The Type 65 is a torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 manufactured in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

/Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It was developed to counter the US Navy's aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 battle groups as well as to be used against large merchant targets such as supertankers. It is now typically fitted to newer Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n vessels, but often the 650 mm torpedo bay is fitted with a 533 mm converter to enable firing of SS-N-15

SS-N-15

The RPK-2 Viyuga cruise missile is a complex Russian submarine launched missile. Its NATO reporting name is Starfish ....

 missiles or Type 53 torpedo

Type 53 torpedo

Type 53 is the common name for a family of 53 cm torpedoes manufactured in Russia, starting with the 53-27 torpedo and continuing to the modern UGST....

es.

Russian officials have stated that a 65-76A modification of this torpedo is responsible for the explosion of Russian Kursk

Russian submarine K-141 Kursk

K-141 Kursk was an Oscar-II class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Russian Navy, lost with all hands when it sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000...

 submarine.

Specifications (65-76)

• Diameter: 65 cm (25.6 in)
• Length: 9.14m (30 ft)
• Range: 50,000 m at 93 km/h, 100 km at 56 km/h
• Max Speed: 50 knots (93 km/h)
• Homing: active/passive sonar and wake homing
• Warhead: 450/557 kg high explosive, or nuclear
  Nuclear weapon
  A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
  
   (Russia only)
• Propulsion: Probably gas-turbine powered by high test Peroxide, kerosene and compressed air fuel. Driving contra-rotating
  Contra-rotating
  Contra-rotating, also referred to as coaxial contra-rotating, is a technique whereby parts of a mechanism rotate in opposite directions about a common axis, usually to minimise the effect of torque. Examples include some aircraft propellers, resulting in the maximum power of a single piston or...
  
  propellers.

Variants

• 65-73 Entered service 1973, unguided torpedo. 20 kt Nuclear.
• 65-76 Kit Entered service 1976, wake homing.
  • DT Length 11 m. Weight 4,500 kg. Warhead 450 kg.
  • DST92 Length 11 m. Weight 4,750 kg. Warhead 557 kg. Wake homing anti-ship weapon. Operates at 20 m depth. Sensor points upwards to detect the ships wake, the torpedo sweeps from side to side to find the edges of the wake.