The Editors of The Engineer was of the opinion that the number of Sharpshooter class torpedo gunboats provided for in the proposed Naval Programme submitted to the House of Commons by the First Lord of the Admiralty was inadequate for the task that they were to perform. In the Editors' opinion there was no more valuable type of war vessel than the so-called torpedo boat destroyer, but if their numbers were insufficient they were next to useless. On them would rest the onus of warding off torpedo boat attacks and giving warning if the enemy came out in force, as these tasks could not be performed by a torpedo boat in winter.