The first effective torpedo platforms were purpose-built boats, but their weapons initially could only be fired in a direction and trusted to run roughly true. A successful attack therefore required a small craft to close with a large, armed target and then escape the blast, defensive fire, and maneuver that followed. The section makes the tactical trade-off explicit: a torpedo could threaten a battleship, but the launch platform was fragile and exposed. That vulnerability helped produce both anti-torpedo defenses and the destroyer.
Notable Point · 23:30-29:02
Torpedo boats had to survive the run-in
Early torpedo boats were expendable because short-ranged weapons forced them close enough to be caught in the danger they created.