Air blast injuries killed the crew of the submarine H.L. Hunley
Abstract
The submarine H . L . Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship during combat; however, the cause of its sinking has been a mystery for over 150 years. The Hunley set off a 61.2 kg (135 lb) black powder torpedo at a distance less than 5 m (16 ft) off its bow. Scaled experiments were performed that measured black powder and shock tube explosions underwater and propagation of blasts through a model ship hull. This propagation data was used in combination with archival experimental data to evaluate the risk to the crew from their own torpedo. The blast produced likely caused flexion of the ship hull to transmit the blast wave; the secondary wave transmitted inside the crew compartment was of sufficient magnitude that the calculated chances of survival were less than 16% for each crew member. The submarine drifted to its resting place after the crew died of air blast trauma within the hull.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182244
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Not very nice faith for the crew.
Most deaths from explosions come from overpressure. The blast pressurizes the air in a wave that causes the lungs to explode, the ears to burst and you heart to collapse.
A large enough explosion can cause an overpressure blast wave that will demolish buildings. It is how an atomic bomb destroys a city.
Will do the same thing in water to a ships hull or submarine..
Torpedo technology following World War I took the same route that the Army did in switching from the M-14 to the M-16: Smaller rounds meant more rounds could be carried into combat.
The Navy surmised that a torpedoes warhead didn't have to be as large as they had evolved to in WWI if they could utilize the shock wave to sink ships. The idea was to have a smaller warhead explode underneath a ship, with the resulting shock wave and void of steam produced from the explosion would break the keel of a ship causing it to break in two.
They attempted to produce this effect by using magnetic exploders. As the torpedo passed underneath a ship, the magnetic field of the ship itself would disrupt the exploders circuits, causing it to explode. Unfortunately, pre-war testing was limited to labs and a few actual war shots, as defense spending for weapons experiments was almost non-existent.
Of course, the obvious happened. The first few war patrols of WWII saw skippers watch through their scopes as torpedoes made text book runs on targets, only to pass harmlessly underneath. There was a problem with the depth, torpedoes were running on average 10 below their setting. Once this was resolved, the magnetic exploders exhibited premature detonation as it neared the target. The skippers were furious (at least 6 attacks on Japanese Aircraft Carriers were unsuccessful due to deep runs and premature explosions.) At the time, it was a court martial offense to fuck with BUSHIPS' exploders. But many skippers said fuck it, tinkered with them to explode on contact, and the sinkings went up. Of course a torpedo exploding on contact with the side of a ship sometimes didn't sink her right away. So more torpedoes had to be expended.
Today, the ADCAP Mk 48 has gone back to exploding underneath the hull of a ship. But since it's wire guided, and has active and passive sonar, and can circle and re-attack, it's a more successful fish.