High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes, but which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the British attack at Taranto and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The introduction of improved weapons that could be carried by conventional bombers, notably anti-shipping missiles, and the vulnerability of torpedo bombers during the attack, led to the type`s disappearance almost immediately after the war.