MK-44 Torpedo Shop


Although the Mk-44 Torpedo was removed from U.S. Naval Service in 1978, its survival as an artifact for display with Gyrodyne's QH-50 series of helicopters as well as for the ships that carried those QH-50s under the DASH Program (1962-1970) that survive as museum-memorial-ships, became an important mission for the Gyrodyne Foundation.

    Accordingly, in March 2006, the Gyrodyne Foundation created our own MK-44 Torpedo Shop to restore our current assets and obtain the additional components of the Airborne Armament System for the QH-50. The Armament System, consists of three main components and thus, the MK-44 Shop has three divisions that deal with the following. Click on the photo of the subject or underlined hyper-link to see this historic work.

    Obtaining MK-44 Torpedoes during the demilitarization process is only the beginning for the next phase of a MK-44. Transportation, cleaning, inspection, repair and paint will yield a Mk-44 unit for exhibit for our nationwide QH-50s on display. See some of this work here, at our MK-44 magazine.




To Connect the MK-44 Torpedo to the QH-50, the QH-50 requires a complete "aircraft based" Armament System first. This consists of the Mk-8 Bomb Release Unit (BRU) as well as Forward and Aft Weapon Sway Braces and arming solenoids. The Mk-44 Torpedo shop maintains and restores these items as well to make parts available to the historic fleet; you can see that work here.




If you are going to connect a MK-44 Torpedo to a QH-50C/D UAV/Drone, the interface between the QH-50 DASH Weapon System's Armament System and the Mk-44 Torpedo is the MK-64 Mod 0 Airborne Suspension Band. These YELLOW steel bands are the only way to connect to the QH-50's MK-8 Bomb Release Unit (BRU) and our Mk-44 Torpedo shop will show you here, step-by-step how to properly install a MK-44 onto your QH-50 in the event you need to re-connect.




Finally, The Gyrodyne Helicopter Historical Foundation would like to thank the many friends we have made at the Hawthorne Army Depot (HWAD). From the great men and women of the Army's Command Staff to the managers and employees at Day-Zimmerman, these people have worked hard to allow the Gyrodyne Foundation to provide historic inert ordnance to flow to the many museums and Navy ship-memorials we support. The people of HWAD have been an incredible resource and because of that, this area of our web site, is DEDICATED TO THEM ALL !


 

Home Up GHHF Projects MK-44 Torpedo Shop


Helicopter Historical Foundation
P.O. Box 3838, Reno, Nevada USA 89505

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The Gyrodyne Helicopter Historical Foundation (GHHF) is a private foundation incorporated in the State of Nevada as a Non-profit organization. 

GHHF is dedicated to the advancement of the education and preservation of the history of the Ships, the Men and the Company that built, operated and flew the U.S. Navy's QH-50 Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (DASH) System and to the preservation of the history of the U.S. Army's past use of DASH.
Your support will allow for that work to continue.