Talk:Torpedo boat tender

Starting point
Good start to this article. A lot of what could be written about these ships would be theoretical in terms of tactical or operational application with the fleet, but interesting. Perhaps a discussion of possibilities is outside the scope of an encyclopedia though.

One thing I do note is that there isn't really much mention of how these ships were a starting point for further development of fleet tenders in many ways, and perhaps linking to that article would be a good place to go. Foudre after all, changed role several times during her career, ultimately becoming a seaplane tender. This was a new technological application, but the notion of her still acting as a mothership for smaller craft which in themselves lacked range or endurance stands very closely next to the original conception of a carrier and mobile jumping off point for small strike (or reconnaissance) vehicles.

In a number of ways, the only slightly later destroyer and submarine depot ships of the world wars were heavily indebted to the pioneering work carried out by the developers & operators of the TB carriers/tenders; acting in these cases as a static base once in position to operate their flotillas, but moving from operating point to point with them, very much as the S-boats migrated between theatres with their tenders. So, although the fleet tenders did not carry their charges (which were too large for this) and merely acted as repositionable 'shore bases', they are clearly an evolution of concept - as are, arguably, the aircraft carriers of today.

The ancestral importance of these ships could easily be elaborated upon in this article. 2A00:23C7:3119:AD01:6CB6:BAD6:E6B1:F73C (talk) 20:21, 22 June 2023 (UTC)