What ended the torpedo bomber as an anti-surface platform?
Short answerAnti-ship missiles offered much greater range and removed the need to fly into close-range radar-guided defenses.
NotesA torpedo aircraft must close to short range and fly a constrained attack profile before releasing its weapon. That approach carries the aircraft directly into an increasingly effective envelope of radar-guided naval guns. Anti-ship missiles deliver the same anti-surface mission from much farther away and preserve the launch aircraft. Without missiles navies would have continued adapting torpedo tactics, but once a stand-off weapon existed there was little reason to accept the old exposure.