Fairmile D motor torpedo boat

The Fairmile D motor torpedo boat was a type of British motor torpedo boat (MTB) and motor gunboat (MGB)[1] designed by Bill Holt and conceived by Fairmile Marine for the Royal Navy. Nicknamed "Dog Boats", they were designed to combat the known advantages of the German E-boats over previous British coastal craft designs. They were bigger than earlier MTB or motor gunboat (MGB) designs (which were typically around 70 feet) but slower, at 30 knots compared to 40 knots.

The Fairmile D motor torpedo boat MGB 606
Class overview
Name: Fairmile D motor gun boat
Preceded by: Fairmile C motor gun boat
Completed: 229
General characteristics
Displacement:
  • As MTB
  • 102 long tons (104 t) standard
  • 118 long tons (120 t) full load
  • As MGB
  • 90 long tons (91 t) standard
  • 107 long tons (109 t) full load
Length: 115 ft (35 m)
Beam: 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m)
Draught: 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) to 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) mean deep load
Propulsion: 4 × Packard 4M 2500 petrol engines, total 5,000 hp (3,728 kW)
Speed: 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) at full load
Range:
  • 506 nmi (937 km; 582 mi) at max revolutions
  • 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement: 21
Armament:
  • (Sample armament for gunboat configuration as fitted to Dog 658 by the end of the war):
  • 2 × single 6 pounder guns
  • 4 × 20mm Oerlikon (2 × single, 1 × twin)
  • 2 × twin .303 Vickers K guns
  • 4 × light boat depth charges
  • Searchlight
  • TSA smoke generator
Notes: Specifications from Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. and Motor Gunboat 658

Unlike the Fairmile B designs, the Dog Boats were only produced in component form in Britain. Some were built for the RAF's Marine Branch for use in the long range air-sea rescue for downed airmen. 229 boats were built between 1942 and 1945.

Many versions were produced or converted from existing boats; MGB, MTB, MA/SB, LRRC and post-war FPB.

Since the Fairmile D could be fitted out with a mix of armament that gave it the capabilities of both a motor gunboat and a motor torpedo boat, the MGB designation was dropped.

Two captured boats were put in Kriegsmarine service.[2]

Today the D-type is a popular choice among boat modelers.

There are no known survivors, other than two abandoned wrecks, one in Chatham, England and the other in Ellingsøy, Norway.

See also

Notes
  1. Reynolds, Leonard C. Dog Boats at War: Royal Navy D Class MTBs and MGBs, 1939–1945. 2000. ISBN 978-0-7509-1443-7
  2. "S 631 motor torpedo boats, Coastal Forces, Germany". Navypedia. Retrieved 25 July 2018.

References
  • Lambert, John. Fairmile D Motor Torpedo Boat. (Anatomy of the Ship series) 1985 ISBN 978-1-84486-006-7
  • Lambert, John and Ross, Al. Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume I : Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers. 1990. ISBN 978-0-85177-519-7
  • Konstam, Angus. British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939–45. (New Vanguard). Osprey 2003. ISBN 978-1-84176-500-6
  • Konstam, Angus. British Motor Gun Boat 1939-45 (New Vanguard) Osprey 2010 978-1849080774
  • Chesneau, Roger (editor).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London, UK: Comway Maritime Press, 1980. ISBN 0-85177-146-7
  • Reynolds, Leonard C. Motor Gunboat 658: The Small Boat War in the Mediterranean 1955/2002. ISBN 0-304-36183-6
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