Torpedo Boats, 1859-1882: Photo Gallery
In fleet lists as Bateaux torpilleurs (under Bâtiments de flottille) 1876, Bateaux torpilleurs pour le service de la Défense Mobile 1880, Torpilleurs garde-côtes de 1re et 2e classe and torpilleurs-vedettes 1883, and Torpilleurs de 1re et 2e classe and torpilleurs-vedettes 1885.
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Experimental boats: Torpilleurs Nos. 1-7 (1876)
Torpilleur No. 1
No. 1 (French torpedo boat). France's first torpedo boat was a large craft intended to operate in the North Sea. Key: G = rudder (2), TL = torpedo tube (submerged), T = reserve torpedoes, MA = engine (2), CO = condenser (2), CH = boiler (2). (Source: Henri Le Masson, Histoire du torpilleur en France, Paris, 1966, p. 12.)
26 meter Thornycroft class: Nos. 8-19 (1878)
No. 13
No. 13 (French torpedo boat). One of twelve small boats ordered from Thornycroft in 1877. All were still active in 1893. The main armament was a spar torpedo, the spar probably being visible behind the people on deck. The object in the bow was a buffer to protect the craft in the event of a collision with the target. (Photo: Shipscribe collection)
27 meter type: Nos. 20-25 and 33-55 (1878-1881)
Nos. 25, 39, 43, 44, 50, & 52
The six French torpedo boats of the Défense Mobile at Saigon in 1894, Nos. 25, 39, 43, 44, 50, and 52, with their mother ship, the chaloupe-canonnière Sagaïe (q.v.). Nos. 25 and 43-44 had spar torpedoes, No. 39 had two tubes on top of the bow like No. 38, and Nos. 50 and 52 had two tubes inside the bow. (Photo: Private digital collection)
No. 38
No. 38 (French torpedo boat). One of four sisters ordered from Claparède, St. Denis, in 1878. They lasted until 1897-1903. They had two torpedo tubes on top of the bow. (Photo: Postcard by Chocolat Klaus, a Swiss and French chocolate company)
No. 50
No. 50 (French torpedo boat) alongside the chaloupe-canonnière Estoc at Saigon. No. 50 had two funnels abreast while No. 52 had one offset to starboard. (Photo: Private digital collection)
Nos. 50 and 52
No. 52 (French torpedo boat) on the left with a spar torpedo boat (center) and No. 50 (right). The canopy over each boat was a permanent fixture on small craft (including chaloupes-canonnières) stationed in Indochina. The paddle aviso is Pluvier. (Photo: Private digital collection)
No. 52
No. 52 (French torpedo boat) on the border between Cochinchina and Cambodia after being transported from France to Saigon in 1891. She was redesignated Torpilleur colonial No. 5-S in 1901. (Photo: Private digital collection)