| World War II era destroyers often had torpedoes designed for an anti-surface attack; they were launched from above the water line and they dropped into the water. On US vessels they were fired from the side; forcing the destroyer to steam towards the enemy and then turn to the side to fire the torpedoes; making aiming tricky.
Can anyone explain the technical issues that prevented them from having firing the torpedoes from the front point of the ship? Was it simply size and cost or was there anything more complex then that?
I have seen photos of the launcher that they used, and it looks as if it would fit on the front tip of a destroyer, wouldn’t it be possible to mount it along the front end of a destroyer? Were there any surface vessels of that era that had forward facing torpedoes?
Is there anyone who can give a good technical description of how modern surface ships use torpedoes? For example, are they only used against surface vessels or are they also used against subs?
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