As an ancient naval weapon, torpedo has a history of about 200 years. The early application of torpedoes in wars can be traced back to Russia, the Crimean War and the American Civil War in the middle of19th century. At that time, the torpedo was a kind of "pole-supporting mine", which was fixed to the bow of the boat with a long pole. In the naval battle, the boat rushed to the enemy ships, struck by lightning with poles and destroyed them.

After the Civil War, the United States made many innovations in fish, especially in power and guidance, which laid the foundation for modern torpedoes. By World War I, torpedoes had been recognized as the main weapon of ships after artillery. During World War I, the number of transport ships sunk by torpedoes reached 1 1.53 million tons, accounting for 89% of the total tonnage of the sunk transport ships. There are 162 ships, accounting for 49% of the total number of sunken ships.

During and after World War II, shipborne weapons and equipment became more and more advanced and varied. Apart from torpedoes, aerial bombs, anti-ship missiles and deep-water bombs have played an increasingly important role in anti-ship and anti-submarine, but the application of torpedoes is still quite popular.

Compared with torpedoes, various bombs and anti-ship missiles, although flying at higher speed, are bound to be intercepted by shipborne air defense systems as air raid weapons. In addition, the explosive power of torpedoes is higher than that of bombs and anti-ship missiles. Generally, the warhead weighs hundreds of kilograms, even more than 1 ton, and according to the common sense of physics, the energy transmitted by torpedo explosion in water is many times higher than that in air.

Therefore, torpedoes and anti-ship missiles with the same charge are much more destructive. Once a warship is hit by it, most of it will sink, which is also its most terrible place.

With the progress of science and technology, torpedo has become an underwater weapon with good concealment, strong anti-jamming ability, high hit rate and great destructive power, which can automatically pursue the target according to the preset scheme and the received target information. All countries in the world attach great importance to the research, improvement and manufacture of torpedoes, aiming at making torpedoes lighter, more dexterous and more thrust, and further improving their hit rate, explosive force and ability to catch targets. Therefore, torpedo is still an important weapon in naval warfare.