Destroyers had grown from specialist torpedo-boat killers into large ocean-going ships with anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and general escort duties. Fast torpedo craft nevertheless remained a close-in threat that demanded a specialist answer near the coast. The motor gun boat, especially the Fairmile D or Dog Boat, became a practical reinvention of the original torpedo-boat destroyer. The comparison explains the design's emphasis on speed, rapid-fire weapons, and aggressive close-range interception.
Notable Point · 12:16-13:06
Motor gun boats revive the torpedo-boat destroyer
Motor gun boats brought the old torpedo-boat-destroyer mission back to the coastal war in a fast, heavily armed form.