The Royal Navy did not remain passive after France embraced torpedo boats. Britain built its own torpedo craft and then developed the larger torpedo-boat destroyer, which combined torpedoes with rapid-firing guns capable of killing small attackers. Capital ships also received quick-firing defensive batteries, making a direct flotilla assault progressively more dangerous. The sequence illustrates how an opponent can respond to innovation with countermeasures.
Chapter · 9:25-10:46
Destroyers and quick-firing guns answer torpedo boats
British torpedo-boat destroyers and quick-firing guns blunted the flotilla threat and pushed French offset thinking toward another weapon.