in the 1950s. The system was designed to be fired from destroyers to attack enemy submarines at ranges up to 730 m (800 yards). The system was used by the US and Japanese navies during the Cold War.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Isuzu
• USS Mitscher
• USS Wilkinson

General info

RUR-4 antisubmarine rocket

The Mark 108 Weapon Alfa is equipped with a 152 mm (6 in) rocket that is armed with a conventional depth charge.

The Mark 108 Weapon alfa shoots RUR-4 320 mm antisubmarine rockets. Explosive mass of 113 kg of TNT and penetration of 99 mm makes it very effective against boats and ships. The biggest disadvantages are a short range of 800 m and a slow speed of 306 km/h which makes it very situational for naval combat.

Effective damage

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Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

Pros:

• Explosive mass comparable to some torpedoes

Cons:

• Slow compared to other rockets
• Short range

History

During World War II, The United States Navy worked to attempt to counter the Type XXI U-Boat and decided to develop a weapon similar to the 7.2 in Mousetrap but more powerful to counter the new submarine. The design started with a crash program at Naval Ordnance Test Station China Lake in California where they designed a rocket intended to be fired in front of the ship to sink the enemy submarines. Even when the war ended, the development of the weapon nicknamed "Weapon Able" continued until it was finished in 1949. With the foundation of NATO, the weapon was redesignated to the Mark 108 "Weapon Alfa" to fit the NATO Phonetic Alphabet later in its career.

The Mark 108 Weapon Alfa launcher fires a 500-pound 5-inch rocket with a 250-pound warhead that sinks at a rate of 40 feet per second and a range of 400 to 800 yards and a time fuse set by an SQG-1 sonar. Two mounts were developed for the Weapon Alfa launcher. The first was a modified version of the Bofors L/60 Mark 1 mount weighing 22,760 pounds and a later purpose-built mounting 25,240 pounds. The Mark 108 Weapon Alfa was primarily mounted on post-war destroyers from the 1950s and 1960s such as the Mitscher-class. In 1963, the Mark 108 launcher was re-designated again as the RUR-4 Weapon Alfa and with the RUR-5 ASROC (Anti-Submarine ROCket) entering service in 1961, the Weapon Alfa was phased out by the end of the decade. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force also adopted the Mark 108 using it on their anti-submarine warfare craft such as the Isuzu frigate.

Media

Images

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  Damage caused by a single rocket launched from the Mark 108 Weapon alfa

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  Mark 108 Weapon Alfa on Mitscher-class destroyer

See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
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