Torpedo Boats were an early predecessor to the Torpedo Boat Destroyer used extensively during the early part of the Great War and during the Second World War. They were fast fighting ships, primarily designed as small vessels to carry torpedoes, equipped with torpedoes and light guns. Torpedo boats were first invented in 1873 and were launches of about 7.5 tons displacement and a speed of about 15 knots. Around 1893 they were replaced in most navies by larger vessels which were known as destroyers or torpedo boat destroyers. Torpedo boats were cheap to produce, and during the Second World War both the German and Allied navies possessed large numbers of them. British torpedo boats constructed under a 1938 programme were typically about 30 tons displacement, armed with two 21-inch torpedo tubes and two anti-aircraft machine guns and had a top speed of about 40 knots or more.
German Second World War motor torpedo boats were about 62 tons displacement, were powered by diesel engines and had a top speed of about 34 knots, and were made of wood or composite material and were renowned for being sturdy and seaworthy vessels. Research Torpedo Boat
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Research Torpedo Boat