On 4 December 1943, six Beaufort torpedo bombers of No 8 Squadron RAAF attacked Japanese shipping in Blanche Bay, Rabaul Harbour, New Guinea. 

As the aircraft piloted by Squadron Leader N T Quinn (the unit’s commanding officer) was tracking to release its torpedo, it hit either a ship’s mast or a cable, and crashed. Quinn and his observer survived, but both were taken prisoner. This was the 19th—and last— operation undertaken by the RAAF torpedo strike force. Why was it that the aerial torpedo had failed as a weapon system?

To read more, download the knowledge article Aerial torpedoes – a weapon system failure written by Dr David Wilson.