Leonardo Sistemi di Difesa
[2][3] The Moto Fides (variously spelled as Motofides) factory had been originally set up in 1934 in order to manufacture licensed copies of Zündapp motorcycles, and the first delivery of torpedoes at the new production lines took place in 1939.
The Livorno plant was first bombed on 28 May 1943, with damage being relatively minor and plans already in progress to shift some of the production to infrastructure outside the factory complex, in adjoining areas.
Subsequent bombing targeted the Porto Santo Stefano torpedo launching station, which engaged in weapon research and testing.
Additional damage was caused by German demolitions crews on 8 September 1943, following the Armistice of Cassibile, with the aim of denying industrial assets to the Allies; all viable machinery, equipment, and research materials were sent to Germany.
Allied land forces later used the factory grounds as a field-expedient repair shop for vehicles following the invasion of Italy.
This process was interrupted by heavy Allied bombing of Fiume Carnaro on January 7th and 21st, causing severe damage to the Silurificio Whitehead plant located there.
With the advance of Allied troops in northern and central Italy, German forces abandoned both factories, taking much of the tooling and machinery with them, to Germany.
[1]: 245 In the aftermath of the Second World War, all that remained was the Motofides factory, with Silurificio Italiano being utterly destroyed by Allied bombing and the original Whitehead Torpedo Works being physically seized by a foreign power after the occupation of Fiume by Yugoslav resistance forces in 1945.
A small group of technicians was dedicated to preservation of the company's original specialty, engaging in the production of spare parts for, repair, and revision of existing torpedoes.
– Ufficio Studi Armi Subacquee) was set up, coordinating the activities of Whitehead Moto Fides and Industria Meccanica Napoletana, a company derived from the remnants of Silurificio Italiano.
The new design would incorporate an Atlas Werke P3 passive three-dimensional acoustic seeker head and wire guidance.
A speed of 25 knots was deemed by navy staff as below minimal requirements, resulting in a temporary abandonment of the P3 seeker head; production units used the P2 seeker head, at 30 knots, with the weapon's depth being manually controlled by an operator on board the warship.
Motivated by the need to arm the upcoming Toti class submarine, Whitehead-Motofides also developed a shortened and improved version of the G7e, called the G6e, following the same naming convention for a six-meter torpedo.
The same year, development of another improved wire-guided torpedo on the basis of the A181 commenced, on commission with the Italian navy.
[6] This was followed by the United States congress officially approving French and Italian manufacture of the Mark 44 on 1 June 1961.
[1]: 261 Although the G6e had substantially greater range than the Mark 44, the American torpedo possessed a more sophisticated seeker head, and production of the G6e was halted after only 24 units were delivered.
The increasing availability of high-speed nuclear submarines exacerbated demand for effective ASW torpedoes.
The new weapon, called G62ef Canguro (ef = electtrico filoguidato, electric wire-guided), entered service in 1968.
