I think that a weapon of that calibre would be too big to fire sideways as the recoil would be contrary to the direction of flight and might it not flip the aircraft, or something like that? I've read of similar large-calibre weapons firing forward having the effect of stopping a plane in mid-air, the crews were scared to fire them. In 1940 the Germans had some success with experimental Me 110's against shipping in the English Channel, equipped with a 30mm cannon firing forward, though the gun was prone to jamming and wasn't liked by its crews.
German submarine torpedoes were faulty until 1942, failing to explode after hitting their target. After the Norwegian campaign, when the data was analyzed back at BdU, it was found that four attacks were launched on the battleship HMS Warsprite, fourteen on cruisers, ten on destroyers, and a further ten on transports – yet only one transport was sunk. Discounting marginal attacks, Donitz concluded that had the torpedoes not failed, the U-boats would have “probable sinkings” of one battleship, seven cruisers, seven destroyers, and five transports. In summary, about twenty enemy warships had escaped certain destruction because of torpedo failures. There was also an attack on HMS Nelson (three torpedoes hit) and the Ark Royal (three torpedoes failed to explode). Gunther Prien got so sick of the problem he refused to attack some British ships when they were in his sights. The torpedo problem was discovered during the Spanish Civil War (November 1936) but the Oskar Wehr, director of the German Torpedo Trials Establishment (TVA) said the problem lay with the users ("inexperienced crews arming detonators and setting running depths"), not with the torpedoes, and the problems were not investigated. When that man was dismissed in December 1939, his successor confirmed that the torpedos were faulty within a week. The problem was caused by the changes in air pressure that occurred when a submarine dived and surfaced again, as well as the changes in the Earth's magnetic field at extreme northern latitudes. The German G7e T3 torpedo was otherwise technically quite advanced - it was electrically powered so it did not leave a bubble wake and was hard to detect. The torpedo had a percussion detonator and a magnetic one, allowing the torpedo to be set to explode when it was underneath its target. There was a tendency for the torpedoes to explode prematurely or not at all. There were also problems with depth keeping. If the attack on the Nelson had succeeded, it might also have killed Churchill, First Sea Lord Dudley Pound, and Home Fleet commander Sir Charles Forbes, who were on the ship at the time. (See pp71-72 "World War II Data Book The Kriegsmarine 1935-1945")
The Luftwaffe did not have the same problems as the U-boats as the Luftwaffe torpedoes were based on the Norwegian Horten-torpedo (LT F5 / LT F5a / LT F5b) or an Italian design (LT F5w). The lufttorpedoes had other challenges though, related to the torpedos being damaged or malfunctioning due to a non-optimal entry in the water (due to the droppspeed and -angle).The norwegian officer and enginer Johan A.Bull made a very successful design around 1930: By means of a wooden air-rudder enabling the aerial torpedo to be dropped with no problems at higher speeds and higher altitudes than any competing designs at that time. Naturally his torpedo design was highly sought after, but the Germans couldn't buy it due to the limitations they had after WW1. It's a long story, but as a result of a successful intelligence-operation (were certain aspects supposedly are still secret) they managed to get hold of 30 Horten-torpedoes by using a swedish firm as a "front", and later copied the design for their own use (LT F5), and further improved it (LT F5a / LT F5b).The wooden air rudder was also the primary success factor for the japanese aerial torpedo attacks in shallow waters at Pearl harbour, and it is suggested their device was based on Bulls original design.
The two Luftwaffe torpedo bombers were initially the He 59, of which 142 were built, and the He 115 . The first was used as a torpedo bomber in 1939 and as a reconnaissance aircraft in 1940. 18 December 1939, North north-west of rattray Head, the British fishing steamer Active (185 GRT) was sunk by an airborne torpedo launched by an He 59 (Ku.Fl.Gr 3./706). Secondly there was the He 115 Floatplane. Germany did have some (He 115 floatplane) torpedo bombers in 1940. The only operational airborne torpedo Staffel ready for action In July 1940 was 3/Ku.Fl.Gr 506 based at Stavanger, to be followed by 1./Ku.Fl.Gr 106 from mid August based at Norderney (on the North Sea coast of Germany) – a total of about 30 aircraft. Between August and December 1940, they used about 160 torpedos sinking about eight ships totalling around 60,000 tonnes.
German submarine torpedoes were faulty until 1942, failing to explode after hitting their target. After the Norwegian campaign, when the data was analyzed back at BdU, it was found that four attacks were launched on the battleship HMS Warsprite, fourteen on cruisers, ten on destroyers, and a further ten on transports – yet only one transport was sunk. Discounting marginal attacks, Donitz concluded that had the torpedoes not failed, the U-boats would have “probable sinkings” of one battleship, seven cruisers, seven destroyers, and five transports. In summary, about twenty enemy warships had escaped certain destruction because of torpedo failures. There was also an attack on HMS Nelson (three torpedoes hit) and the Ark Royal (three torpedoes failed to explode). Gunther Prien got so sick of the problem he refused to attack some British ships when they were in his sights. The torpedo problem was discovered during the Spanish Civil War (November 1936) but the Oskar Wehr, director of the German Torpedo Trials Establishment (TVA) said the problem lay with the users ("inexperienced crews arming detonators and setting running depths"), not with the torpedoes, and the problems were not investigated. When that man was dismissed in December 1939, his successor confirmed that the torpedos were faulty within a week. The problem was caused by the changes in air pressure that occurred when a submarine dived and surfaced again, as well as the changes in the Earth's magnetic field at extreme northern latitudes. The German G7e T3 torpedo was otherwise technically quite advanced - it was electrically powered so it did not leave a bubble wake and was hard to detect. The torpedo had a percussion detonator and a magnetic one, allowing the torpedo to be set to explode when it was underneath its target. There was a tendency for the torpedoes to explode prematurely or not at all. There were also problems with depth keeping. If the attack on the Nelson had succeeded, it might also have killed Churchill, First Sea Lord Dudley Pound, and Home Fleet commander Sir Charles Forbes, who were on the ship at the time. (See pp71-72 "World War II Data Book The Kriegsmarine 1935-1945")
The Luftwaffe did not have the same problems as the U-boats as the Luftwaffe torpedoes were based on the Norwegian Horten-torpedo (LT F5 / LT F5a / LT F5b) or an Italian design (LT F5w). The lufttorpedoes had other challenges though, related to the torpedos being damaged or malfunctioning due to a non-optimal entry in the water (due to the droppspeed and -angle).The norwegian officer and enginer Johan A.Bull made a very successful design around 1930: By means of a wooden air-rudder enabling the aerial torpedo to be dropped with no problems at higher speeds and higher altitudes than any competing designs at that time. Naturally his torpedo design was highly sought after, but the Germans couldn't buy it due to the limitations they had after WW1. It's a long story, but as a result of a successful intelligence-operation (were certain aspects supposedly are still secret) they managed to get hold of 30 Horten-torpedoes by using a swedish firm as a "front", and later copied the design for their own use (LT F5), and further improved it (LT F5a / LT F5b).The wooden air rudder was also the primary success factor for the japanese aerial torpedo attacks in shallow waters at Pearl harbour, and it is suggested their device was based on Bulls original design.
The two Luftwaffe torpedo bombers were initially the He 59, of which 142 were built, and the He 115 . The first was used as a torpedo bomber in 1939 and as a reconnaissance aircraft in 1940. 18 December 1939, North north-west of rattray Head, the British fishing steamer Active (185 GRT) was sunk by an airborne torpedo launched by an He 59 (Ku.Fl.Gr 3./706). Secondly there was the He 115 Floatplane. Germany did have some (He 115 floatplane) torpedo bombers in 1940. The only operational airborne torpedo Staffel ready for action In July 1940 was 3/Ku.Fl.Gr 506 based at Stavanger, to be followed by 1./Ku.Fl.Gr 106 from mid August based at Norderney (on the North Sea coast of Germany) – a total of about 30 aircraft. Between August and December 1940, they used about 160 torpedos sinking about eight ships totalling around 60,000 tonnes.