page_title: Torpedo bomber
section_title: Second World War
hierarchical_section_title: Torpedo bomber / History / Second World War
caption_attribution_description: English: AWM: TARANTO, ITALY, 1940-11. AERIAL VIEW SHOWING AFTERMATH OF ACTION AGAINST THE ITALIAN FLEET IN TARANTO HARBOUR. NHHC: Italian BB LITTORIO of Littorio Class (1937-1948). Ship later renamed ITALIA. Photo 1940. November 12, 1940 Taranto attack. December 11, 1940 entered dock for repairs.
context_page_description: 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 of a torpedo, and remained an important aircraft type until they were rendered obsolete by anti-ship missiles. They were an important element in many famous Second World War battles, notably the British attack at Taranto, the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
context_section_description: In the early hours of 13 June 1940, two Beauforts found the German cruiser Lützow off Norway. The first was mistaken for a Junkers Ju 88 and was able to torpedo the Lützow without return fire, putting her out of action for six months. The second was shot down by defending Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Eight days later, nine Beauforts attacked the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst off Norway. As aerial torpedoes were unavailable, they dropped 500 lb (230 kg) bombs. No hits were scored, and defending Messerschmitt Bf 109s downed five.
  Even before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Navy had studied the threat in the Mediterranean posed by the Italian fleet, which had its advance base in the new port of Taranto in the "heel" of Italy. Captain Lumley Lyster of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious proposed that his Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers could launch a night attack against Taranto. At that time, the Royal Navy was the only force in the world with this capability. The Swordfish, a three-seat biplane, looked outmoded, but its low stall speed made it an ideal platform for launching torpedoes into the shallow waters of Taranto. The torpedoes were adapted with wire cables attached to their nose and wooden fins at their tail to slow their fall and make a shallow impact with the water, which was only 39 ft (12 m) deep.
  On the night of 11 November 1940, 21 Swordfish left the new aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. Some carried bombs and flares, but the main force carried torpedoes. British decoy maneuvers and the Italians' lack of radar allowed the British to surprise the ill-prepared Italian fleet at anchor in Taranto. Three battleships were put out of action, half of the Italian fleet, for the loss of two Swordfish. Two airmen were killed and two others captured. The next day, the remaining Italian battleships withdrew to Naples, ceding control of the Mediterranean to the British.
  On 6 April 1941, a single Bristol Beaufort piloted by Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell attacked the German battleship Gneisenau in Brest harbour in Brittany, where she and her sister ship, Scharnhorst, were sheltering beneath a massive array of anti-aircraft guns. The other five Beauforts on the mission failed to rendezvous due to bad weather. Campbell received a posthumous Victoria Cross for launching his solo torpedo attack, which put Gneisenau out of action for six months.
  On 26 May 1941, three Fairey Swordfish were launched from the Royal Navy's carrier HMS Ark Royal. They found the German battleship Bismarck in the eastern Atlantic battling a fierce gale. With the battleship's bow pitching up and down 60 ft (18 m) in 80 mph (130 km/h) winds, the Swordfish had to release their torpedoes into the troughs of waves to ensure they would run properly. Two torpedoes hit, the one fired by John Moffat striking the rudder and jamming it so severely that the huge ship could only turn helplessly in wide circles. Later that day, battleships and destroyers of the Royal Navy cornered her, and Bismarck's crew scuttled her after sustaining severe damage from heavy gun fire and more torpedoes.
  In the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's fleet of six carriers launched 40 Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers on Sunday, 7 December 1941. The Japanese struck the United States Pacific Fleet when it was moored in harbour. The torpedo bombers coordinated their attacks with dive bombers; the combined effort sank or damaged all eight of the battleships which they found moored in Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had studied the attack on Taranto and had practiced dropping specially modified Type 91 torpedoes in the shallow waters of Japan's Inland Sea. The Type 91 torpedo was considerably more capable than any others in the world at that time, being very fast and reliable, as well as allowing a much higher launch speed from a much greater altitude than other types. Only five Kates were lost in the attack. In later months, torpedo bombers were responsible for the sinking of the American aircraft carriers Lexington and Hornet, and damaging Yorktown.
  Three days later,
caption: The damaged battleship Littorio after the Taranto attack
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