The claim that German shipbuilders could build torpedo boats as good as those built by English shipbuilders was true, but those who described the Thornycroft division boat "an utter failure" were being ridiculous as the Thornycroft division boat was 2.5 knots faster than the best German-built division boat, the figures being: D 8 Schichau (1890), 350 tons displacement, speed 22.5 knots, 3,500 indicated horsepower; D 9 Schichau (1894), 380 tons displacement, speed 26 knots, 4,500 indicated horsepower; D 10 Thornycroft (1898), 310 tons displacement, speed 28.5 knots, 5,800 indicated horsepower.