The word itself has connotations that are probably false.
At one time, "torpedoes" indeed only swam straight and could neither track nor steer. This still allowed the occasional hit against extremely slow targets at ranges that were merely a couple of hundred times the length of the torpedo itself. That was also the time in which torpedoes were fired in spreads. The Cold War audiences might still be the most familiar with that type of torpedo, with Trek expectations to mach.
Then again, at another time, "torpedoes" were things that sat in the water, waiting for a hapless ship to come close enough that the operator could send a signal across a wire to make the torpedo go kaboom and send the ship to the bottom. Or things dangling at the ends of long poles so that they could be rammed against the enemy side. And before that, they were fish that most definitely did track and steer.
The distinction between Trek and TOS is important here, as the former allows us to see the definition of torpedo never wavers, while the latter gives no context and little evidence to go by overall. We know the "Ray-Ban casing" design survives the ages (much like the real world 21in tube), and we see powerful maneuvering and hear references to tracking in all other incarnations of Trek but TOS/TAS. But of course we can still argue that the 2260s were some sort of an experimental exception if that is our wont.
Timo Saloniemi
At one time, "torpedoes" indeed only swam straight and could neither track nor steer. This still allowed the occasional hit against extremely slow targets at ranges that were merely a couple of hundred times the length of the torpedo itself. That was also the time in which torpedoes were fired in spreads. The Cold War audiences might still be the most familiar with that type of torpedo, with Trek expectations to mach.
Then again, at another time, "torpedoes" were things that sat in the water, waiting for a hapless ship to come close enough that the operator could send a signal across a wire to make the torpedo go kaboom and send the ship to the bottom. Or things dangling at the ends of long poles so that they could be rammed against the enemy side. And before that, they were fish that most definitely did track and steer.
The distinction between Trek and TOS is important here, as the former allows us to see the definition of torpedo never wavers, while the latter gives no context and little evidence to go by overall. We know the "Ray-Ban casing" design survives the ages (much like the real world 21in tube), and we see powerful maneuvering and hear references to tracking in all other incarnations of Trek but TOS/TAS. But of course we can still argue that the 2260s were some sort of an experimental exception if that is our wont.
Timo Saloniemi
