List of torpedo boat classes of the Royal Navy

This is a list of torpedo boat classes of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, organised chronologically by entry into service.

Torpedo boats
Since the first utilisation of the spar-torpedos in the American Civil War and the Russian Turkish War, the sea powers were to be ambitious, these ultimate weapon as autonomous vehicle with small and cheap ships to use. The Royal Navy purchased 2nd and 1st class torpedo boats for offensive and defensive combats. The first class boats where ordered for an offensive tactical battle, as the second class boats for harbour defence and swallow waters. Later – especially against the french automobile defense – they ordered primarily torpedo boat catchers and torpedo gun boats, in the final torpedo boat destroyers (TBD) or destroyers.

=1st class torpedo boats= The greater boats was designed for independent inshore operations.

Lightning-design

 * John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick
 * No. 1 or HMS Lightning
 * No. 2 - No. 12
 * Maudslay, Sons and Field, Lambeth
 * No. 13
 * Yarrow & Company, Poplar
 * No. 14
 * Hanna, Donald & Wilson, Paislay
 * No. 15
 * Stephen Lewin, Poole
 * No. 16 – not in service
 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 17 - No. 18
 * J. Samuel White, Cowes
 * No. 19
 * Rennie, Paislay
 * No. 19

113-Footers

 * Des Vignes, Chertsey
 * No. 21 – not accepted from RN because of lack of performance
 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 21 - No. 22
 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 23 - No. 24

125-Footers

 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 25
 * No. 26 - No. 29
 * No. 41 - No. 60
 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 30 - No. 33
 * No. 61 - No. 78
 * No. 79
 * J. Samuel White
 * No. 34 - No. 38

Larger boats and purchases

 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 39 - No. 40
 * No. 80
 * J. Samuel White
 * No. 81 (Swift)
 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 82 - No. 87

140-Footers

 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 88 - No. 89
 * No. 90
 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 91 - No. 92
 * No. 93
 * J. Samuel White
 * No. 94 - No. 96
 * Laird Brothers, Birkenhead
 * No. 97
 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 100
 * No. 102 - No. 103
 * Hanna, Donald & Wilson
 * No. 101
 * J. Samuel White
 * No. 104 - No. 106

160-Footers

 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 98 - No. 99
 * No. 107 - No. 108
 * No. 109 - No. 113
 * J. Samuel White
 * No. 114 - No. 117

=2nd class torpedo boats=

The first 50 small torpedo boats carried as not-autonomous boats on big ships or given to torpedo boat carriers, such as HMS Vulcan and HMS Hecla. The later boats was designed as harbour defence ships and coastal boats.


 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 51 - No. 62
 * Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol RI
 * No. 63
 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 64 - No. 73
 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 74, No. 75
 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 76 - No. 95
 * Yarrow & Company, Limited
 * No. 96, No. 97
 * John I. Thornycroft & Company
 * No. 98
 * No. 99, No. 100

=See also=
 * Cricket-class coastal destroyer as successor for torpedo boats
 * Coastal Motor Boat
 * Motor Torpedo Boat
 * Motor Gun Boat

=Sources=
 * Chesnau, Roger and Kolesnik, Eugene (Ed.) Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860–1905. Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4