 and M.S., Soviet Navy and U.S. PT boats (standing for "Patrol Torpedo") were all of this type.A classic fast torpedo boat action was the Channel Dash in February 1942 when German "E-boats" and destroyers defended the flotilla of , , and several smaller ships as the passed through the Channel.By World War II torpedo boats were seriously hampered by higher fleet speeds; although they still had a speed advantage, they could only catch the larger ships by running at very high speeds over very short distances, as demonstrated in the Channel Dash.