Weapons & technology

How equipment shaped the choices available, and what limited its effectiveness.

Torpedoes from the air

British firing-mechanism changes against Bismarck and the Japanese aerial torpedoes recorded at Midway.

The different bomb loads recorded by Bennington’s Corsair and Helldiver reports on 7 April 1945.

The weapons recorded in American and Japanese carrier sorties, and what their expenditure can tell us.

The American aerial torpedo’s early water-entry problems, its role at Midway and the improvements that came later.

How calibre, turret arrangement, firing arcs and observation shaped the heavy-gun battle.

The 12,000-pound bomb used against Tirpitz, and what the damage investigation can and cannot establish.

Shipboard guns, the protected anchorage and what the accounts of Tungsten and the final attack actually establish.

The heavy guns behind the threat from Norway, and why armament alone did not establish operational readiness.

The four bomb types selected for the Barracuda attacks on Tirpitz, and the difference between intended effects and demonstrated damage.

The modification recorded in Hiryū’s Midway attack, checked against the postwar naval technical investigation.

Nine heavy guns, three triple turrets and the limits of the surviving technical evidence.

Yamato’s light anti-aircraft weapon, its magazine limits and the difference between gun totals and effective defence.