Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Wiser, Edward Harrison
Author's Email Address	khakicavalier@yahoo.com
URN	etd-10232009-173048
Title	A Rough, Wet Ride: The Civilian Genesis of the American Torpedo Boat
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	History, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title James P. Jones Committee Chair Jonathan Grant Committee Member Michael Creswell Committee Member Peter Garretson Committee Member Jeffrey Chanton University Representative
Keywords	World War Torpedo Torpedo Boat
Date of Defense	2009-10-05
Availability	restricted
Abstract Dwight Eisenhower once warned of an insidious collusion between industry and government that threatened to become master of United States domestic and foreign policy. His warning came too late, of course, for the threat had already become reality before he spoke. But there were and are positive elements to the merger of interests, and one of them was the infusion of civilian small craft expertise into the arena of national defense. This dissertation is an overview of the evolution of small combatant craft in the United States Navy and demonstrtaes that the most successful of these boats have consistently come from the civilian sector. The history of this intercourse is traced from its origins in the American Revolution through its ultimate incarnation of the motor torpedo boat of World War Two. Experience in Vietnam and ongoing counter-terror and drug interception operations worldwide, demonstrates conclusively that rugged, efficient boats for security, patrol, and combat are still an essential factor in law enforcement, homeland defense, and power projection, and the services have come to rely increasingly upon the domestic small craft industry to supply them.
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