Britain produces new midget torpedo boat , which can attack submarines , aircraft , and warships . Many countries are taking great interest in the new midget torpedo boats which are being built by Thornycrofts , a British firm . The midget torpedo boat is a descendant of the coastal motorboat which were responsible for some of the most audacious operations of the war . The ideal size is 55ft boat which can skim the water at 40 knots , and carries two torpedoes , two small anti aircraft guns , four depth charges , smoke screen apparatus and a wireless telephone cabinet which keeps it in conversational touch with other ships and aircraft in a radius of 50 miles . It has a crew of five , two officers and three men are sufficient to operate the boat , which is equipped to attack submarines , aircraft and any type of surface warships . A dozen midgets can be built for less than the cost of a single destroyer , and more than a dozen foreign powers have already made purchases . Photo shows ; the Thorneycroft midget torpedo boat undergoing tests . 4 January 1934