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, such a device was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive, or fish torpedo; colloquially a fish. The term torpedo originally applied to a variety of devices, most of which would today be called mines. From about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate a self-propelled underwater explosive device.
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes.
USS Bluefish (SSN-675), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bluefish.
Robert Whitehead was an English engineer who was most famous for developing the first effective self-propelled naval torpedo.
Giovanni (Ivan) Biagio Luppis Freiherr von Rammer, sometimes also known by the Croatian name of Vukić, was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Navy who headed a commission to develop the first prototypes of the self-propelled torpedo.
HMS H5 was a British H-class submarine of the Royal Navy that served in the First World War. The boat, which was launched on 1 April 1915, was lost after being rammed by a British merchant ship off Caernarfon Bay in March 1918. It had been mistaken as a German U-boat and sank with the loss of all hands.
HMS H4 was a British H-class submarine built by the Canadian Vickers Co., Montreal. She was laid down on 11 January 1915 and was commissioned on 5 June 1915. After her commissioning, HMS H4 and sister ships H1, H2 and H3 crossed the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland to Gibraltar being escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Calgarian. H4 sank the U-boat UB-52 in the Adriatic on 23 May 1918. She was sold on 30 November 1921 in Malta.
HMS H7 was a British H-class submarine built by the Canadian Vickers Co, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was laid down on 19 May 1915 and was commissioned in June 1915. HMS H7 was sold in 1921. It had a complement of twenty-two crew members, a length of 171 feet (52 m), and a surfaced range of 1,600 nautical miles at 10 knots.
HMS H9 was a British H-class submarine built by the Canadian Vickers Co., Montreal. She was laid down on an unknown date and commissioned in June 1915. Launched by J. Grace Gardner at Montréal on 22 May 1915.
HMS H10 was a British H-class submarine built by the Canadian Vickers Co., Montreal. She was laid down on an unknown date and was commissioned in June 1915.
HMS H12 was a British H-class submarine built by Fore River Yard, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was laid down on an unknown date and commissioned in 1915. HMS H12 along with HMS H11 and HMS H13 to HMS H20 were all built in America but were interned by the United States government until the United States entered World War I. HMS H12 was sold in April 1920 in Dover.
There have been a number of 18-inch (45cm) torpedoes in service with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
There have been a number of 21-inch (53.3cm) torpedoes in service with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
The Schwartzkopff torpedo was a torpedo manufactured in the late 19th century by the German firm Eisengießerei und Maschinen-Fabrik von L. Schwartzkopff, later known as Berliner Maschinenbau, based on the Whitehead design. Unlike the Whitehead torpedo, which was manufactured out of steel, the Schwartzkopff was made out of bronze, enhancing corrosion resistance.
The Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo was the first Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. The US Navy made an initial acquisition of 100 Mark 1s, which, by the time they entered American service, were faster, had longer range and carried a larger warhead than Robert Whitehead's earlier models.
The Whitehead Mark 1B torpedo, designated as a Torpedo Type B, was a variant of the Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. The primary differences between the Mark 1 and the Mark 1B were that the Mark 1B was longer, carried a heavier guncotton charge in the warhead and included an improved guidance system.
The Whitehead Mark 2 torpedo was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. It was identical to the Whitehead Mark 1 torpedo, except for some mechanical details.
The Whitehead Mark 2C torpedo, also designated Torpedo Type C was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892. It was probably based on the Whitehead Mark 1B, rather than a modification of the Whitehead Mark 2.
The Whitehead Mark 3 torpedo was a Whitehead torpedo adopted by the United States Navy for use in an anti-surface ship role after the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York secured manufacturing rights in 1892.
HMS Vesuvius was an experimental torpedo-armed warship of the British Royal Navy. Built by Pembroke Dockyard in 1873–1874, she was the first purpose-designed torpedo vessel built for the Royal Navy. Vesuvius was intended for night attacks against enemy harbours, and was armed with a single tube for Whitehead torpedoes in her bow. She was used for experimental and training purposes, and was not disposed of until 1923.
