Units and Craft
It included the following types of coastal defence craft:
| Type | Designation | Built | Lost | Designed purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motor Launches | ML, HDML ASR | Harbour defense and submarine chasing or for armed high speed Air Sea Rescue. | ||
| Motor Gun Boats | MGB | |||
| Steam Gun Boats | SGB | 7 | 1 | Hunting down German E-boats |
| Motor Torpedo Boats | MTB |
At the outbreak of war there were three flotillas of Motor Torpedo "short boats" between 60 ft (18 m) and 72 feet (22 m) long. These could typically maintain 40 knots and were armed with two torpedo tubes. They were built mainly by the British Power Boat Company, Vospers and Thornycroft.
In 1940 a modified craft, the Motor Gun Boat, was introduced. These were armed with weapons such as the 0.5 in Vickers machine gun, 2 pounder "pom pom", a single or twin 20 mm Oerlikon and ultimately the autoloader fitted 6-pounder gun.
It was also apparent that larger craft were needed as the operational capability of the short boats was too restricted by sea conditions. Fairmile designed a series of larger coastal craft, up to 120 feet (37 m) long. The Fairmile A Type and B Type were Motor Launches and the C Type was a Motor Gun Boat.
In 1943 the Fairmile D Type appeared. It was a motor torpedo boat – nicknamed the Dog Boat – and was designed as a counter to the German E-boat. It could be fitted as either a gun or a torpedo boat, so the designation MGB disappeared and all the craft were labelled MTBs. It was a good sea boat and could maintain 30 knots (56 km/h) at full load. The later D types carried four 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes.
The Vosper Type I MTB appeared in 1943. This was a 73-foot (22 m) craft with four 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes and was capable of 40 knots (74 km/h) maximum.
Read more about this topic: Coastal Forces Of The Royal Navy
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