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Torpedo Boats, 1876-1882: 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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Class: No. 1 (on list 1876)
Torpilleur No. 1
No. 1 (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.
Class: No. 8 (1878)
Torpilleur No. 13
No. 13 (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)
Class: No. 37 (1879)
Torpilleur No. 38
No. 38 (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)
Classes: Nos. 24, 37, 43, 50, and 51
Torpilleurs Nos. 25, 39, 43, 44, 50, and 52
The six 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: Faceboook by Vladimir Yakubov on 7.3.2025)
Classes: No. 50 (1880)
Torpilleur No. 50
No. 50 (Torpedo boat) alongside the chaloupe-canonnière Estoc at Saigon. No. 50 had two funnels abreast while No. 52 had one offset to starboard. (Photo: Faceboook by Vladimir Yakubov on 1.8.2021)
Classes: Nos. 50 and 51 (1880)
Torpilleurs Nos. 50 and 52
No. 52 (Torpedo boat) on the left with a spar torpedo boat and No. 50 on the right. The canopy over each boat was a permanent fixture on small craft (including chaloupes-canonnières) stationed in Indochina. The paddle aviso may be Pluvier. (Photo: Faceboook by Vladimir Yakubov on 7.3.2025)
Class: No. 51 (1880)
Torpilleur No. 52
No. 52 (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: Faceboook by Vladimir Yakubov on 7.3.2025)