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A Sopwith Cuckoo dropping a torpedo—one of the first torpedo bombers
A Sopwith Cuckoo dropping a torpedo—one of the first torpedo bombers
A Fairey Swordfish with a torpedo
A Fairey Swordfish with a torpedo

A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with torpedoes, but they could also carry out conventional bombings. The Sopwith T1 Cuckoo was a British Biplane Torpedo bomber used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS and its successor organization the WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A bomber is a Military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets primarily by dropping Bombs on them The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during WWII, when they were an important player in many famous battles, notably the British attack at Taranto and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11 November 1940 &ndash 12 November 1940 during World War II For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by The introduction of improved weapons that could be carried by conventional bombers, notably anti-shipping missiles, led to the type's disappearance almost immediately after the war. Anti-ship missiles are a Missile designed for use against Ships Most anti-ship missiles are of the Sea-skimming type and use a combination of

Contents

Types

The torpedo bomber first appeared during the later years of World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

Generally, they carried torpedoes designed for air launch, that were smaller and lighter than those used by submarines and surface warships. A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability Nonetheless, as an airborne torpedo could weigh as much as 2000 pounds (or 907 kilograms, more than twice the bombload of a contemporary single-engined bomber), the aircraft carrying it needed to have a more powerful engine. Carrying torpedoes also required a long bomb-bay (or in any case a longer fuselage), which was why a special type of plane was needed for this role. The fuselage (from the French fuselé "spindle-shaped" is an Aircraft 's main body section that holds crew and passengers or Cargo

A number of multi-engined, heavier aircraft have also been used in the torpedo bomber role, with the Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" being used in the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a World War II naval engagement which illustrated the effectiveness of aerial attacks The same squadron and planes later attempted a torpedo attack on USS Lexington but the carrier's combat air patrol and anti-aircraft guns downed 17 of the Japanese planes, which exposed the vulnerability of this type against such defenses. Construction The Lexington is named after the battle of Lexington that took place in Lexington Massachusetts in 1775

Torpedo bombers disappeared almost immediately at the end of the war, replaced by more generalized aircraft, and then missiles. However some postwar jet aircraft were adapted as torpedo bombers in the late 1940s and 1950s. The North Korean Air Force notably had the world's last operational torpedo bombers in the 1980s. The Korean People's Air Force (aka North Korean Air Force) is the Air force of North Korea.

In a parallel development, some maritime strike aircraft and helicopters have been capable of launching guided torpedoes against submarines. However, the mode of operation of these aircraft is considerably different.

Tactics

One crucial limitation of a torpedo bomber was that it had to fly a long, straight course at a constant altitude towards the target ship before launching its torpedo. Not only were they easy targets for defending fighters from a combat air patrol, torpedo planes were also highly vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. Particularly effective were heavy anti-aircraft guns (such as the 5 inch DP) which fired into the water, creating water spouts to slap the torpedo planes. The Mark 12 5"/38 caliber gun is a US naval gun The gun is installed into Single Purpose and Dual Purpose mounts used primarily by the U The torpedoes were also very sophisticated weapons and were prone to damage when landing on water, especially on a wave; they were normally aimed at the bottom of a wave but, needless to say, this was rather difficult.

Torpedo planes were best used as part of a coordinated attack. For instance, during the attack on the battleship Yamato, fighter planes would fire at the ship to suppress its anti-aircraft gun fire, while dive bombers would try to cause havoc and cause topside damage, all while leaving the torpedo bombers unmolested so they could make their attack runs. Construction The Yamato class was built after the Japanese withdrew from the Washington Naval Treaty at the Second London Conference of 1936

Technically, the best way to achieve a hit was an "anvil attack", in which two torpedo planes approached the target ship's bow at an angle of about 45 degrees, one on each side of the ship. The torpedoes were to be launched at the same distance from the ship; this would have ensured a hit no matter where the ship tried to maneuver. In practice, this kind of attack was extremely rare. Combat air patrols and anti-air fire quickly broke approaching plane formations, after which each plane was on its own and were unlikely to be able to coordinate such an attack.

When the targets were ships able to maneuver at high speed and hence much harder to hit, torpedoes proved less effective, except in cases when the crews launching them were especially well trained. Still, even a single torpedo hit on an enemy warship could cripple it decisively, especially in the case of vessels without an armored belt (cruisers and aircraft carriers often had torpedo blisters but these were not as extensive as that of battleships). However, even heavily armored battleships did not have their protective belt extending to the bow, a hole made there could be wrenched wider from the pressure of the inrushing water which could buckle and crush bulkheads; this tactic was used against the Yamato super-dreadnought. Construction The Yamato class was built after the Japanese withdrew from the Washington Naval Treaty at the Second London Conference of 1936 Also, there was nothing to protect the rudder and propellers at the stern, which was demonstrated during the hunt for the Bismarck and Force Z. Background Design of the ship started in the early 1930s following on from Germany's development of the ''Deutschland'' class cruisers and the ''Scharnhorst'' class The Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a World War II naval engagement which illustrated the effectiveness of aerial attacks

List of torpedo bombers

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Notable torpedo bomber pilots

Lioré-et-Olivier was a French manufacturer of aircraft of the 20th century founded in 1912 by Fernand Lioré and Henri Olivier Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Mitsubishi B1M was a Japanese torpedo bomber of the 1920s also known as the Navy Type 13 Carrier-Borne Attack Aircraft WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Mitsubishi B5M was an Imperial Japanese Navy land-based attack aircraft with an Allied reporting name of Mabel (also known as "Kate 61" WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Mitsubishi Q2M "Taiyō" Anti-Submarine Aircraft design was derived from the Mitsubishi Ki-67 -I Hiryū "Peggy" Heavy Bomber/Torpedo-Bomber of the WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Charles Thomas Beaird (July 27 1922 – April 18 2006 of Shreveport Louisiana, was an Industrialist, investor Newspaper Publisher, Lieutenant Commander Eugene Kingsmill Esmonde VC DSO, F/Lt RAF, Lt-Cdr (A RN ( 1 March 1909 – 12 George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 Mitsuo Fuchida ( 淵田美津雄( 3 December 1902 - 30 May 1976) was a Captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Ensign (later Lieutenant Commander) George Henry Gay Jr ( March 8, 1917 &ndash October 21, 1994) was a TBD Devastator John Kelvin Koelsch (December 22 1923 &ndash October 16 1951 was a United States Navy officer and a recipient of America's highest military decoration — the Medal Ulvert Mathew Moore ( 26 August 1917 &ndash 4 June 1942) was a U
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