The Mark XIV torpedo was an American steam-gas torpedo from the Second World War. Its first copies appeared in 1930, and it entered service in 1931. It was 6.248 meters long, with a diameter of 533 mm and a weight of 1488 kg, of which 292 kg was the warhead. Its effective range was estimated at 8,000-8,200 meters and the maximum speed was 46 knots.
The Mark XIV torpedo, along with a similar Mark XV model, were developed during the Great Depression, which forced the designers and the manufacturer to reduce construction costs as much as possible. However, what was worse, the financial problems resulted in the almost complete lack of torpedo tests related to the detonation of the warhead at sea proving grounds, which would allow to check the design assumptions, the effectiveness of torpedoes, etc. As a result, the unit responsible for their development (Naval Torpedo Station) had to rely primarily on on laboratory tests and shootings with new torpedoes, not ending with the final destruction of the torpedo. Such a short-sighted - not to say bluntly - attitude of the US Navy brought dire consequences, because the Mark XIV torpedoes turned out to be extremely unreliable in the course of the fighting in the Pacific, and the first reports of their actual combat use indicated premature detonations of torpedoes, acquiring too much depth after firing or no detonation, despite hitting an enemy unit! Only in the second half of 1943, these torpedoes were improved, which resulted in better results. Ultimately, however, they were replaced in line by Mark XVIII torpedoes, which were an almost exact copy of the German G7e.