Torpedo boats are one of those innovations in military history that seem bizarre at first glance: these small, fast vessels built to take on the giant warships of history.

The idea of torpedo boats first emerged during the American Civil War, when the South, unable to match the Union Navy, developed semi-submersible torpedo boats. These carried torpedoes on long poles, ramming them into blockading Union ships under the cover of darkness. Results were mixed. Many attacks failed, and the little craft were vulnerable to self-inflicted damage. But the notion of a cheap, fast boat armed with explosives that could threaten a battleship had then been established.

Europe came up with the invention of the self-propelled torpedo in the 1860s. Now a small boat didn’t have to ram a ship, but it could instead fire it from a distance. By the late 19th century, navies worldwide were experimenting with purpose-built torpedo boats. These were typically around 60 feet long, were steam powered, and armed with two or three torpedoes and light guns. They were inexpensive to build in numbers and, if deployed in swarms, could overwhelm much larger warships.

The success of torpedo boats prompted changes in larger ships. Battleships and cruisers added smaller, quicker-firing guns to fend off the smaller attackers. Soon, new ships were built specifically to counter the torpedo ships. These destroyers eventually outgrew the very boats they were designed to kill, evolving into one of the most important classes of modern warship.

Yet torpedo boats themselves weren’t finished. In World War I, Italian and British boats managed to sink armored warships with daring nighttime attacks. In World War II, they scouted, raided supply lines, and even turned back larger forces with torpedo runs. The most famous of these conflicts at the Battle off Samar in 1944.

I note this story to convey that this program was inspired by the limitlessness of human ingenuity when it comes to skirmishes.

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