In 1894 M. Lockroy presented a report on the defects of torpedo boats Nos. 167,168, and 169 to the French Chamber of Deputies. The first of these vessels had been ordered from Schneider, Chalon-sur-Saone, in April 1890, but exactly two years elapsed before the boat arrived at Toulon, and it was not delivered until April 1893. Shortly after its delivery it was found that the zinc sheathing on the hull was damaged, and the Government had to repair this at its own expense. Torpedo boat No. 168, had been ordered at about the same time as torpedo boat No. 167, but was not delivered until August 1893. It was then examined in a dry dock, and it was seen to posses exactly the same defects as No. 167. Six months later an engineer discovered that the hull had become oxidised at the water line, and in some parts was corroded through, and it was not until May 1894, that it was commissioned. It seemed likely that it would have to be overhauled at an early date. Torpedo boat No. 169 was sent back to the builders when it was found that 300 rivets had not been properly zinced, and that the steel plates forming the hull were likewise insufficiently protected.