A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar …

Jun 7, 2024 · The earliest known use of the torpedo dates back to 1585 by the Dutch, which was actually a ship packed with explosives. The torpedo is a direct descendant of the mine. During …

PT (Patrol, Torpedo) boats were small, fast, and expendable vessels for short range oceanic scouting, armed with torpedoes and machine guns for cutting enemy supply lines and …

Jun 12, 2023 · To advance naval warfare further, engineers invented a vessel that could carry the torpedo into battle, known as the torpedo boat. The first time the new ship witnessed action …

In the 1930s the German, Italian, British, and U.S. navies regained interest in motor torpedo boats, which had been largely discarded after World War I. All four navies built them in …

The spar-torpedo boat became in effect a precursor of the torpedo-boat, as the carrier was generally small and fast. That was a dangerous endeavor, reckless and desperate form of …

This list of steam-driven torpedo boats of the United States Navy includes all ships with the hull classification symbol TB, running from TB-1 of 1890 to TB-35 of 1901.

Dec 28, 2025 · For decades, battleships were seen as unstoppable symbols of naval power, protected by thick armor and massive guns. Yet their greatest vulnerability came from small, …

After a spiked torpedo at the end of a long spar, such as the one in the image at top right, had been rammed into an enemy ship, the torpedo boat would withdraw and detonate the device …

May 27, 2025 · The development of the torpedo boat was governed by advances in hull design, power plants, and weaponry. Robert Whitehead's invention of the self-propelled torpedo in …