torpedo boat definition of torpedo boat in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

torpedo boat, small fast warship built specially for using the torpedo as a means of attack. The first modern torpedo torpedo, in naval warfare, a self-propelled submarine projectile loaded with explosives, used for the destruction of enemy ships. Although there were attempts at subsurface warfare in the 16th and 17th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. boat was the Lightning, built for the British navy in 1877 by the shipyards of Sir John Isaac Thornycroft. Torpedo boats were adopted by most of the world's major navies, but as they increased in size the destroyer destroyer, class of warship very fast relative to its length, generally equipped with torpedos, antisubmarine equipment, and medium-caliber and antiaircraft guns. The newest destroyers are equipped with guided missiles as their chief offensive weapon.
..... Click the link for more information. was developed as an effective defense against them. They diminished in importance after the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5) and were used sparingly in World War I, but they were widely employed in World War II. At that time torpedo boats, often referred to as PT boats, were commonly used in attacking enemy coastal shipping and light naval forces under cover of darkness and bad weather. They were usually wooden vessels 75 to 125 ft (22.8–38.1 m) long, powered by gasoline or diesel engines and capable of very high speeds.

Bibliography

See Jane's Fighting Ships (pub. annually since 1897); B. Cooper, The Battle of the Torpedo Boats (1970).