The water entry forces acting on an air-dropped torpedo are of the restrictions on launch speed and launch altitude, because it could cause the structural damage to components of torpedo. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the water entry forces with confidence according to launch conditions. In this study, an approximation method for water entry forces is presented, and the results using this approximation are compared with those of other numerical methods. The magnitude and duration of impact forces estimated by the present approximation agree with those of impact by the analysis of ideal or viscous flow. This method can give useful tools to select the launch in initial design stage.