Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy

Motor Torpedo Boat MTB 5

Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy established during World War II under the command of Rear Admiral Coastal Forces. ^[1]

History

The Royal Navy had previously operated flotillas of small torpedo- and depth-charge-armed craft (Coastal Motor Boats) during the First World War^[2]

The first Headquarters was set up at HMS Vernon in 1940. The Chief Staff Officer to the Admiral was Augustus Agar VC who had commanded Coastal Motor Boats during the First World War and British operations in the Baltic in support of the White Russian forces.

Post war MTBs and MGBs were all renamed as fast patrol boats. The Brave class fast patrol boats were the last to be built for the Coastal Forces and the Coastal Forces were disbanded as a separate unit and their last base (edit] Units and craft

It included the following types of coastal defence craft: ^[3]

Type [4]	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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.

Operations

British "Coastal craft operated mainly in the English Channel and North Sea waters, especially in the build up to the Normandy invasion of 1944. They were also used in the Mediterranean and Norwegian campaigns." They raided St Nazaire and Dieppe. They were used to attack German convoys and their E-Boat escorts, "carry out clandestine raids and landings and pick up secret agents in Norway and Brittany." "The coastal craft were manned by various Allied nationalities including Dutch, Norwegian, Canadian, Australian and New Zealanders."^[8]

A number of Captain-class frigates were adapted to operate as coastal force control frigates.^[9] These control frigates were involved in the destruction of at least 26 E-Boats,^[10]

By 1944 Coastal Forces numbered 3,000 officers and 22,000 ratings. Altogether there were 2,000 British Coastal Forces craft. Affectionately known as the Navy's "Little Ships", they fought over 780 actions and sank 800 enemy vessels, including 48 E-boats and 32 midget submarines. They fired 1169 torpedoes, shot down 32 enemy aircraft and carried out many mine laying operations. 170 of the "Little Ships" were sunk or destroyed.^[11]

Bases

The Coastal Forces bases were around the British coast and at major locations overseas. ^{[12][13][14][15]}

South coast HMS Attack, Portland HMS Bee then HMS Grasshopper, Weymouth HMS Bee, Weymouth 1942-43 HMS Bee, Holyhead 1943-1945 HMS Black Bat, Plymouth HMS Hornet Haslar, Gosport HMS Tadpole, Poole HMS Wasp, Dover Coastal Forces[16] West coast HMS Ferret II Londonderry, Northern Ireland HMS Seahawk[2] Ardrishaig, Argyll HMS St Christopher[3] Fort William, Inverness-shire East Coast HMS Badger, Harwich HMS Beehive, Felixstowe HMS Midge, Great Yarmouth HMS Minos II then HMS Mantis, Lowestoft HMS Sandfly, Peterhead HMS Flora II, Invergordon HMS Flora III, Invergordon

Mediterranean HMS Gregale, Malta HMS Mosquito, HMS Regea, Alexandria, Egypt HMS Razorbill, Algiers HMS Hannibal, Algiers Indo-china HMS Cheetah, Bombay (Royal Indian Navy) Other HMS Argyll HMS Aggressive, Newhaven, Sussex HMS Beaver II, Immingham HMS Britannia III, Dartmouth HMS Cicala, Dartmouth[17] HMS Claverhouse, Leith HMS Dartmouth II, Dartmouth HMS Fervent, Ramsgate HMS Forte IV, Falmouth HMS Forward II, Newhaven HMS Fox Lerwick

Commonwealth coastal forces

Although British Commonwealth coastal forces operated independently from Britain, they used similar vessels:

Coastal forces of	Type	Built	Lost	Notes
Canada	Fairmile B motor launch Fairmile D motor torpedo boat BPB Motor Torpedo Boat	80 [18] 10 [19] 11 [20]
Australia	Harbour Defence Motor Launch Fairmile B motor launch	31 [21] 35 [22]
New Zealand	Harbour Defence Motor Launch Fairmile B motor launch	16 [23] 12 [24]

Surviving craft

Vessel	Description	Built	Builder	In the care of	Condition
HDML 1387 Medusa	Harbour Defence Launch which took part in the Normandy landings. [25]	1943	R.A.Newman & sons	Medusa Trust [26]	restored to original condition
MTB102	prototype for WW2 MTBs [27]	1937	Vosper	MTB102 Trust [28]	still seaworthy
MTB 331	55 ft (17 m) stepped hull motor torpedo boat - sole survivor [29]	1941	Thornycroft	British Military Powerboat Trust [30]	Intention to get her seaworthy
MGB 81	71.5 ft (21.8 m) Motor Gun Boat	1942	British Power Boat Company	British Military Powerboat Trust [31]	fully operational
HSL 102	64 ft (20 m) High Speed Launch, formerly RAF [32]	1936	British Power Boat Company [33]	[34]	fully operational
MTB 71	60 ft (18 m) Motor Torpedo Boat	1940	Vosper		static exhibit

Some surviving motor launches in British waters were taken on as pleasure boats and a number of them are on the National Register of Historic Vessels.

See also

• Royal Naval Patrol Service
• Trawlers of the Royal Navy‎
• Coastal Forces of World War II
• Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy
• Coastal Forces of the Royal Australian Navy
• Coastal Forces of the Royal New Zealand Navy
• Robert Peverell Hichens RNVR MTB Flotilla leader

References

Notes

1. ^ Royal Navy Coastal Forces
2. ^ These were used as much in actions against the enemy coast as in defence of the British coast
3. ^ The Coastal Forces Heritage Trust: Our Objectives
4. ^ Note that minesweepers, trawlers and landing craft are not included.
5. ^ Allied Coastal Forces of World War II - Volume II: Vosper designs and US Elcos - by John Lambert and Al Ross, 1993 ISBN 0-85177-602-7
6. ^ Allied Coastal Forces of World War II - Volume I: Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers - by John Lambert and Al Ross, 1990 ISBN 978-0851775197
7. ^ The Fairmile D Motor Torpedo Boat (Anatomy of the Ship's series) by John Lambert, 1985 ISBN 0-85177-321-4
8. ^ Coastal Forces of World War Two (Royal Naval Museum)
9. ^ Donald. The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War. pp. p31. 
10. ^ Donald. The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War. pp. pp124 and p139. 
11. ^ The Coastal Forces Heritage Trust: Coastal Forces Achievements
12. ^ Coastal Forces Shore establishments
13. ^ Combined Operations Training Establishments
14. ^ List of Royal Navy shore establishments
15. ^ Western Approaches Command Bases
16. ^ [1]
17. ^ "Things to Do". Dartmouth Museum. http://dartmouthmuseum.org/things-to-do/#walking. Retrieved 23 August 2011. "The Royal Dart Hotel between the ferries played a vital role in the Second World War. It was called HMS Cicala then." 
18. ^ Canadian Fairmile Bs
19. ^ Canadian Fairmile Ds
20. ^ BPB Motor Torpedo Boat
21. ^ Australian HDMLs
22. ^ Australian Fairmile Bs
23. ^ New Zealand HDMLs
24. ^ New ZealandFairmile Bs
25. ^ HDML 1387 Medusa
26. ^ Medusa Medusa Trust
27. ^ MTB102
28. ^ MTB102 Trust
29. ^ MTB-331 - 55 ft (17 m) coastal motor torpedo boat
30. ^ British Military Powerboat Trust MTB 331
31. ^ British Military Powerboat Trust MGB 81
32. ^ National Historic Ships MGB 81
33. ^ British Power Boat Company
34. ^ HSL 102 for sale

Bibliography

• Cooper, Bryan. (1972) Battle of the Torpedo Boats. ISBN 978-0330232432
• Holman, Gordon (1944) "The Little Ships". Hodder & Stoughton (collection of Tony Holkham)
• Konstam, Angus (2003) British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939–45. Osprey ISBN 1-84176-500-7
• Lambert, John and Ross, Al (1990) Allied Coastal Forces of World War II, Volume I: Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers. ISBN 978-0851775197
• Lavery, Brian (2006) Churchill's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation, 1939-1945, ISBN 978-1844860357
• Kemp, Paul J (1997) British Coastal Forces of WW2, ISO Publications, London, ISBN 0946784523
• Konstam, Angus and Bryan, Tony. British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939-45. ISBN 978-1841765006
• Pickles, Harold (1995) Untold Stories of Small Boats at War: Coastal Forces Veterans Remember ISBN 978-1858211763
• Pope, Dudley (2006) Flag 4: The Battle of Coastal Forces in the Mediterranean 1939-1945. ISBN 978-1861760678
• Reynolds, L.C. and Cooper, H.F. (1999) Mediterranean MTBs at War: Short MTB Flotilla Operations, 1939-45. ISBN 978-0750922746
• Reynolds, L. C. (2000) Home Waters MTBs at War: Channel and North Sea MTB and MGB Flotilla Operations, 1939-1945. ISBN 978-0750925181
• Reynolds, L. C. and Lord Lewin (2000) Dog Boats at War: A History of the Operations of the Royal Navy D Class Fairmile Motor Torpedo Boats and Motor Gunboats 1939-1945, Sutton Publications Inc, ISBN 978-0750924542
• Reynolds, L. C. (2002) Motor Gunboat 658: The Small Boat War in the Mediterranean. ISBN 978-0304361830
• Royal Naval Museum - Reading list
• Coastal Forces Heritage Trust - Books About Coastal Forces
• Imperial War Museum Recommended Reading List

External links

• Royal Navy Coastal Forces Veterans
• Coastal, inshore and special naval warfare
• The Coastal Forces Heritage Trust
• British Military Powerboat Trust: Boat Histories
• Coastal Forces, Clandestine Naval Ops and Landing Craft
• Coastal Forces
• UK National Register of Historic Vessels
• Royal Navy Coastal Forces training base, mainly for MLs
• Royal Navy Coastal Warfare Vessels Lost at Sea
• Motor Launches and MTBs of the Coastal Forces
• Personal recollections