Developed and produced by the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I., Torpedo Mk 15 was designed as a replacement for the Mk 11 and Mk 12 torpedoes in surface ship application. It was 17 inches longer and 300 pounds heavier than its predecessors. The additional weight was due to increased payload. Approximately 9700 Mk 15 torpedoes were produced during the period 1940 through 1944. This torpedo was the last destroyer-launched, antisurface ship torpedo in wide service use. As part of the Fleet modernization program of the 1950's, it was phased out of service by the removal of the quintuple-mount torpedo tubes from destroyers. Torpedo Mk 15 was developed by the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I., and produced by the Torpedo Station and by the Naval Ordnance Plant, Forest Park, Ill.