The Viper class was a group of two torpedo boat destroyers (or "TBDs") built for the British Royal Navy in 1899. They were notable for being the first warships to use steam turbine propulsion. They had Parsons turbines on four shafts, with two propellers on each, one inboard and one outboard of the shaft A-bracket. Viper was ordered and built for the Royal Navy in 1899 by Hawthorn Leslie and Company at Hebburn on the River Tyne. Python was built as a speculative venture by Hawthorns and was purchased in 1902.