Air Torpedo Attacks 1939-1942

[Felix C]

I noticed the minimal success by torpedo carrying aircraft as used by the Axis even when AA equipment carried by ships was not extensive nor heavy caliber as in the later stages of the Pacific war. Same with early Coastal Command efforts in the Channel compared to smaller strikes in the Med.

[Graham Boak]

Early in the war, the torpedo bombers near the Channel were intended for operations against German fleet units, rather than the supply line attacks required in the Mediterranean. Very little important German economic shipping used southern waters, with the Channel Stop operations left in the hands of light bombers and fighterbombers largely because of the size of the targets.

The Germans took some time to develop a good capability for airborne torpedo attacks, so was not in a position to gain any such success in the early years.