science

Storepedo

Storepedo is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Storepedo rather than just read about it. In short: A storepedo, or alternately storpedo, is a cylindrical storage container with an attached parachute. Resupplying troops in the jungle by air drop during World War II was proving problematic.

Key takeaways

Storepedo belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Storepedo to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Storepedo from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A storepedo, or alternately storpedo, is a cylindrical storage container with an attached parachute. Resupplying troops in the jungle by air drop during World War II was proving problematic. Regular parachutes were costly in both money and material. Drops without parachutes risked loss of the materials due to the impact. The Australian Inventions Directorate in headed by Sir Laurence Hartnett tasked the Ordnance Production Directorate to produce a solution. G.W Griffiths, on a secondment with the directorate, came up with the answer. to examine the problem. A shock absorbent heavy-gauge wire netting container to absorb the impact. Griffiths named this an 'Aeropak'. The design also allows for a parachute to be attached to slow the descent. The design was refined by Morris & Walker Pty Ltd of Melbourne. The printing firm added a three-foot cardboard cylinder to carry 250lbs. A hessian parachute was also added. The hollow nose cone is hollow which also takes a proportion on the impact. The Storpedo was test dropped from a Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft at Nadzab in New Guinea in 1944. The Storepedo was used by Australian and US forces in the South-West Pacific. Small aircraft, for example the CAC Wirraway, could carry the container. Use of smaller aircraft resulted in greater accuracy of the drops. The Storpedo was used to supply liberated prisoners of war in Timor following the 1945 surrender of Japan. After the war, the Storpedo was used to supply victims of flooding in New South Wales. The names on the patent are E.R. Campbell, K.M. Frewin, F.W. Lennox and R.P. Morris.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Storepedo

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Storepedo claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Storepedo before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Storepedo ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Storepedo

In research: Storepedo appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Storepedo in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Storepedo is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Australian inventions, World War II military equipment of Australia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Storepedo outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Storepedo in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Storepedo means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Storepedo out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Storepedo in simple terms?

A storepedo, or alternately storpedo, is a cylindrical storage container with an attached parachute. Resupplying troops in the jungle by air drop during World War II was proving problematic.

Why does Storepedo matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Storepedo?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Storepedo.