French Torpedo Development before 1914

Abstract

France embraced the promise of self-propelled torpedoes in the early decades of development. Proponents of the Jeune École put it at the centre of naval strategy, tactics, and fleet composition, as a way for a weaker navy to challenge a stronger. Even as the French Navy fell under the influence of Alfred Thayer Mahan and constructed a big gun battlefleet, the advanced torpedo still maintained its prominence. A contemporary publication distributed within the French Navy provides technical details, capabilities, and quality of design for standard French model types before the First World War.