Low drag homing torpedo nose assembly having side mounted planar arrays

Claim 1

A low drag nose assembly suitable for use in an aqueous environment, comprising in combination: a substantially conical pressure bulkhead having first and second apertures formed in the slanting side of said substantially conical pressure bulkhead said apertures being oriented at a preselected cone angle with respect to the pressure bulkhead longitudinal axis; a first plurality of transducer elements having individual radiating faces; a first web member having a plurality of holes adapted to receive said first plurality of transducer elements such that said individual radiating faces of said transducer elements are constrained to lie in a plane thus forming a first planar array; a second plurality of transducer elements having individual radiating faces; a second web member having a plurality of holes adapted to receive said second plurality of transducer elements such that said individual radiating faces of said transducer elements are constrained to lie in a plane thus forming a second planar array; and first and second means for mounting said first and second web members in said first and second apertures respectively, said apertures being provided in said slanting side of said substantially conical pressure bulkhead such that said first and second planar arrays are essentially side looking; said first and second planar arrays each providing a plurality of preformed sonar beams which display an azimuth that selectively extends to fore, to side and to aft of said longitudinal axis simultaneously.