Editing Torpex (section)

{{Short description|High explosive}}

[[File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH15363.jpg|thumb|[[Tallboy bomb]] stencilled with its explosive filling]]
'''Torpex''' ("Torpedo explosive") is a [[Explosive#Secondary|secondary explosive]], 50% more powerful than [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]] by mass.{{sfn|Gannon|1996|p=184}} Torpex comprises 42% [[RDX]], 40% TNT and 18% [[Powder (substance)|powdered]] [[aluminium]].<ref name="Türker">{{cite journal |last1=Türker |first1=Lemi |last2=Variş |first2=Serhat |title=Structurally modified RDX - A DFT study |journal=Defence Technology |publisher=Elsevier BV |volume=13 |issue=6 |year=2017 |issn=2214-9147 |doi=10.1016/j.dt.2017.02.002 |pages=385–391|s2cid=99529511 |doi-access=free |hdl=11511/51361 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> It was used in the [[Second World War]] from late 1942, at which time some used the names Torpex and RDX interchangeably. Torpex proved to be particularly useful in underwater munitions because the aluminium component made the explosive pulse last longer, which increased the destructive power. Besides torpedoes, [[naval mine]]s, and [[depth charge]]s, Torpex was also used in the M.C 500lb and 1000lb bombs, the 4000lb, 8000lb, and 12000lb "cookie" H.C bombs<ref>{{Cite web |last=U.S.N.B.D |date=1st November 1944 |title=BRITISH BOMBS AND FUZES PYROTECHNICS DETONATORS |url=https://stephentaylorhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/usnbd-british-bombs-and-pyrotechnics.pdf |access-date=31.05.2025}}</ref> and in the [[Bouncing bomb|Upkeep]], [[Tallboy (bomb)|Tallboy]] and [[Grand Slam bomb]]s as well as the drones employed in [[Operation Aphrodite]].<ref name="Barnes Wallis">{{cite web |title=Munitions Design |website=Barnes Wallis Foundation |url=https://www.barneswallisfoundation.co.uk/life-and-work/munitions-design/ |access-date=16 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="Webb">{{cite web |last=Webb |first=Mason B. |title=Operation Aphrodite |website=Warfare History Network |date=18 January 2019 |url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2019/01/17/operation-aphrodite/ |access-date=16 June 2022}}</ref> Torpex has long been superseded by [[Composition H6|H6]] and [[Polymer-bonded explosive]] (PBX) compositions.<ref name="Graf">{{cite book |last=Graf |first=M.B.K. |title=Avro Lancaster |publisher=REI |year=2017 |isbn=978-2-37297-333-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EuFKDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 |page=30}}</ref><ref name="Persson">{{cite book |last1=Persson |first1=P.A. |last2=Holmberg |first2=R. |last3=Lee |first3=J. |title=Rock Blasting and Explosives Engineering |publisher=CRC Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-351-41822-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i2C1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |page=73}}</ref> It is regarded as [[obsolete]] and Torpex is unlikely to be encountered except in old munitions or [[unexploded ordnance]], although a notable exception to this is the [[Sting Ray (torpedo)|Sting Ray]] lightweight torpedo, which as of October 2020 remains in service with the Royal Navy and several foreign militaries. The German equivalent of Torpex was [[Trialen]].<ref name="Fedoroff">{{cite book |last1=Fedoroff |first1=B.T. |last2=Kaye |first2=S.M. |title=Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items |publisher=Picatinny Arsenal |issue=v. 10 |year=1960 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VdBTAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA55 |page=2-PA55}}</ref>