Torpedo boats and destroyer origins

Small torpedo boats threatened fleets maintaining a close blockade off defended harbors. First-class boats were intended to operate at sea and protect the fleet from smaller second-class harbor-defense boats, which larger ships could also carry for coastal attacks. HMS Lightning, later TB1, began the British sequence in 1877 with a single torpedo tube. Some first-class boats laid down in 1885 were intended as gun-armed catchers before receiving torpedoes after the immediate war scare passed. HMS Rattlesnake followed in 1886 as a larger vessel expected to catch torpedo boats and remain at sea in weather that troubled smaller craft. Her reliable 18.5 knots proved inadequate as torpedo-boat speeds increased; few subsequent gunboats exceeded 20 knots even after reboilering. The type also suffered from unsteady gun platforms and light construction. French boats reaching 23 or 24 knots, with hopes of 30, intensified the pressure for a faster gun-armed countermeasure.