What if the fast torpedo ram of 1881 HMS Polyphemus (of War of the Worlds fame, under the alias Thunder Child) was used in combat? In trials in 1885, it evaded six torpedo boats and broke through a thick log boom backed by five inch steel cable. Which nation's fleet is most likely to suffer the wrathe of Polyphemus, and what are the likely results?
Say two of torpedoes find their marks on two battleships, one sunk, one damaged/in sinking condition. Would this give the proponents of a Jeune Ecole type of naval doctrine in England enough leverage to end battleship construction for a significant amount of time? Assume that whatever war Polyphemus is involved in lasts less than a year, and that it occurs between 1881 and 1889.