The torpedo boat tender was a type of warship developed at the end of the 19th century to help bring small

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

s to the high seas, and launch them for attack. During the Turko-Russian war in 1877, the Russians requisitioned 19 trade vessels to convert them as torpedo boat tenders. '' Velikiy Knyaz Konstantin'' was the first historical vessel in this new ship class. She was captained by Stepan Makarov, who was major naval engineer, early practitioner of

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

usage and the author of concept of torpedo boat tender. On 14 January 1878, Makarov performed the first successful attack by self-propelled torpedoes in history. The Turkish ship ''Intibah'' was destroyed by torpedo boats launched from ''Velikiy Knyaz Konstantin''. In 1878, the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

commissioned the ''Hecla'' as a torpedo boat tender,Naval Warfare, 1815-1914 By Lawrence Sondhaus p.125
/ref> followed by

HMS Vulcan (1889) HMS ''Vulcan'' was a British torpedo boat depot ship launched in 1889, later converted to a submarine tender in 1908-09. As a training hulk, she was renamed HMS ''Defiance III'' in 1931 and used for training at Torpoint, Cornwall. She was sc ...

. The 1896 French ship ''Foudre'' was a torpedo boat tender, before it was converted to a

seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the type evolved and in the US adopted the designation of

motor torpedo boat tender Motor torpedo boat tender is a type of ship used by the U.S. Navy during World War II and Vietnam War. The motor torpedo boat tender's task was to act as a tender in remote areas for patrol boats ( PT-boats) and to provide the necessary fuel and ...

(AGP, or "Patrol Craft Tender", according to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

hull classification system).

Gallery

File:Torpedoe boat tender Foudre.jpg, The 1896 torpedo boat tender ''Foudre'' File:La Foudre tending torpedo boats bf 1923.jpg, ''Foudre'' tending

torpedo boats A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

Notes

References

*Randier, Jean 2006 ''La Royale'', Editions Babouji {{ISBN, 2-35261-022-2 Navies Russian inventions Warships Torpedo boats