This type of ship was devised to counter vessels called torpedo boats, & the name originally followed "torpedo boat"
... as a fleet escort for 
the specific purpose of destroying torpedo boats, a modern multirole destroyer of
... [DOC] [TLE] Submarine History 1914-1941: A Timeline of Development [PAR] Thus began development of the depth charge, which claimed its first victim in 
March ... With only 35 active U-boats, Germany began sinking British merchant 
ships .... followed: U.  S. submarines carried a hull number and name (usually 
that of ....