The aerial torpedo, airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo is a naval weapon, the torpedo, designed to be dropped into water from an aircraft (fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter) after which it propels itself to the target. First used in World War I, air-dropped torpedoes were used extensively in World War II, and remain in limited use today. Aerial torpedoes are generally smaller and lighter than submarine- and surface-launched torpedoes.
Historically, the term "aerial torpedo" was used to describe flying bombs and pilotless drone aircraft intended as weapons, the precursor to modern cruise missiles. Today, the term refers primarily to water-borne torpedoes launched from the air.
Read more about Aerial Torpedo: Design, Tactics and Usage
Famous quotes containing the word aerial:
“A sociosphere of contact, control, persuasion and dissuasion, of exhibitions of inhibitions in massive or homeopathic doses...: this is obscenity. All structures turned inside out and exhibited, all operations rendered visible. In America this goes all the way from the bewildering network of aerial telephone and electric wires ... to the concrete multiplication of all the bodily functions in the home, the litany of ingredients on the tiniest can of food, the exhibition of income or IQ.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)