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Hey SJ_Sailer,
Torpedoes on cruisers are not their main way of dealing damage. Yes, most nations cruisers are equipped with torpedoes, save for a few nation specific ships. There are a few cruisers in the game that can use torpedoes well (mainly IJN cruisers because of the ability to fire them undetected).
When it comes to shorter range torpedoes, they are better used as last ditch armament. This also comes down to positioning because you have to typically expose a lot of side to launch the torpedoes. You also need to get the right angle so you can hit the target with as many torpedoes as possible. A BB pushing into cruiser smoke can be a terrifying thing for a cruiser, especially a cruiser that is trying torp.
In the situation described above, when you pushed, the BB should have pushed with you to give you supporting fire. The mistake the player made was sitting there and believing that he was going to destroy the cruiser that was torpedo rushing him. There are too many factors (rng, angle of the enemy, dispersion and so on) to reliably delete that enemy cruiser. What BB was your teammate in? I find the Yorck to be quite trolly when it is angled and depending on the friendly BB they might have experienced this as well.
Tips:
Do not rely on torpedoes on most cruisers, use them as a complimentary piece or last resort.
IJN cruisers are successful with torpedo attacks but they also tend to have longer range i.e. Zao (12km).
Trying to get your torps off, you need to do this is combination of maneuvering and shooting your guns.
RN CLs can also be successful with torpedo attacks at higher tiers because of the unique spreads.
Hope these tips help and good question!