What is "torpedo boat"

Torpedo \Tor*pe"do\, n.; pl. Torpedoes. [L. torpedo, -inis, from torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See Torpid.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes belonging to Torpedo and allied genera. They are related to the rays, but have the power of giving electrical shocks. Called also crampfish, and numbfish. See Electrical fish, under Electrical.

   Note: The common European torpedo ( Torpedo vulgaris) and the American species ( Torpedo occidentalis) are the best known.

2. An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them up; a mine[4]. Specifically:

   1. A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel, beneath the water, or set adrift in a current, and so designed that they will explode when touched or approached by a vessel, or when an electric circuit is closed by an operator on shore; now called marine mine. [obsolete]

      Damn the torpedoes -- full speed ahead!
      --Adm. David Glasgow Farragut (At the battle of Mobile Bay, 1864).

   2. A kind of small submarine boat carrying an explosive charge, and projected from a ship against another ship at a distance, or made self-propelling, and otherwise automatic in its action against a distant ship.

3. (Mil.) A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be exploded by electricity or by stepping on it; now called land mine. [obsolete]

4. (Railroad) A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed on a rail, and exploded when crushed under the locomotive wheels, -- used as an alarm signal.

5. An explosive cartridge or shell lowered or dropped into a bored oil well, and there exploded, to clear the well of obstructions or to open communication with a source of supply of oil.

6. A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which explodes when thrown upon a hard object.

7. An automobile with a torpedo body. [Archaic Cant]

   Fish torpedo, a spindle-shaped, or fish-shaped, self-propelling submarine torpedo.

   Spar torpedo, a canister or other vessel containing an explosive charge, and attached to the end of a long spar which projects from a ship or boat and is thrust against an enemy's ship, exploding the torpedo.

   Torpedo boat, a vessel adapted for carrying, launching, operating, or otherwise making use of, torpedoes against an enemy's ship., especially, a small, fast boat with tubes for launching torpedoes.

   Torpedo nettings, nettings made of chains or bars, which can be suspended around a vessel and allowed to sink beneath the surface of the water, as a protection against torpedoes.

n. a small, high-speed warship designed to fire torpedoes, especially in coastal waters

n. small high-speed warship designed for torpedo attacks in coastal waters

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other slow and heavily armed ships by using speed, agility, and the power of their torpedo weapons. A number of inexpensive torpedo boats attacking en masse could overwhelm a larger ship's ability to fight them off using its large but cumbersome guns. An inexpensive fleet of torpedo boats could pose a threat to much larger and more expensive fleets of capital ships, albeit only in the coastal areas to which their small size and limited fuel load restricted them.

The introduction of fast torpedo boats in the late 19th century was a serious concern to the era's naval strategists. In response, navies operating large ships introduced smaller ships to counter torpedo boats, mounting light quick-firing guns. These ships, which came to be called "torpedo boat destroyers" and later simply "destroyers," became larger and took on more roles, making torpedo attacks as well as defending against them, and eventually defending against submarines and aircraft. The destroyer eventually became the predominant type of surface warship in the guided missile age.

In the modern era, the old concept of a very small, fast, and cheap surface combatant with powerful offensive weapons is taken up by the " fast attack craft".

'Torpedo Boat ' is a 1942 American drama film directed by John Rawlins and written by Maxwell Shane. The film stars Richard Arlen, Jean Parker, Mary Carlisle, Phillip Terry, Dick Purcell and Ralph Sanford. The film was released on January 24, 1948, by Paramount Pictures.