Torpedo bombers offered a known wartime way to open a large underwater hole and overwhelm damage control. First World War evidence made torpedo attack a proven anti-ship method, while planners lacked comparable combat evidence for ordinary bomb hits against major warships. The two reliable routes to sinking were uncontrollable fire and flooding through damage below the waterline. Bombs could start fatal fires, but holes above the waterline usually created repair work rather than immediate sinking.
Chapter · 13:30-14:45
Torpedo bombers offered a proven way to sink ships
Germany's carrier strike problem begins with the interwar evidence that torpedoes, unlike speculative bombing results, had already demonstrated an ability to sink ships.