An attack by boats armed with the spar torpedo must always partake of the nature of a forlorn hope, this especially applying to the boats themselves, the crews of which, provided they are supplied with good life belts, would seem to run a far greater risk of a wetting and a prison than of being shot.
Not less than four torpedo boats should compose the attacking force. The crews of the boats, consisting of only those actually required, should fully understand "_that the hostile vessel is to be torpedoed_," i.e. they are not to give up the attack on the vessel opening fire, nor in the case of one or more of the torpedo boats being sunk, but to remember that one boat is sufficient to effectually carry out the object of the attack, viz. the sinking of the ship.
In making the attack, one boat should be directed on each bow, and one on each quarter, the final rush being as combined as possible. There must not be the _slightest hesitation_, and each boat must make _direct_ for her point of attack.
The cause of the Russians failing so often in their torpedo boat attacks during the war of '77 may be traced to the absence of anything like a system, and to their giving up the attack directly they supposed themselves discovered.
When using the towing torpedo, two boats only could be used, and they should make the attack, either coming down from ahead, one on each side of the vessel, or coming up from the stern, one on each side of the vessel, or by the boats crossing the bow and stern of the vessel in different directions.
In the case of the fish torpedo the attack must be conducted in a different manner, the object in this case being to get within a certain distance only of the vessel undetected, and from thence send the missile on its deadly course. The distance should not be more than 500 yards; the closer up to 200 yards the better. In connection with such an attack, the torpedo boats might be supported by guard boats, whose particular duty it would be to engage the enemy's guard boats and so leave the torpedo boats free to do their particular work.
It has been suggested to use the electric light from the bows of torpedo boats, but this would do away with one of the chief characteristics of such boats, viz. their invisible and unknown approach, on which the whole success of the attack in a great measure depends.