Torpedo boat destroyers Torpedo boat

hms spider, model of torpedo gunboat

the introduction of torpedo boat resulted in flurry of activity in navies around world, smaller, quicker-firing guns added existing ships ward off new threat. in mid-1880s there developed torpedo gunboats, first vessel design explicit purpose of hunting , destroying torpedo boats. small cruisers, torpedo gunboats equipped torpedo tubes , adequate gun armament, intended hunting down smaller enemy boats.

the first example of hms rattlesnake, designed nathaniel barnaby in 1885. gunboat armed torpedoes , designed hunting , destroying smaller torpedo boats. armed single 4-inch/25-pounder breech-loading gun, 6 3-pounder qf guns , 4 14-inch (360 mm) torpedo tubes, arranged 2 fixed tubes @ bow , set of torpedo dropping carriages on either side. 4 torpedo reloads carried.

a number of torpedo gunboat classes followed, including grasshopper class, sharpshooter class, alarm class , dryad class - built royal navy during 1880s , 1890s. however, end of 1890s torpedo gunboats had been made obsolete more successful contemporaries, torpedo boat destroyers, faster.

hms havock first modern destroyer, commissioned in 1894

the first ships bear formal designation torpedo boat destroyer (tbd) daring class of 2 ships , havock class of 2 ships of royal navy, ordered in 1892 third sea lord, rear admiral jackie fisher. these enlarged torpedo boats, speed equal or surpassing torpedo boats, armed heavier guns attack them before able close on main fleet.

hms daring , hms decoy both built thornycroft. armed 1 12-pounder gun , 3 6-pounder guns, 1 fixed 18-in torpedo tube in bow plus 2 more torpedo tubes on revolving mount abaft 2 funnels. later bow torpedo tube removed , 2 more 6-pounder guns added instead. produced 4,200 hp (3,100 kw) pair of thornycroft water-tube boilers, giving them top speed of 27 knots, giving range , speed travel battle fleet.

after russo-japanese war (1904–1905), these ships became known destroyers. destroyers became more useful, having better seaworthiness , greater capabilities torpedo boats, replaced torpedo boats. however, london naval treaty after world war limited tonnage of warships, placed no limits on ships of under 600 tons. french, italian, japanese , german navies developed torpedo boats around displacement, 70 100 m long, armed 2 or 3 guns of around 100 mm (4 in) , torpedo launchers. example, royal norwegian navy sleipner-class destroyers in fact of torpedo boat size, while italian spica-class torpedo boats closer in size destroyer escort. after world war ii subsumed revived corvette classification.

the kriegsmarine torpedo boats classified torpedoboot t -prefixed hull numbers. classes designed in mid-1930s, such torpedo boat type 35, had few guns, relying entirely upon torpedoes. found inadequate in combat, , result fleet torpedo boat class (flottentorpedoboot), larger, 1,700 tons, comparable small destroyers. class of german boats highly effective, in action in british cruiser hms charybdis sunk off brittany torpedo salvo launched elbing-class torpedo boats t23 , t27.