The Mark XIV torpedo is an American steam-gas torpedo of the Second World War. Its first copies appeared in 1930, and it was adopted in 1931. It had a length of 6.248 meters, 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. Mark XIV torpedoes, like the similar model Mark XV, were developed during the Great Depression, which forced designers and manufacturers to reduce construction costs as much as possible. But, worst of all, financial problems led to an almost complete absence of tests of torpedoes associated with the detonation of the warhead at naval test sites, which would allow checking design assumptions, the effectiveness of torpedoes, etc. the unit responsible for their development (naval torpedo station) had to rely primarily on laboratory tests and firing new torpedoes, not ending with the final destruction of the torpedo. Such a short-sighted, if not blunt, attitude of the US Navy led to deplorable consequences, as the Mark XIV torpedoes proved to be extremely unreliable during the battles in the Pacific Ocean, and the first reports of their actual combat use indicated premature detonations of torpedoes that acquired too much depth after firing or not detonating despite defeating an enemy unit! Only in the second half of 1943 were these torpedoes improved, which led to better results. Eventually, however, they were replaced by the Mark XVIII line of torpedoes, which were almost an exact copy of the German G7e.
