The development of the torpedo boat as a means of offence soon made it necessary for a means to be devised of defeating them. The torpedo gunboat was accordingly designed, the idea being that it should be able not only to act as a small cruiser, scout or gunboat, but by reason of its superior size, armament, and sea-going qualities should hold the torpedo boats in check. One of the earliest of these was the French _Bombe_ launched in 1885. She was of 395 tons displacement, and was intended to have a speed of 18 knots, but being lightly constructed, proved a slow boat whenever there was the suspicion of a sea on. England followed suit with the _Rattlesnake_ and others, of 550 tons, but they also failed to maintain their designed speed of 19½ knots. Improved gunboats followed, which, however, were not considered to be equal to the duties required of them, especially as by 1902 torpedo boats were built to travel at a speed which would leave the gunboats far behind. This left the way open for the appearance of the torpedo boat destroyer, which has been described as the result of the failure of the gunboat to perform its second purpose satisfactorily. The destroyer was designed to be able to overtake torpedo boats by superior speed, to be of larger dimensions, and therefore able to maintain her speed in rougher weather than the torpedo boat could, and to be sufficiently powerfully armed to sink a torpedo boat or hostile destroyer by gun-fire. The destroyer was also to carry torpedoes, it being desired to take advantage of the great speed to deliver torpedo attacks upon cruisers and other large ships as occasion offered. The earliest British destroyers were the _Daring_ of 237 tons, in 1893 the _Hornet_ of 240 tons, and the _Ferret_ of 250 tons, built respectively by Thornycroft, Yarrow and Laird, all three boats having a speed of 27½ knots; and about two years later the Palmer firm built at Jarrow the _Janus_, _Lightning_, and _Porcupine_ of equal speed. With Thornycroft’s _Boxer_, in 1894, the speed was brought up to 29 knots; and in the same year the _Desperate_, 280 tons, and the _Quail_, 305 tons--two odd names to be associated--were the pioneers of the destroyers of the 30-knot type, many of which attained to 32 knots. These were turbine boats, but the _Albatross_ by Thornycroft, with reciprocating engines, also attained 32 knots in 1899. The last 30-knot destroyer had her engines fitted with forced lubrication on a special system, which overcame the difficulty of oiling the engines satisfactorily for running at the high speed necessary and was the first destroyer in the British Navy to be thus equipped. [Illustration: STERN VIEW OF H.M.S. “SYLVIA.” 30-KNOT DESTROYER, WITH COAL-BURNING WATER-TUBE BOILERS. _Photograph supplied by Wm. Doxford & Son, Ltd., Sunderland._]