Currently re-reading Friendman's Bible on the american BBs. The topic of implimentation of under-water torpedo tubes for pre-dreadnough to super-dreadnought ships is mentioned quite a few times. The book states that they were never used and I couldn't find any mention in other sources,at least not for first class navies(USN-RN-Kaisermarine-Marine National-Reggia Marina). Any of you (amateur and prof)historians have any new insight on the matter?
At Jutland, several of the capital ships on both sides fired torpedoes, but to no effect. The British battleships and battlecruisers fired thirteen torpedoes while their German counterparts fired eight. The only torpedo-armed capital ship that probably achieved a hit is HMS Rodney launched eight torpedoes at Bismarck during the latter's last battle. One of the torpedoes scored a possible hit on the German ship.
The submerged torpedo tubes on capital ships were a novel idea of the pre-First World War period that wartime experience soon revealed was deeply flawed. The torpedo was a weapon more suited for smaller, more maneuverable ships. Additionally, torpedo ranges were much closer than the ranges at which the larger caliber guns fired; Rodney fired her torpedoes as she closed in on Bismarck when the latter was a flaming hulk without her main battery. Capital ship torpedo partisans argued that by lowering the torpedoes' speed settings, they could be in range, but this negated one of the chief attributes of a torpedo, its speed. In 1919, the RN's Director of Naval Construction noted the possibility of using both guns and torpedoes "in an action is only likely to confuse the mental attitude of those in command and cannot make for the greatest efficiency." Not only were these tubes tactically near useless, they posed a significant danger to the ship itself. Torpedo rooms were large spaces and their submerged tubes increased risk of flooding. The large torpedo rooms on Lutzow likely contributed to her extensive flooding and loss at Jutland. Moreover, the presence of such large warheads on the ship was an additional risk if the ship were to take a hit in this area. Interwar refits of capital ships generally removed the tubes as they were a weight liability and wartime experience had shown they were more trouble than they were worth.
Sources
Brown, D. K. The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development, 1906-1922. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 1999.
Moretz, Joseph. The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period: An Operational Perspective. London: Frank Cass, 2001.