Editing Torpedo (section)

== Launch platforms and launchers ==
{{further|Torpedo tube}}
[[File: USN MK-46 Mod 5 lightweight torpedo.jpg|thumb|A [[Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes|Mark 32 Mod 15 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tube]] (SVTT) fires a [[Mk 46 torpedo|Mark 46 Mod 5 lightweight torpedo]]]]

Torpedoes may be launched from submarines, surface ships, [[helicopter]]s, and fixed-wing [[aircraft]], unmanned [[naval mine]]s, and naval [[fortress]]es.<ref name="art museum">{{cite web|url=http://dartmouthmuseum.org/collections/memories/ww2.html|title=WW2 Memories – World War 2 – Second World War – Dartmouth Museum: Dartmouth Harbour was defended by Torpedo Tubes|publisher=[[Dartmouth Museum]]|access-date=2 April 2012|quote=Never fired in anger, a fixed torpedo tube battery was built on the east of the harbor mouth, just upriver from Kingswear Castle. The intent was to defend the river Dart.|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160518153630/http://dartmouthmuseum.org/collections/memories/ww2.html|archive-date=18 May 2016}}</ref> They are also used in conjunction with other weapons; for example, the [[Mark 46 torpedo]] used by the [[United States]] is the warhead section of the [[ASROC]], a kind of [[anti-submarine missile]]; the [[CAPTOR mine]] (CAPsulated TORpedo) is a submerged sensor platform which releases a torpedo when a hostile contact is detected.

===Ships===
[[File:Velos D16 amidships.JPG|thumb|Amidships quintuple mounting for {{convert|21|in|cm|abbr=on}} torpedoes aboard the World War II era destroyer {{USS|Charrette|DD-581|6}}]]

Originally, Whitehead torpedoes were intended for launch underwater and the firm was upset when they found out the British were launching them above water, as they considered their torpedoes too delicate for this. However, the torpedoes survived. The launch tubes could be fitted in a ship's bow, which weakened it for ramming, or on the broadside; this introduced problems because of water flow twisting the torpedo, so guide rails and sleeves were used to prevent it. The torpedoes were originally ejected from the tubes by compressed air, but later, slow-burning gunpowder was used. Torpedo boats originally used a frame that dropped the torpedo into the sea. Royal Navy [[Coastal Motor Boats]] of World War I used a rear-facing trough and a [[cordite]] ram to push the torpedoes into the water tail-first; they then had to move rapidly out of the way to avoid being hit by their torpedo.

Developed in the run-up to the First World War,{{citation needed|date=June 2012}} multiple-tube mounts (initially twin, later triple, and in WW2 up to quintuple in some ships) for {{convert|21|to|24|in|cm|abbr=on|adj=mid}} torpedoes in rotating turntable mounts appeared. Destroyers could be found with two or three of these mounts with between five and twelve tubes in total. The Japanese went one better, covering their tube mounts with splinter protection and adding reloading gear (both unlike any other navy in the world),<ref>Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 10, p. 1040, "''Fubuki''"; Preston, Antony. ''Destroyers''.</ref> making them true turrets and increasing the broadside without adding tubes and [[top hamper]] (as the quadruple and quintuple mounts did). Considering that their [[Type 93 torpedo|Type 93s]] were very effective weapons, the IJN equipped their cruisers with torpedoes. The Germans also equipped their capital ships with torpedoes.

Smaller vessels such as PT boats carried their torpedoes in fixed deck-mounted tubes using compressed air. These were either aligned to fire forward or at an offset angle from the centerline.

Later, lightweight mounts for {{convert|12.75|in|cm|adj=mid}} homing torpedoes were developed for anti-submarine use consisting of triple launch tubes used on the decks of ships. These were the 1960 [[Mk 32 torpedo launcher]] in the US and part of STWS (Shipborne Torpedo Weapon System) in the UK. Later, a below-decks launcher was used by the RN. This basic launch system continues to be used today with improved torpedoes and fire control systems.

===Submarines===
Modern submarines use either swim-out systems or a pulse of water to discharge the torpedo from the tube, both of which have the advantage of being significantly quieter than previous systems, helping avoid detection of the firing from passive sonar. Earlier designs used a pulse of compressed air or a hydraulic ram.

Early submarines, when they carried torpedoes, were fitted with a variety of torpedo launching mechanisms in a range of locations: on the deck, in the bow or stern, amidships, with some launch mechanisms permitting the torpedo to be aimed over a wide arc. By World War II, designs favored multiple bow tubes and fewer or no stern tubes. Modern submarine bows are usually occupied by a large sonar array, necessitating [[midships]] tubes angled outward, while stern tubes have largely disappeared. The first French and Russian submarines carried their torpedoes externally in [[Stefan Drzewiecki|Drzewiecki]] [[drop collar]]s. These were cheaper than tubes but less reliable. Both the United Kingdom and the United States experimented with external tubes in World War II. External tubes offered a cheap and easy way of increasing torpedo capacity without radical redesign, something neither had time or resources to do before nor early in, the war. [[British T-class submarine]]s carried up to 13 torpedo tubes, up to 5 of them external.  America's use was mainly limited to earlier [[United States Porpoise-class submarine|''Porpoise'']]-, {{sclass|Salmon|submarine|5}}-, and {{sclass|Sargo|submarine|5}}-class boats. Until the appearance of the {{sclass|Tambor|submarine|5}} class, most American submarines only carried 4 bow and either 2 or 4 stern tubes, something many American submarine officers felt provided inadequate firepower. {{citation needed|date=May 2013}} This problem was compounded by the notorious unreliability of the [[Mark 14 torpedo]].

Late in World War II, the U.S. adopted a {{convert|16|in|cm|adj=mid}} homing torpedo (known as [[Mark 27 torpedo|"Cutie"]]) for use against escorts. It was basically a modified [[Mark 24 Mine]] with wooden rails to allow firing from a {{convert|21|in|cm|adj=mid}} torpedo tube.{{sfn|Blair|1975|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}<ref>{{cite book |first1=Charles A. |last1=Lockwood |first2=Hans C. |last2=Adamson |title=Hellcats of the Sea: Operation Barney and the Mission to the Sea of Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBJtDwAAQBAJ |date=29 August 2018 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-0-359-05709-2}}</ref>

===Air launch===
{{Main|Aerial torpedo}}
[[Aerial torpedo]]es may be carried by fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, or missiles. They are launched from the first two at prescribed speeds and altitudes, dropped from bomb-bays or underwing [[hardpoint]]s.