§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the precise dates of the concept stage, of the feasibility study stage, of the project definition stage and of the full development stage of the Tigerfish HWT torpedo; and if he will list the specific reasons for the delays at each stage.
§ Mr. Lee[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1986, c. 26]: The mk 24 evolved from various torpedo programmes, and it is not, therefore, possible to define concept, feasibility and project definition stages. Full development began in 1959 with an in-service date (ISD) of 1967. After development and engineering problems the mk 24 mod 0 torpedo entered service in 1974. This was intended to have an antisubmarine capability only.
In order to provide a combined anti-submarine and anti-surface capability the development of the mk 24 mod 1 torpedo was endorsed in 1968 with an ISD of 1977. The mod 1 entered service in October 1980 the delay being mainly due to technical shortcomings and under estimation of the task.
The consolidation programme was approved in mid 1984; the development phase was completed on time; the first modified torpedoes entered service as planned in 1986.