The Definitive Illustrated History of the Torpedo Boat - Volume II , 1280 - 1899

Book excerpt: This, the second volume in this ten-volume set, provides a complete timeline of significant events in the history of the torpedo boat throughout the world, with seventy-five magnificent illustrations in a full-color interior. This is the first book to provide the history and color illustrations of the "Al Rammah" torpedo invented by that Syrian engineer in 1280 AD-a full three hundred years and thousands of miles from the beginnings of European torpedo warfare in the Netherlands in 1585. Over time, new methods of naval architecture led to astounding vessels, large and small, that proved their value in the dozens of small wars that raged across the calendar and around the globe. The American Civil War was a cauldron of innovation in the technology of the "torpedo"-thoroughly documented here-while Russia was the first European nation to embrace the concept of spar-torpedo boat warfare. Quickly following were Italy, with is need small craft in the confines of the Adriatic, Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas. The nations of the world raced to build bigger, faster, and more powerful Torpedo Boats. It would be the Japanese who proved the investment in these new craft were worth every hour and every dime spent in their production. By 1899, small fast boats were here to stay.