![Sopwith Cuckoo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Sopwith_Cuckoo.jpg)
An aerial torpedo (also known as an airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo) is a
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
launched from a
torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
aircraft into the water, after which the weapon propels itself to the target.
First used in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, air-dropped torpedoes were used extensively in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and remain in limited use. Aerial torpedoes are generally smaller and lighter than submarine- and surface-launched torpedoes.
History
Origins
![1915 Aerial torpedo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/1915_Aerial_torpedo.jpg)
The idea of dropping lightweight torpedoes from aircraft was conceived in the early 1910s by
Bradley A. Fiske
Rear Admiral Bradley Allen Fiske (June 13, 1854 – April 6, 1942) was an officer in the United States Navy who was noted as a technical innovator. During his long career, Fiske invented more than a hundred and thirty electrical and mechanic ...
, an officer in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
[Hopkins, Albert Allis. ''The Scientific American War Book: The Mechanism and Technique of War'', Chapter XLV: Aerial Torpedoes and Torpedo Mines. Munn & Company, Incorporated, 1915] A patent for this was awarded in 1912.
[Hart, Albert Bushnell. ''Harper's pictorial library of the world war, Volume 4''. Harper, 1920, p. 335.] Fiske worked out the mechanics of carrying and releasing the aerial torpedo from a
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
, and defined tactics that included a night-time approach so that the target ship would be less able to defend itself. Fiske imagined the notional
torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
would descend rapidly in a sharp spiral to evade enemy guns, then at an altitude of about would level off long enough to line up with the torpedo's intended path. The aircraft would release the torpedo at a distance of from the target.
[ In 1915, Fiske proposed attacking enemy fleets within their own harbors using this method, if there was enough water (depth and expanse) for the torpedo to run. However, the ]United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
appropriated no funds for aerial torpedo research until 1917 when the U.S. entered into direct action in World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The U.S. would not have special-purpose torpedo planes until 1921.
First torpedo aircraft
Meanwhile, the Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
(RNAS) began actively experimenting with this possibility. The first successful aerial torpedo drop was unofficially performed by the later RFC pilot Charles Gordon Bell
Charles Gordon Bell (31 May 1889 – 29 July 1918) was an early British pilot. He was one of the first hundred licensed pilots in the United Kingdom, and in a short career became known as one of the most skilled and experienced pilots in the cou ...
on 27 July 1914 - dropping a Whitehead torpedo from a Short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
S.64 seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
. Gordon Bell was followed the next day by RNAS pilot Arthur Longmore
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore, (8 October 1885 – 10 December 1970) was an early naval aviator, before reaching high rank in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of the RAF's Middle East Command from 1940 to 1941.
Ea ...
, when officially testing an aerial torpedo. The success of these experiments led to the construction of the first purpose-built operational torpedo aircraft, the Short Type 184
The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...
, built from 1915.[GlobalSecurity.org. Military]
TB Torpedo Bomber. T Torpedo and bombing.
Retrieved on September 29, 2009.
An order for ten aircraft was placed, and 936 aircraft were built by ten different British aircraft companies during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The two prototype aircraft were embarked upon HMS ''Ben-my-Chree'', which sailed for the Aegean on 21 March 1915 to take part in the Gallipoli campaign.
Around the same time of the Royal Navy experiments, in Italy Captain Alessandro Guidoni of the Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
was conducting similar trials since 1913, with the help of inventor Raúl Pateras Pescara
Raúl Pateras Pescara de Castelluccio (1890 – 1966), marquis of Pateras-Pescara, was an engineer, lawyer and inventor from Argentina who specialized in automobiles, helicopters and free-piston engines.
Pescara is credited for being one of ...
, and in February 1914 successfully dropped an 800 lb torpedo, leading to disputes over which country first used an aerial torpedo.
First World War
In November 1914, Germans were reportedly experimenting at Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
with the tactic of dropping torpedoes from a Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
. In December 1914, Squadron Commander Cecil L'Estrange Malone commented following his participation in the Cuxhaven Raid that "One can well imagine what might have been done had our seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s, or those which were sent out to attack us, carried torpedoes or light guns."
On 12 August 1915 a Short Type 184
The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...
, piloted by Flight Commander Charles Edmonds
Air Vice Marshal Charles Humphrey Kingsman Edmonds, (20 April 1891 – 26 September 1954) was an air officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
He first served in the Royal Navy and was a naval aviator during the First World War, taking part in the ...
, was the first aircraft in the world to attack an enemy ship with an air-launched torpedo. Operating from in the Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
, Edmonds took off with a , torpedo to fly over land[ and sank a Turkish supply ship in the ]Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
.
Five days later, a Turkish steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
was sunk by a torpedo aimed again by Edmonds. His formation mate, Flight Lieutenant G. B. Dacre, sank a Turkish tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
after being forced to land on the water with engine trouble. Dacre taxied toward the tugboat, released his torpedo and was then able to take off and return to ''Ben-My-Chree''.[Spaight, J. M. ''Air Power in the Next War'', pp. 25–27. London, Geoffrey Bles, 1938.] A limitation to using the Short more widely as a torpedo bomber was that it could only take off carrying a torpedo in conditions of perfect flying weather and calm seas, and, with that load, could only fly for a little more than 45 minutes before running out of fuel.[
On May 1, 1917, a German seaplane loosed a torpedo and sank the British steamship ''Gena'' off ]Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
. A second German seaplane was downed by gunfire from the sinking ''Gena''. German torpedo bomber squadrons were subsequently assembled at Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
and Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...
for further action in the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
.[ Later in 1917, the U.S. Navy began to perform trials using a dummy torpedo that, in the first test, porpoised from the water back into the air and almost hit the aircraft that dropped it.][ Several British torpedo bombers were built, including the ]Sopwith Cuckoo
The Sopwith T.1 Cuckoo was a British biplane torpedo bomber used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), and its successor organization, the Royal Air Force (RAF). The T.1 was the first landplane specifically designed for carrier operations, bu ...
, the Short Shirl and the Blackburn Blackburd, but a squadron was assembled so late in the war that it achieved no successes.[
]
Interwar years
The United States bought its first 10 torpedo bombers in 1921, variants of the Martin MB-1
The Martin MB-1 was an American large biplane bomber designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company for the United States Army Air Service in 1918. It was the first purpose-built bomber produced by the United States.
In 1921 Martin produced ...
. The squadron of U.S. Navy and Marine fliers was based at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is a United States Navy base in York County, James City County, and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. It provided a weapons and ammunition storage and loading facility for ships of the United ...
. General Billy Mitchell
William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.
Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
suggested arming the torpedo bombers with live warheads as part of Project B (the anti-ship bombing demonstration) but the Navy was only curious about aerial bomb damage effects. Instead, a trial using dummy heads on the torpedoes was carried out against a foursome of battleships steaming at 17 knots. The torpedo bombers scored well.[Johnson, Vice Admiral Alfred W., Retired. (1959]
''The Naval Bombing Experiments, Off the Virginia Capes, June and July 1921.''
Navy Department Library.
In 1931, the Japanese Navy developed the Type 91 torpedo
The Type 91 was an aerial torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was in service from 1931 to 1945. It was used in naval battles in World War II and was specially developed for attacks on ships in shallow harbours.
The Type 91 aerial torped ...
, intended for a torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
to drop from a height of and a speed of .[ In 1936, the torpedo was given wooden attachments to the tail, nicknamed the ''Kyoban'', to increase its aerodynamic qualities—these attachments were shed upon hitting the water. By 1937, with the addition of a breakaway wooden damper at the nose, the torpedo could be dropped from and a speed of . Tactical doctrine determined in 1938 that the Type 91 aerial torpedo should be released at a distance of from the target.][Peattie, 2007, pp. 143–144.] As well, the Japanese Navy developed night attack and massed day attack doctrine, and coordinated aerial torpedo attacks between land- and carrier-based torpedo bombers.[
The Japanese divided their bomber squadrons into two groups so they could attack an enemy battleship from both frontal quarters and make it difficult for the target to avoid the torpedoes by maneuvering, and more difficult for it to direct anti-aircraft fire at the bombers. Even so, Japanese tactical experts predicted that, against a battleship, the attacking force would score hits at only one-third the rate achieved during peacetime exercises.][
Beginning in 1925, the United States began designing a special torpedo for purely aerial operations. The project was discontinued and revived several times, and finally resulted in the ]Mark 13 torpedo
The Mark 13 torpedo was the U.S. Navy's most common aerial torpedo of World War II. It was the first American torpedo to be originally designed for launching from aircraft only. They were also used on PT boats.
Design
Originating in a 1925 des ...
, which went into service in 1935.[Navweaps.com. United States of America: Torpedoes of World War II]
''22.4" (56.9 cm) Mark 13''
Retrieved on September 29, 2009. The Mark 13 differed from aerial torpedoes used by other nations in that it was wider and shorter.[ It was slower than its competitors but it had longer range.][ The weapon was released by an aircraft traveling lower and slower ( high, ][ than its Japanese contemporary.
]
World War II
On the night of November 11–12, 1940, Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used ...
biplane torpedo bombers of the British Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
sank three Italian battleships at the Battle of Taranto
The Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces, under Admiral Andrew Cunningham, and Italian naval forces, under Admiral Inigo Campioni. The Royal Navy launched ...
using a combination of torpedoes and bombs. In the course of the chase of the German battleship ''Bismarck'', torpedo strikes were attempted in very bad seas, and one of these damaged her rudder allowing the British fleet to catch her. The standard British airborne torpedo for the first half of World War II was the 18-inch Mark XII, a 450 mm-diameter design weighing with an explosive charge of of trinitrotoluene
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...
(TNT).[Campbell, 2002, p. 87.]
German aerial torpedo development lagged behind other belligerents—a continuation of neglect of the category during the 1930s. At the beginning of World War II, Germany was making only five aerial torpedoes per month, and half were failing in air-drop exercises. Instead, Italian aerial torpedoes made by Fiume
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
were purchased, with 1,000 eventually delivered.[Campbell, 2002, pp. 260–262.]
In August 1941, Japanese aviators were practicing dropping torpedoes in the shallow waters of Kagoshima Bay
also known as Kinkō Bay, is a deep inlet of the East China Sea on the coast of Japan.''Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 562.
Kagoshima Bay is on the south coast of the island of Kyūshū. The port city of Kagoshi ...
, testing improvements in the Type 91 torpedo and developing tactics for the attack of ships in harbor. They discovered that the Nakajima B5N
The Nakajima B5N ( ja, 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II.
Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Al ...
torpedo bomber could fly , somewhat faster than expected, without the torpedoes striking the bottom of the bay down. On December 7, 1941, the leading wave—40 B5Ns—used the tactic to score more than 15 hits during the attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
.
In April 1942, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
made the production of aerial torpedoes a German priority, and the ''Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' took the task over from the ''Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
''.[ The quantity of available aerial torpedoes outstripped usage within a year, and an excess of aerial torpedoes was on hand at the end of the war. From 1942 to late 1944, about 4,000 aerial torpedoes were used, but some 10,000 were manufactured during the whole war.][ Torpedo bombers were modified ]Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...
and Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
aircraft, but the Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
was successfully tested as a delivery system.[ Deficiencies in German-designed torpedoes after the ]capitulation of Italy
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II.
It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...
in September 1943 were addressed just over a year before, through the ''yanagi'' visit of Japanese submarine ''I-30'' in August 1942, to supply the Wehrmacht with the Type 91 torpedo's technology and blueprints, to be made in Germany itself as the Lufttorpedo LT 850.
The Mark 13 torpedo
The Mark 13 torpedo was the U.S. Navy's most common aerial torpedo of World War II. It was the first American torpedo to be originally designed for launching from aircraft only. They were also used on PT boats.
Design
Originating in a 1925 des ...
was the main American aerial torpedo, yet it was not perfected until after 1943 when tests showed that it failed in 70 percent of the drops made from aircraft traveling faster than .[ Like the Japanese Type 91, the Mark 13 was subsequently fitted with a wooden nose covering and a wooden tail ring, both of which sheared off when it struck the water. The wooden shrouds slowed it and helped it retain its targeting direction through the duration of the air drop. The nose covering absorbed enough of the kinetic energy from the torpedo hitting the water that recommended aircraft height and speed were greatly increased to high at .][
In 1941, development began in the United States on the FIDO, an electric-powered air-dropped acoustic homing torpedo intended for anti-submarine use. In the United Kingdom, the standard airborne torpedo was strengthened for higher aircraft speeds to become the Mark XV, followed by the Mark XVII. For carrier aircraft, the explosive charge remained of TNT until later in the war when it was increased to of the more powerful ]Torpex
Torpex is a secondary explosive, 50% more powerful than TNT by mass. Torpex comprises 42% RDX, 40% TNT and 18% powdered aluminium. It was used in the Second World War from late 1942, at which time some used the names Torpex and RDX interchange ...
.[
During World War II, U.S. carrier-based torpedo bombers made 1,287 attacks against ships, 65% against warships, and scored hits 40% of the time.][ However, the low, slow approach required for torpedo bombing made the bombers easy targets for defended ships; during the ]Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
, for example, virtually all of the American torpedo bombers—nearly all of the obsolete Douglas Devastator
The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy and possibly for any na ...
design—were shot down by the Japanese.
Korean War
After World War II, anti-aircraft defenses were sufficiently improved to render aerial torpedo attacks suicidal.[Zabecki, David T. ''World War II in Europe: an encyclopedia, Part 740, Volume 2'', p. 1123. Taylor & Francis, 1998. ] Lightweight aerial torpedoes were disposed or adapted to small attack boat usage. The only significant employment of aerial torpedoes was in anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
.[
During the ]Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
the United States Navy successfully disabled the Hwacheon Dam
Hwacheon Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the North Han (Pukhan) River in Hwacheon County, Gangwon-do Province, South Korea. The dam was completed in 1944 as a primary source of electricity in southern Korea. It was the focal point of a raid d ...
with aerial torpedoes launched from A-1 Skyraiders.
Modern weapons
Since the advent of practical anti-ship missile
An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...
technology, pioneered in World War II with the MCLOS
Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles.
With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a ...
-guided Fritz X
Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. ''Fritz X'' was the world's first precision guided weapon deployed in combat and the first to sink a ship in combat. ''Fritz X'' was a nickname us ...
as early as 1943, aerial torpedoes have largely been reduced to use in anti-submarine warfare. Missiles are generally much faster, with longer range, and without the same launch altitude limitation of aerial torpedoes. Some modern aerial anti-submarine torpedoes do have the necessary guidance capability to engage surface vessels, though given the widespread availability of missiles on aircraft and the small, specialized warhead on anti-submarine aerial torpedoes, this is not an option normally considered.
At the peak of the Falklands war
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
, the Argentine Air Force
"Argentine Wings"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War)
, equipment = 139 aircraft
, equipment_label =
, battles =
* Operation Independence
* Operation Soberanía
* Falklan ...
, in collaboration with the Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
, outfitted an FMA IA 58 Pucará
The FMA IA 58 Pucará ( qu, Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones. It is a low-wing twin-turboprop all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear, capa ...
prototype, AX-04, with pylons to mount Mark 13 torpedoes. The aim was the possible production of Pucaras as torpedo-carrying aircraft to enhance the anti-ship capabilities of the Argentine air forces. Several trials were performed off Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn (; cy, Porth Madryn), also known as ''Madryn'', is a city in the province of Chubut in Argentine Patagonia. It is the capital of the Viedma Department, and has about 93,995 inhabitants according to the last census in 2010.
Puer ...
, but the war was over before the technicians could evaluate the feasibility of the project.[Halbritter, Francisco (2004). ''Historia de la industria aeronáutica argentina''. Volume 1. Asociación Amigos de la Biblioteca Nacional de Aeronáutica, 2004. . ]
As a result of the loss of the role of anti-shipping aerial torpedoes in modern naval doctrine, true torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
units no longer exist in modern armed forces. The most common platform for aerial torpedoes today is the ship-borne anti-submarine helicopter, followed by fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft such as the American P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. to the above are torpedoes delivered by missiles/rocket systems, designed for anti-submarine warfare. Some designs are a straightforward mating of a rocket-propulsion system to the torpedo with a purely ballistic
Ballistics may refer to:
Science
* Ballistics, the science that deals with the motion, behavior, and effects of projectiles
** Forensic ballistics, the science of analyzing firearm usage in crimes
** Internal ballistics, the study of the proc ...
attack profile, such as the American ASROC
The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...
. More complex, aerial drone-based system with autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
have also been deployed, such as the Australian Ikara
Ikara is a town in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, located around 75 kilometres north-east away from the city of Zaria. Ikara as a district consist of five towns which are Ikara, Tudun - wada, Nasarawa, Sabon - Gari, Jamfalan, Kurmin - Kogi, Hay ...
. Most such systems are designed to deploy from surface ships, though exceptions exist such as the Soviet navy RPK-2 Viyuga
The RPK-2 Vyuga (, ''blizzard''; NATO reporting name: SS-N-15 Starfish), also designated as 81R, is a Soviet submarine-launched, nuclear-armed anti-submarine missile system, launched exclusively through torpedo tubes. The system was designed in ...
, which can be launched from both surface ships and submarines.
Given the relatively soft nature of submarines, modern anti-submarine aerial torpedoes are much smaller than anti-ship aerial torpedoes of the past, and often classified as light weight torpedoes. They are also often of cross-platform design, able to deploy from both aircraft and surface ships. Examples include the American Mark 46, Mark 50 and Mark 54 torpedoes. There are few if any aerial torpedo designs that are also used by submarines, owing to the significantly reduced capability of aerial torpedoes compared with their full-sized submarine counterparts such as the American Mark 48 torpedo.
Design
A successful aerial launched torpedo design needs to account for:
* The distance it travels through the air before entering the water
* The heavy impact with the water
The Japanese Type 91 torpedo
The Type 91 was an aerial torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was in service from 1931 to 1945. It was used in naval battles in World War II and was specially developed for attacks on ships in shallow harbours.
The Type 91 aerial torped ...
used ''Kyoban'' aerodynamic tail stabilizers in the air. These stabilizers (introduced in 1936) were shed off when it entered the water. And a new control system (introduced in 1941) stabilized the rolling motion by countersteering both in the air and the water.
The Type 91 torpedo could be released at speed of 180 knot
A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...
s (333 km/h) from 20 m (66 ft) into shallow water but also at 204 knots (the Nakajima B5N2's maximum speed) into choppy waves
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
of a rather heavy sea.
See also
* GT-1 (missile)
The GT-1 (Glide Torpedo 1) was an early form of stand-off weaponry developed by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Intended to deliver an aerial torpedo at a safe range from the launching aircraft, the weapon proved successful ...
* Kettering Bug
The Kettering Bug was an experimental unmanned aerial torpedo, a forerunner of present-day cruise missiles. It was capable of striking ground targets up to from its launch point, while traveling at speeds of . The Bug's costly design and operat ...
* List of torpedoes by name
__NOTOC__
The list of torpedoes by name includes all torpedoes operated in the past or present.
See also
* List of lists of weapons
Notes
References
* Boyne, Walter J. ''Clash of Titans.'' (1995) Simon and Schuster, NY, NY. .
* Morison, S ...
Notes
References
* Blair, Clay. ''Silent Victory''. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975.
* Campbell, N. J. M.; John Campbell. ''Naval Weapons of World War Two''. Naval Institute Press, 1986.
* Emmott, Norman W. "Airborne Torpedoes". ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', August 1977.
* Hughes, Wayne P. ''Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat, Volume 167.'' Naval Institute Press, 2000.
* Milford, Frederick J. "U.S. Navy Torpedoes: Part One—Torpedoes through the Thirties". ''The Submarine Review'', April 1996. (quarterly publication of the Naval Submarine League, P.O. Box 1146, Annandale, VA 22003)
* Milford, Frederick J. "U.S. Navy Torpedoes: Part Two—The Great Torpedo Scandal, 1941–43". ''The Submarine Review'', October 1996.
* Milford, Frederick J. "U.S. Navy Torpedoes: Part Three—WW II development of conventional torpedoes 1940–1946". ''The Submarine Review'', January 1997.
* Peattie, Mark R. ''Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941'', Naval Institute Press, 2007.
* Thiele, Harold. ''Luftwaffe aerial torpedo aircraft & operations in World War Two''. Hikoki, 2005.
External links
* {{YouTube, 5Cur3k1qNXQ, Aerial Torpedo Attack – 1945
Ammunition
Projectiles