Jellicoe's destroyers and E-class submarines

Jellicoe's small-ship program gave destroyers the fleet's forward torpedo role. The small combatants had different inshore and fleet tasks, with torpedo attack still distinguished from defensive anti-submarine work. Acorn-class destroyers are praised as useful all-rounders whose value became clear during the First World War. E-class submarines formed the familiar basis for Jellicoe's thinking when he later directed submarine operations. His construction work therefore shaped both the capital ships and the smaller vessels of his future fleet.