Guidoni's planning torpedo ( Italian: Guidoni Aero Siluro ) is a project of a torpedo dropped from an airplane, equipped with aerodynamic planes and capable of planning a considerable distance before falling into the water. Designed by Italian aircraft designer Alessandro Guidoni at the end of the First World War . Not adopted for service.
History
The planning torpedo was developed by Guidoni as a means of attacking enemy ships with aircraft from a great height. Although air torpedoes were successfully used in World War I, their tactics (like the technology of the torpedoes themselves) were quite imperfect and required the carrier aircraft to descend to a very small height above the water - less than 10 meters - and drop the torpedo from a short distance. With low speed, characteristic of aviation of that time, such attacks made torpedo bombers an easy victim to the anti-aircraft machine guns of the ships.
Guidoni tried to develop a torpedo that could be dropped from a height of several hundred or even thousands of meters, plan to the surface of the water and - after dropping the wings - move in the water to the enemy ship.
Construction
The design of the torpedo was based on previous work on the planning Guidoni aerial bomb . Small-sized sea torpedo hung under the biplane box of the wing, made of tarpaulin, stretched on an aluminum frame. Behind the torpedo was attached wooden tail. Stabilization in flight was carried out using gyroscopes.
Thrown off the plane, the torpedo planned to water at a pre-set angle, stabilizing on the course using a gyroscopic autopilot, until it reached the surface of the water. A guide plane mounted under the lower plane, when in contact with water, triggered a mechanism opening the fuselage, and the torpedo fell into the water. The designer assumed that the torpedo would be able to stay on the course accurately enough to hit an enemy ship.
Links
- AERO SILURO (ital.)