The British torpedoes used at Taranto had magnetic exploders and were set to explode underneath the bottom of the Italian ships, making them much more lethal for their size. Some of them worked properly, but one underneath either the Duilio or the Cavour did not, complicating salvage attempts. At that time, the British torpedoes probably were not equipped with Torpex loaded heads. Torpex, or TORPedo EXplosive, is twice as effective in causing damage as TNT. Following the problems with the magnetic exploder during the attacks on the Bismarck, the British disabled the magnetic exploder feature. The Pugliese system used on the Littorio-class ships performed reasonably well, but was hampered by "poor structural connections" (Norman Friedman Battleship Design and Development 1905-1945). The Vittorio Veneto maintained a speed of 19 knots following a aerial torpedo hit from the British during the Battle off Cape Matapan in March of 1941. That was a contact verses a underbottom magnetic hit, however.
The British, the Germans, and the US all tried to use magnetic exploders in World War 2, and all ended up retiring them.
The torpedo protection system on the King George the Fifth class ships also had its problems, as demonstrated by the sinking of the Prince of Wales, following a limited number of hits. Side Note: There is limited discussion of torpedo protection systems in open literature as the US Navy views all such discussions subject to classification. It is a very sensitive subject.
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