Whitehead Torpedo Works was a company established in the 19th century by Robert Whitehead that developed the

Whitehead torpedo The Whitehead torpedo was the first self-propelled or "locomotive" torpedo ever developed. It was perfected in 1866 by British engineer Robert Whitehead from a rough design conceived by Giovanni Luppis of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in Fiume. I ...

. It grew from its initial location at Fiume to Wyke Regis and to Livorno, but the former two plants closed by the end of World War II. The Italian branch maintained the name Whitehead for a long time into the late 20th century, and still exists as Leonardo Sistemi di Difesa .

History

Robert Whitehead worked for a metal foundry in the city of

Fiume Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a po ...

(today

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

), and became its manager in 1856, and changed its name to ''Stabilimento Tecnico di Fiume'' (STF). STF produced marine steam boilers and engines, including for the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

. The invention of the

self-propelled torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

happened at that company, but it was not profitable and the company went bankrupt in 1873. The Whitehead company, Torpedo-Fabrik von Robert Whitehead, was founded in 1875 and would produce for the first torpedoes sold all around the world. In 1890 Whitehead opened a UK manufacturing and test site in

Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains ...

, Dorset. In 1905 the factory changed its name to ''Torpedo Fabrik Whitehead & Co. Gesellschaft'' and before his death, Whitehead sold his shares package to

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...

. In 1915, the company established a submarine subsidiary, the Ungarische Unterseebotsbau AG (known by its acronym UBAG; ), in Fiume and Linz. SM U-XX, SM U-XXI, SM U-XXII and SM U-XXIII Type diesel-electric submarines were produced by the UBAG Corporation in Fiume. The Wyke Regis factory continued to operate as a major anti-submarine and torpedo warfare centre in both the First and Second World Wars. It became Vickers Armstrong, Wellworthys and finally AE Piston Products. The site later became a housing estate. At the end of World War I the Fiume factory was in economic crisis and in 1924, when the

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

was signed and Fiume passed to Italy, Giuseppe Orlando, one of the owners of the ''

Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando (Orlando Brothers Shipyard) is a historical Italian shipyard in Livorno. History It was founded by Luigi Orlando and his brothers Giuseppe, Paolo and Salvatore who moved to Livorno from Genoa where in 1858 they h ...

'' of

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, purchased the company. Whitehead Torpedo, as it became known then, started producing motorcycles and then torpedoes in their Livorno subsidiary ''Società Moto Fides''. With the end of World War II the Fiume factory closed and merged with ''Moto Fides'' forming the ''Whitehead Moto Fides Stabilimenti Meccanici Riuniti'' on 31 July 1945. The

Whitehead Moto Fides Leonardo Sistemi di Difesa is an Italian defense company which is part of the Leonardo conglomerate. The company specializes in the manufacture of naval weapon systems. The plant based in Livorno came about when the Whitehead Torpedo Works was pur ...

continued the production of torpedoes in their Italian locations, and was renamed several times since, currently Leonardo Sistemi di Difesa.

References

Companies based in Rijeka Companies based in Dorset Companies based in Tuscany 1875 establishments in Austria-Hungary 1945 disestablishments in Italy Torpedo manufacturers {{Europe-company-stub