 In October 1916 , the Flanders Flotilla was finally reinforced by the German Admiralty with two full torpedo boat flotillas . The transfer of the 3rd and 9th Torpedo Boat Flotillas to Flanders had immediate consequences to the balance of power in the Dover Strait . Whereas before , the Flanders Flotilla had only been equipped with three large torpedo boats and several of the smaller inferior A @-@ class torpedo boats , they now possessed 23 large torpedo boats capable of meeting the British Dover Patrol in combat . Due to the lack of large torpedo boats , the Flanders Flotilla had not sortied against the Dover Patrol in several months and as a result British defences were quite lax in the area . 
