In 1866, Whitehead invented the first effective self-propelled torpedo, the eponymous Whitehead torpedo, the first modern torpedo. French and German inventions followed closely, and the term …

Torpedo, cigar-shaped, self-propelled underwater missile, launched from a submarine, surface vessel, or airplane and designed for exploding upon contact with the hulls of surface vessels and submarines.

Robert Whitehead’s Invention: The modern torpedo was pioneered by Robert Whitehead, an English engineer. In 1866, he developed the first self-propelled torpedo in Fiume (modern-day Rijeka, …

Jun 7, 2024 · Torpedo development was minimal during World War I. The Mk 7 was the first steam-driven torpedo that could be fired from both destroyers and submarines. The post-World War I/pre- …

Feb 10, 2011 · Torpedo comes to English by way of Latin torpēdō, which has two quite different meanings. It refers to a state of inertness, sluggishness, or lethargy, and it refers to a creature also …

The development of Torpedo Mk 38, a 21-inch diameter, submarine-launched, antisurface ship torpedo with electric propulsion (primary battery) and active/passive acoustic homing, had been planned for …

Jul 28, 2025 · The Mk 48 torpedo is the deadliest non-nuclear torpedo. Its warhead weighs 650 pounds and has a range of 31 miles and can reach a speed of 65 knots.

Modern torpedoes are wire-guided: a thin wire spooling from the torpedo links it to the submarine's fire control computer, from which guidance commands in the form of digital electronic signals flow.

Aug 15, 2025 · Ohio is home to many notable inventions, like the airplane and Teflon. But you probably never learned about the coffin torpedo in school.

With that in mind, we thought we’d share a brief evolutionary tale of the torpedo. Today’s definition of a torpedo is “a long metal cylinder with an explosive warhead, propelled through the water by an …