in the 1902–1903 shipbuilding programme, the british admiralty placed an order with the shipbuilder j. samuel white for four '160-foot' torpedo boats, as a follow-on to four '160-foot' torpedo boats ordered from the rival shipyard thornycroft under the 1899–1900 and 1900–1901 shipbuilding programmes (the ) and five more ships of similar design ordered from thornycroft under the 1901–1902 shipbuilding programme (the ). these '160-foot' torpedo boats allowed the replacement of worn out older torpedo boats. the 1902–1903 torpedo boats (the "tb 114"-class) were the last '160-foot' torpedo boats built for the royal navy. torpedo-boat construction did not resume until the 1905–1906 programme, when orders were placed for a new class of "coastal destroyers". these were of similar size to the '160-foot' boats, but were turbine-powered, with the lighter machinery allowing a heavier armament to be carried.