Vosper 70-footers and extreme power-to-weight

The section opens with boats ordered from American yards for Dutch service in the East Indies but taken into United States service after the Netherlands fell. The 70-footer then appears as a widely adopted design, although the closely related 72- and 73-foot boats complicate simple labels. Depending on engine fit, it could carry 21-inch torpedo tubes, cannon, and machine guns, with the most powerful three-shaft variants reaching far beyond their official 33-knot figure. The small hull and thousands of horsepower made performance impressive but placed real stress on a wooden construction. Engine limiting systems were meant to prevent crews from shaking the hull apart, although wartime operators could disable those safeguards when speed mattered.