Editing Torpedo bomber (section)

==Types==
[[File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A20170.jpg|left|thumb|A formation of [[Fairey Barracuda|Fairey Barracudas]] during [[World War II]] ]]

Torpedo bombers first appeared immediately prior to the First World War. Generally, they carried [[torpedo|torpedoes]] specifically designed for air launch, which were smaller and lighter than those used by [[submarine|submarines]] and surface warships. Nonetheless, as an airborne torpedo could weigh as much as {{convert|2000|lb|kg}}, more than twice the bomb load of contemporary single-engined bombers, the aircraft carrying it usually needed to be specially designed for the purpose. Many early torpedo bombers were [[floatplane|floatplanes]], such as the [[Short 184]] (the first aircraft to sink a ship with a torpedo), and the undercarriage had to be redesigned so that the torpedo could be dropped from the aircraft's centerline.

While many torpedo bombers were single-engine aircraft, some multi-engined aircraft have also been used as torpedo bombers, with the [[Mitsubishi G3M]] ''Nell'' and [[Mitsubishi G4M]] ''Betty'' being used in the [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|sinking of HMS ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'']]. Other twin-engine or three-engined aircraft designed or used as torpedo bombers include the [[Mitsubishi Ki-67]], the [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.79]] "Sparviero", the [[CANT Z.1007]], the [[Bristol Beaufort]] and [[Bristol Beaufighter]] ("Torbeau"), the [[Junkers Ju 88]], the [[Heinkel He 111]], the [[B-25 Mitchell]] and many others.

Some postwar jet aircraft (such as the [[Ilyushin Il-28|Ilyushin Il-28T]]) were adapted as torpedo bombers in the late 1940s and 1950s. The last known torpedo bomber attack was made by US Navy [[Douglas A-1 Skyraider|Skyraiders]] against the [[Hwacheon Dam]] during the [[Korean War]]. The [[North Korean Air Force]] finally retired the world's last operational torpedo bombers in the 1980s.

In a parallel development, many maritime strike aircraft and helicopters have been capable of launching guided torpedoes; however, they are not generally referred to as torpedo bombers because of their vastly greater detection and tracking capabilities, although they remain just as capable of making attacks on surface ships as against submarines.