The topredoes used in the World Wars traveled at fifty knots, much faster than any ship, and they may be faster today. Then again, the homing topedo (like the guided missile) may have made speed less important than it was then.
16th March 1959
The North Vietnamese Navy had Patrol Torpedo Boats; the South Vietnamese Navy countered with (US) Swift Boats.
He was in the navy, he served on a PT boat (patrol torpedo) in the pacific theatre
The Iraqi Government did NOT send out it's Iraqi Navy Torpedo Boats to attack US Navy warships on the high seas. The North Vietnamese Navy DID attack US Navy warships upon the high seas. No comparison.
LBJ started the bombing by attacking North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boat bases in North Vietnam; in retaliation for their attacks on US Navy destroyers in the Tonkin Gulf in August 1964.
"Torpedo Boats" (not gun boats) of the North Vietnamese Navy's 135th Torpedo Boat Squadron attacked the destroyer USS Maddox in the Tonkin Gulf on 02 August 1964.
WW2-era US Navy Mk. 14s and Japanese "Long Lances" clocked about 40 knots. Modern torpedoes are even faster and the Russian Skval torpedo is rumored to speed along at about 100 knots, via a cavitating air bubble.
1964 (not 1954). Naval engagements between the North Viet Navy's 135th Torpedo Boat Squadron and the US Navy's destroyer USS Maddox (later Maddox and USS Turner Joy) in the Tonkin Gulf.
Flying a US Navy torpedo bomber, presumably against Japanese warships or other Japanese shipping.
PT stands for Patrol Boat. PT boats were small fast torpedo boats used by the United States Navy during WWII. Their small size gave them a speed advantage over larger vessels such as destroyers and frigates. They would use their speed and small size to there advantage and close in on the size of their target ship then launch a series of torpedo's usually 4 and then speed away. They had a 5 to 7 man crew and were armed with .50 cal heavy machine guns as well for engaging small vessels and anti aircraft defense.
The beginning of the war between America & North Vietnam; the naval engagements in the Tonkin Gulf between the US Navy destroyer USS Maddox and North Viet Navy's 135th Torpedo Boat Squadron in August 1964.
By the word "posed," I assume you are asking about the kind of threat it posed towards the US Navy. "The C.S. Navy could never achieve equality with the Union Navy and used technological innovation, such as ironclads, submarines, torpedo boats, and naval mines (then known as torpedoes) to gain advantage over the Union Navy. In February 1861, the Confederate Navy had thirty ships, only fourteen of which were seaworthy, while the Union Navy had ninety vessels. The C.S. Navy eventually grew to 101 ships to meet the rise in naval conflicts and enemy threats."