Why carriers rarely needed torpedo tubes

Did aircraft carriers carry torpedo tubes for surface combat?

Few did, if any; HMS Eagle is mentioned tentatively, but carrier doctrine avoided the close surface action in which torpedoes would be useful.

HMS Eagle is mentioned tentatively as a possible exception to the general absence of torpedo tubes from aircraft carriers. Few carriers had a reason to carry them. A carrier was not supposed to close to torpedo range with an enemy surface ship, while its guns existed principally for self-defence. The uncertainty over one ship does not change the doctrinal point: the weapon did not match the carrier's intended fighting distance.