The torpedo boat destroyers H.M.S. Banshee and Contest (length 210 feet, beam 19 feet 6 inches, draught 9 feet 6 inches; displacement 290 tons) were fitted with 19-inch by 29-inch by 43-inch by 18-inch stroke, inverted-vertical triple-expansion marine engines, operating at 350 revolutions per minute with steam supplied by modified Normand marine boilers. Built by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, for the British Government. At the official thee hour trial on the 21st of February 1895 the Banshee achieved an average speed of 27.6 knots under normal load. The Contest achieved an average speed of 27.4 knots under similar conditions on the following day.