The Fairmile D motor torpedo boat was a type of
British motor torpedo boat (MTB) and
motor gunboat (MGB)
[Reynolds, Leonard C. ''Dog Boats at War: Royal Navy D Class MTBs and MGBs, 1939–1945.'' 2000. ] designed by
Bill Holt and conceived by
Fairmile Marine
Fairmile Marine was a British boat building company founded in 1939 by the car manufacturer Noel Macklin.
Macklin used the garage at his home at Cobham Fairmile in Surrey for manufacturing assembly which is why the boats he designed came to b ...
for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
. 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.
History
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.
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.
File:Molins autoloader and 6-pounder gun WWII IWM A 25162.jpg, 6-pounder (57 mm) gun with Molins autoloader mounted on a Fairmile D
File:Molins autoloader and 6-pounder gun WWII IWM A 25159.jpg, Back view of the same gun
File:MTB459-4.jpg, ''MTB 459'', 1944
File:Canadian MTB727.jpg, ''MTB 727'', 1944
See also
*
Fairmile A motor launch
*
Fairmile B motor launch
*
Fairmile C motor gun boat
The Fairmile C motor gun boat was a type of motor gunboat designed by Norman Hart of Fairmile Marine for the Royal Navy. An intermediate design, twenty-four boats were built in 1941 receiving the designations MGB 312–335.
Design
The Fairmil ...
*
Fairmile H landing craft
The Fairmile H Landing Craft were British landing craft of the Second World War. Initially designed for commando type raids from a base in Britain as a way of probing enemy defenses and tying down additional troops, some were converted into fi ...
*
Steam gun boat
*
Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy
Notes
References
*
Lambert, John. ''Fairmile D Motor Torpedo Boat.'' (
Anatomy of the Ship series
The ''Anatomy of the Ship'' series of books are comprehensive treatments of the design and construction of individual ships. They have been published by Conway Maritime Press (now Conway Publishing) since the 1980s, and republished in the US by the ...
) 1985
*
Lambert, John and Ross, Al. ''Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume I : Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers.'' 1990.
* Konstam, Angus. ''British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939–45.'' (New Vanguard). Osprey 2003.
* 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.
* Reynolds, Leonard C. ''Motor Gunboat 658: The Small Boat War in the Mediterranean'' 1955/2002.
External links
Coastal Forces And Communications with France Before D Day 1944
{{WWIICoastalForces
Military boats
Ships of the Royal Navy
Motor torpedo boats of the Royal Navy
Patrol boat classes
Auxiliary search and rescue ship classes
Gunboat classes
Torpedo boat classes