Volume l0 Issue I I ?

Published by
Orbrs Publlshrnq Ltd
@ Aerospace P-ub ist^ing Ltd 1985

Editorial Offices
War Machine
Aerospace Publishing Ltd
179 Dalling Road
London WO 0ES

Managing Editor: Stan Morse

Editorial : Trisha Palmer
Chris Bishop
Chris Chant
lan Drury

Design: Rod Teasdale

Golour Origination: lmago Publishing Ltd
Thame, Oxon

Typesetting: SX Composing Ltd

Film work: Preclse Litho Ltd

Consultant Editor: Major General Sir
Artists: Jeremy Moore KCB OBE MC, Comman-
Tony Gibbons
John Ridyard/Dave Etchell der of British Land Forces during the
Falklands campaign.

28851 1 Distribution and marketing offices:

Orbis Publishing Ltd Picture acknowledgements
Orbis House Cover photograph: WZ Bilddienst, Hamburg. 232I: WZ Brlddienst Hamburg/lmperial War Museum Z3Z3:
20-22 Bedfordbury WZ Bllddienstilmpenal War MNeum. 2324: Impedat War MuseumryVz Bilddierut Z3ZSi WZ Bilddlenr
Drinted ln Great Britain London WC2N 4BT 2326: WZ BilddiensWfz Bllddiemt 232?: WZ Bilddienst (three) 2328r WZ Bilddienstwz Bilddienst 2329:
Telephone: 01 379 6711 Imperial War Museun/lmpedal War Museum 2330: WZ Bilddienst. 2332r Impedal War Museuntlmpel:
War Museum. 2333: Impedal War Museurr./lmperial War Museum. 2334: Imperial War M6eum 2335:
Subscription Manager: Christine Allen Circulation Manager: Brian Anderson ImperialWarMuseum/lmpenalWaMuseum 2336:lmpedalWarMuseum,/lmperialWarMuseum 233?:a:
0488 72666 Marketing Manager: Pau Stelb Na!y. 2340: US Naly/US Na!}/ (iii): R F/C. & S. Taylor Eastboume, via MARS, Lincs. (iv); R F

HOWTO OBTAIN ISSUES AND BINDERS FOR WAR MACHINE

ss!es can be obtalned by placlng an order with your newsagent or direct from ourSubscrlption AUSTRAL A please wrlre to: Gordon and Gotch (Aus) Ltd, I 14 Wi iram Srreet, pO Box 767G.l\.4elbourne
-eoariment. fyouhavedifficultyobtaininganyback ssuesfromyournewsagent,pleasewrltetous Victorla 3001 . MALTA, N EW ZEALAN D, S NGAPOR E & SOUTH AFR CA: Back numbers aTe avai abte ar
s:3i .9 the lssue(s) required and enclosinq a cheque for the cover prlce of the lssue(s). cover pr ce from your newsagent. ln case of difficulty, wriie to the address qlven forbinders.

EUROPE MIDDLE EAST AMERICAS/ASIA/AFRICA AUSTRALASIA/FAR EAST

ISSUE PR CE:90p SSUE PRICE:90p ISSUE PR CE: US$1.95/90p ISSUE PRICE:gop
SU BSC RI PTION: SUBSCR PTION: SU BSCRI PTION: SUBSCRIPT ON:
6lvonths ai.
f44.72 6 Months a r: C50.1 B 6 Months ai. f59.24 6 Months atr. f64.22
surface: f36.14 surface: €36.14 surface: f36.14 surface: f36.'14
1 Year air: €89.44 1 Year a r: 1100.36 lYear air: f119.08 T Year ai. f1,28.44
swf ace. f72.28 sutface: f72.28 swlace: f72.28 surlace. f72.28
BINDER: (inc. Postage) B NDER: {inc. Postage) BINDER: (inc. Postage)
air: 15.50 air: f8.25 a r: f9.50 AUSTRALIA
surface: f5.00 surface: f5.50 surJace: 15.50 SSUE PRICE: AUS $2.1 5
Obtain B NDERSfrom
MALTA SOUTH AFRICA Flrst Post Pty Ltd.
Oblain BINDERS f rom Obraln BlNDERSfrom Locked Bag No. 1.
your newsagent or any branch of Central Cremorne,
Mller (Malta)Ltd, News Agency or NSW 2O90
MAVassal i Street, ntermag, PO Box
Va etta, Malta 57394. Sprlngf ield 2T 37 NEWZEALAND
Price: f3 95 SSUE PRICE: NZ$2.65
SINGAPORE Obtain B NDERS from
ISSUE PBICE: S ng$4.50 your newsagent or
Obia n BINDEBS from Gordon & Gotch (NZ)
MPH Dlstributors Ltd, PO Bor'1 595,
601 Sims Dr ve We llnqton
03-01 21
Singapore 1438

ADDRESS FOR BINDERS AND BACK ISSUES NOTE ADDFESS FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS
-_::--: a_^a tt-cd Binders and back issues are obta nab e subject to Orbls Pub ishing Limited
avallabi ityof stocks.Whi sleveryattempt s madeto Hurst Farm
keepthe priceof the ssuesand b ndersconstant,the Baydon Road
_: tr- pub ishers reserye the r ght io lncrease the slated Lambourne Wood ands
prices at any time when clrcumstances dictate B nders Newbury
Tsephone:01-379-5211 deplcted in th s pub icallon are rhose prcduced forthe Berks
UKand Australlan markets onlv. Binders and ssues RG167TW
maybesubjectto mpondutvand orloca iaxes,which Telephone 0488-72666
: :-r:-s snould bc made payable to Orbis Publ sh ng Llmited. are not lncluded n ihe above prices unless stated
-: -:- ccsioge and packlng and prices are in ster ing. Al cheques/Postal Orders should be made pavea ::: _
P,blslrg iTrred.Po,rdgodropdcl"g"g. -- ... -
a :: : :i :-e ccver price, and we do not charge carr age ln the UK subscrlption rates, and prices are given in Ster l-:
 CoclstcilCraff
of lffo
htttingto seainsome of the fastest andmostdashing
warchips of the time, the coastal naval forces saw much
fierce fighting in locations as diverse as the North Sea and the
ll{arllCompleted in 1939, and seen very
'Slot' in the Solomon Islands, Young, inextrteienced crews
took their fragile and inllammahle craft into action, and often
paid the highest pice for their courage
It is rn the nature of things that in times of peace 'blue water' fleets tend to
devote their limited resources to meetrng the problems of ocean war-
fare; coastal warfare may or may not be required in some emergency in
the future and, lacking urgency, inevitably lacks funds, Therefore, it is
hardly surprising to discover that between the wars, Britlsh expertise
was kept alive mainly through the dedication of private firms who were
prepared to risk casting effort and funds into the bottomless well of
official disinterest. Thrs was doubly fortunate, for the USA had srmilarly
underinvested and ovred much to Scott-Paine's British Power Boat Com-
pany in the eventual successfui story of the PT boat,
Smaller fleets, however, with limrted objectives and even more li-
mited funds, tend to look harder at promlsingly cost-effective solutions to
counterlng possible hostile sea-powers. The submarine, the rarder and
mine warfare are three such solutions, and the high-speed coastal craft is
a fourth if geography permits, Germany, therefore, put much effort and
ingenuity during the 1930s into producing the S-boat, one of her major
successes mainly because there had been sufficient development time.
Taken out ol context, the effect of the S-boat on World War II was not
I
4
$;;.
> a--
F
t_
F.-
early in thewar,S22was one of a
clas s of G erman tor pe do bo ats
known to theAllies as'E-Boats'.
Capable of nearly 40 kts, they were
soon to become a deadly menace to
coastal shipping.
ereat ln a material sense but, measured in psychological and disrup:i;:
terms, it was a major nuisance, requiring a large expendrture of scarce
war effort to counter.
Likewise, the geography of the central Mediterranean favoured ,;:e
Itahan use of such craft, They had seen major successes from them -:
World War I and had every intention of keeping abreast of develcp-
ment, Like the Germans they evolved reliabie, high-speed machilier-_,-
which stood them in good stead,
Finally, it was radar-controlled gnrnflre from the would-be targets b.,-
night and air power by day that constrained the torpedo-boat's potentia-
Wlth the comparatively recent introduction of the surface-to-surface
missile the wheel has once again turned, putting a large measure ci
advantage back wrth the cheap, high-speed minor warship, the midge:
with the big clout,
lhe \!9r-war years saw little in the way of coastal force development by the
Rgfal Naw. Wartime requirements, however, were soon to giie rise toThe
classic Motor Torpedo Boat, and by J 943 yessels sucl as MTB 426 razere
carrying as much gun armamentas possible in addition to torpedoes.
.. t ..
3:
il Houi"t coastal craft
There were strong influences working
on the post-revolutronary Soviet nalry
tci develop a powerful and effective
force of coastal craft. The fleet itself
had been relegated to the stah-rs of a
mears of guaranteeing the seaward
flanks ofthe primary service, the army,
These seaward flanks were all ofshal-
low and sheltered water, and dis-
tances involved were small. Further,
the successful attacks by British CMBs
in 19 19 had shown the potential of even
a few such boats in the right hands, and
a couple of unserviceable and dam-
aqed Thornycroft 5S-footers were
available as exemplars. From these
beginnings the Soviets had produced
by 1928 a reasonably successful l8-m
(59.06-ft) craft known as an 54, The in-
different Sovret technologry of the trme
requued the incorporation of Amer-
ican petrol engines, but the reliability
of these and the sound hull shape
made for a very high trials speed,
approaching 50 kts, though corsider-
ably diminlshed by a load of two 457-
mm (18-in) torpedoes or anything but
calm conditions. About 60 S4s were
butlt, givrng the Sonets considerable
expenence,
The Tsarrst navy had been known
for rts innovatron and readiness to
adopt ideas, and this policy continued
rvtth the purchase oftechnology in hull
design and machinery fuom France,
Germany and Italy as available, With
this as a baseline the Sovlets produced
a 19-m (62,3-ft) GS type, which was still
heavily influenced by the British CMB
in having a stepped hull and two
trougrhs aft for the stem launchnq of formidable craft both offshore and-::
torpedoes that had been rncreased rn rivers.
size to 533 mm (21 rn), For this crai the
Sovlets built a successfi:1 petro1 engnne Specification
that was tolerably reliable and cap- GS type (late production)
able of being upQEaded. The fault vrrth Displacement: 16 tons
the GS was rts early use of alumtnium Dirnensions: leng,th 19. i m (62.66 ft);
alioy for both shell and frames, so that it beam3,4 m (11.15 ft); draught LO m
was plagnred with corrosion problerns, (3 28 ft)
For thrs reason, the follow-on 21.6-m Fropulsion: two petrol engines
(70,9-ft) D3 cralt were wooden-bult, dehvering 1491 kW(2,000 bhp)totwc
differing further in having side- shafts
launching gear for theu torpedoes, Speed:48 kts
Numerous GS and D3 types sewed Endurance: about 370 kn (230 mlles) a:
during the war, supplemented by over 48 kts
200 boats from the USA and UK. Also Armament: two 533-mm (2 ]-in)
produced in large numbers were torpedoes, and two I2. 7-mm (0, S-in)
armoured craft of many types, compa- machine-gnrns
ratively slow but armed with gn-urs and Complement: 7
cannon in tank turrets, They proved

T he ex tremely fas t G 5 torpedo boat

was ultimately derived from a series
of desigms by a team under the
leadership of the noted aircraft
designer A.N. T upolev. N early 300
were built, with 7 3 being lost during
thewar, and dozens remained in
commissionafter 1945.

{.f

_!l ffi"r,"re coastal craft

Ltke the majority of major fleets, the
Japanese nalry had largely iqnored
coastal craft between the world wars,
As a type it did not fit into ocean war-
fare and, though the acquisition of a
many-islanded emprre was accepted
strategy, prolonged supply problems
r-xere
the face of an actively hostile fleet
not. Even as a redeployment of
-:elr submarine forces to assault the
US Navy's fleet train would have
senously a-ffected that navy's ability to
:perate, so would a powerful force of
_-lpanese coastal craft have been able
i:cth to assist in the garrison supply
:ask and to drspute the American's aim
:: disrupt it,
vVrth their overrunrung of China and
:ar East imperial possessions, the
--ilaxese acqurred a vadety of foreign
::s:al craft in various states of repair
--::ch. British, German and ]talian), all
of whrch influenced subsequent de-
signs, All were driven by petrol en-
gines, but the Japanese had no capac-
ity to build either these or small high-
speed marine diesels in any quantity.
Though engines were copred, they
were low-powered and always in de-
sperately short supply; as multi-
engined layouts were thus out of the
question, boats themselves had to be
small to attain any speed. The larqest
Japanese MTBs were, therefore, of
only about 1B m (59.06 ft) overall
length. All were of hard-chine design
to get over the low power problem and
this, combined with their lack of
lengith, gave them a poor performance
in anythingr but sheltered waters, De-
siqns were rn both wood and steel and
were such as to permit constructton by
undertakings unskilled in boatbuitd-
jng. And Lhough aero engrnes were
tried as prime movers, they proved
unsatisfactory rn a marine environ-
ment,
Most numerous of the many
Japanese varieties were the l5-m
(49 2-ft) singTle-screwed 49-strong
Type 14 and the IB-m (59.06-ft) twin-
screwed Type 38. Although the smal-
ler boat could make 33 kts in good con-
ditrons, the larger was gtood for only
27.5kts and, like others, could be
armed as an MGB rather than with two
457-mm (18-in) torpedoes. A 32.4-m
(106.3-ft) Li-rssen type was also copred
as the Type 5I, but these proved a
disappointment and the l8-boat prog-
ramme was never completed.
Specification
Type 14
Displacement: 15tons
Dimensions: lenqlh 15.0 m (49.2 ft);
beam 3,66 m (12.0 ft); beam 0,85 m
(28ft)
Propulsion: one petrol engdne
delivering 686 kW (920 bhp) to one
shaft
Speed:33 kts
Endwance: not known
Armament: tvrro 457-mm (18-in)
torpedoes, and one 25-mm cannon
Complement:7

Apart from their small torpedo craft, the ImperialJapanese Navy operated a
limited num ber of TYpe 5 I boats. These, bas ed on the G erman S - bo at
concept, were much larger than was usual in a J apanese design, and were
intended as division boats for their sma/Jersrsiers. Armament could include
eight depth charges as well as the usual 4 57 - mm ( I I -in) tor pedoes.
Fasf craft
proved their worth during World War I, with
F ast coastal craft
betweenthe wcrs
the ltalians achieving the greatest successes, including the
sinking of several battleships. In the inter-war years the larger
fleets concentrated on major units and igmored coastalcraft,
but Ger many and I taly continued their development, giving
them a substantial lead by I 939.
Although the development of the automotive torpedo in the late 1gth century
promised to realize the dream of the small warship with the killer punch, the
need for this 'torpedo boat' to work with and against f leets at sea stimulated too
large an increase in size. a trend aggravated by the contemporary technology of
steam machinery in displacement hulls. The development of the fast planing hull
and the internal combustion engine began the cycle afresh, with progress
before 1914 owing much to the commercial prospects of high-speed boating. lt
was but a small step to mount torpedoes on such craft, and the same specialist
yards have tended to remain in the business to this day.
Much effort was put into the production of torpedo-carrying coastal craft
during World War l, but only the ltalians in the Adriatic and the British in the
English Channel and the Baltic ever demonstrated their true potentlal. Neither *ffi.-::-i{t
employed massed attack. preferring to work singly or in small groups to capital-
'"e#9;$iPP._-- -*
ize on the advantages of agility, surprise and good planning. The ltalians were
particularly imaginative, evolving craft and tactics to assault an Austro-
Hungarian fleet snug in well-defended harbours. The British had to contend with Seeninthe early J930s, R4 wasbuiltas amotor minesweeper, buthet size
poorer weather conditions and soon learned the value of larger and stronger allowed thetitting of anumber of lightautomaticweapons and hence her
hulls. They also discovered the threat posed by aircraft and fire from ashore, employment as a coastal escort. Slower than ffierrS-Boot con temporaries. ::e
suffering losses from both despite small size and manoeuvrability. Experience R-boatsweremore akin to theBritishMotor Launch, orML.
did not turn the British away from hard-chine designs; they accepted a drop in
performance rn heavy weather in exchange for the benef it of really high speed in Aconsiderableincreaseinefficiencyresultedintheabandontngo.ic'::::-.=
calmer water. for purpose-designed reduction gearboxes and propellers, though irars- ss :-
After World War I the British totally lost interest in coastal craft, being problems and structural failures proliferated with small hulls that'wc:(:: - ,
occupied with deep-sea imperial matters. The ltalians went on initially to be joint seaway. Wood had the necessary resilience and ease of repairwher .3: :-::
front runners with the Germans, who saw in the smalltorpedo boat a means of ,
timber or light alloy frames. All-aluminium alloy hulls corroded drsas:r:,> -
constructing useful naval tonnage outside treaty restrictions. Beneath the lax .'.::::-
salt-water conditions. As in the pre-transitional navy, lt was found ina:
gaze of the regulating authorities they built and evaluated nurnerous hulls under hulls could not exceed a certain length and, for instance in the Br: s- S::-
sporting-club colours and, over a decade, ldentified what were to be the major steel had to be used. A great British innovation was to abandor -.'.:-- -'.
S-boat characteristics: displacement hull, wood on light alloy construction, boat-building methods for mass production, using pre{abricated :e:-- :-=:
stability reserves for 533-mm (21-in) torpedoes and, finally, the small marine Once certain weaknesses had been rectified, this system realizec g'=.-.- ---
diesel. This type of engine required careful development and, once perfected, bers of craft.
remained peculiar to German practice, with foreign navies never producing a Hard-used fast coastal craft have a short operational life and den a": : : - . - - :
satisfactory competitor despite the fire risks associated with petrol engines, for attention. Specialized depot ships. or tenders, enabled squadrons :. :::-:::
which they treated effect rather than cause by inlroducing self-sealing tanks and successfully 'up-front'. The Americans particularly made greai ,s: := .-:-
improved f ire-extinguishing systems. offeringoff-dutycrewsaccommodationandfacilitieswhileunderra<..:-l:::
The ltalian lsotta-Fraschini was an excellent petrol engine, used widely abroad hull and machinery repairs, and servicing armament.
until 1 940; it was probably its very availability that inhibited comparable develop-
ment elsewhere. During World War I the ltalians found the small planing hull The Britishhard-chinedCoastalMototBoats ofWorldWar I were very !as:
adequate for their Adriatlc operations. Translated into the open-sea war of butrequired constant attention to trim in order to get the best pertormance.
1940-3 it proved unsatisfactory and was dropped in favour of a German type of I 9 I 9 s aw them in us e in a little- known cam paign on the C as p ian, du ring i, e
round-bilge form. intervention by the Western powers in Russia.

::.,.:t#;:;,:-:,: .
Fast craft between the wars

: rad been assumed between the wars that coastal craft would be needed in
^srore ASW role, a belief that hung on until the British SDBs of the 950s. ln
'^
.-: :\.'ent, submarines generally operated further offshore and those which
1

.,
=': Cestroyed by small craft were despatched by torpedo while navigating on
.^: s:rface. Speciaiist AS boats were, therefore, rapidly re-armed as gunboats,
:
=
- ' lepth charges removed. lt remained the practice, however, ior rnany boats
.: '::a,n a pair of charges for the deterrence of close pursu t.
S-ai torpeCoes of up to 457-mm (18-in) calibre proved to have insufficient
.- :-siopping capacrty, but the size and weight of two or four 533-mm (21-in)
..::3cns tended to dictate the parameters of the boats themselves, to the
=,.=^r ihat the Americans developed a special 'short' version. To save the
.... ;^: of tubes, dropping gear was introduced, though this left the torpedoes
.-:-seives vulnerable to damage. The Germans preferred to retain their two
--: :sed tubes forward, with a reload for each stowed safely behind a bulwark.
l :se- n fighting was typically brief and bloody. involv ng large volumes of
:'' * -'t i,on from light automatic weapons. Armour was gradually introduced as
: '=s-: the Germans going as far as an armoured wheelhouse. Initially the
l- s- ivere at a disadvantage with only machine-guns to match the German
-,-^.-
-, : :aaed:annon, whose explosive or incendiary shells were lethal to wooden
wrth petrol and ammunitron.
-
-:
-^.
:. e:, armament developed to suit the need. American PT boats, involved
last against the eternal and apparently unstoppable Japanese barge
-." : =..
sied some or all of their torpedoes in favour of weapons such as racked
.---..- 5-in) rockets and B1-mm (3.2-in) mortars. British boats faced similar
:-s',\,th
-'-: r='a: the German MFPs, or'F'lrghters, in such areas as the Aegean
.^: c. Iike the Japanese, these craft were of a draught too shallow to be
- . io torpedoes and could take aboard a varlable armament which often
-,-, ='.a :.e mucn-respected
-::r much-respected 88-mm (3.46-in) gun. British
8B-mm (3.4b-rn) Bntrsn MUBs
MGBs respondel
responded
:::"::'::eiy, 161ing guns as large as the short-barrelled 114-mm (4.5-in) gun
:.:.'
:r'ce available to small craft, was a boon ln the vicious nocturnal
:-::--:.'s,.vnereopponentscouldusuallybeseenonlyfleetinglyandforvery Tftrs 8rjfish MTB was one of a series of experimental light torpedo boats built
: ::' :cs Paradoxically, it was radar-controlled gunfire on the part of larger in 1940 to test the inter-war concept of small torpedo boats carried aboard
= .^:- o':set the torpedo boat's advantages by effectively outranging its mother ships. The 44-ft no. 107 carried her torpedoes in stern troughs, an
arrangement which did not prove satisfa.ctory.
:--: .-3 peace there was no sentrment, the boats being deleted in hun-
:: -alv destroyed by burning and many surviving a swords-to- S12 and S13 were partof thefirstbatchof Germanmotor torpedo boats,
l-:-i-es transfiguratron to become houseboats of surprising durabilrty. completed in I 934. Displacing 78 tons, they were 32.3-m (l 06-ft) boats armed
.:':,r: ^ small craft lapsed again on the part of the larger navies until that day withtwo 533-mm (21-in) torpedoes and a single 20-mm (0.78-in)gunintended
]:- ,. -.. rne Etlat became the f irst maior SSM casualty. for an AA role.

6r'.'*.3:

Br,:tirt:::!t,,;rrr.ilr
/:F aatla:, :::r)l::::v

*&
 ]TALY
MAS boat
During World War I the Italians oper-
ated a large number of small torpedo
craft their lack ofsize and endurance
betng offsel by the facl lhat the princrp-
al enemy was neighbouring Austrra-
Hungary, Their speed also appealed
greatly to the Italian character. The
craft were used with boldness and rm-
agination, their mqor successes being
ihe sinking of the battleships Wien and
Szent Istvan. Unlike the larger fleets
that lost tnterest in such craft after
World War i, the ltalian narry pursued
MAS development, but the results
were not particularly good because of
the lack of suitable engines. To save
both space and weight, the ltalians
favoured dropping gear for their 450-
mm (17.7-in) torpedoes to the more
usual troughs or tubes, Only with
quantity production of the excelient
isotta-Fraschrni petrol engrne in the
mid- 1930s could the Italians field a reli-
able and fast craft. These were of the
MAS 500 series, early boats being 17 m
(55.Bft) long and later ones lB,7m
(61 35 ft) Iong with a hard-chine dou-
b1e-stepped huil. Between 1937 and
194 1, 75 of these craft were completed,
:.vo-thirds of whrch were operational
r Jure 1940.
In the scope of a Mediteranean war
re MAS left much to be desired rn the
'.',
ry oi seavrorthjness, defensive arma-
VAS boat
-:= VAS (edette Antisommergibili)
: -:= ::ughly the same relationship to
-- = 1.1:-S as drd the R-boat to the S-boat
--. ,--- i:rman fleet. Lrttle attention had
: ==-, :-d before World War il to the
: . .. - " .-es of havinQl to counter a sub-
- --:.= :iensrve, an area that lacked
. :-:-:-l ic naval planners bent on
-:-:,,,r a fleet appropriate to the
, - . :,:: and aspirations of their lead-
-.'
;, - ::::plement a crash program-
-- :--:"-ettes were the VAS b,oats,
: n : l-: r :: work inshore With British
. ---::-:-: activity taking a while to
. = - ;:ak. progress was slow and
; - ..::r:re end of 1941 before the
.-'.' .=-,:s :i 30 boats(VAs 201-230)
ment and capacity for punishment, ln
April 1941 the Itahans captured sx 28-
m (91.9{t) non-operational Yugroslav
boats, built in Germany in 1936-7 alonq
starrdard S-boat lines. These were pet-
rol-engined and were made sewice-
able with no co-operation at all from
Italy's axis partners. They immediately
showed the advantages ofstze and the
displacement hull form, The MAS was
summarily abandoned as a type in
favour of an S-boat 'Chinese copy'
known as Motosiluranti, or MS boats,
of whrch 36 were completed, Accus-
tomed to speed as a protectlon, the
Itaiians tended to over-arm their MS
craft without armounnq them. Their
petrol enQdnes proved a liability and,
finally, when the Germans at last
agreed to provide Daimler-Benz
dresels and drawings for the later S-38
type, it was too late to be of use and
none had been even launched by the
armistice in September 1943.
The great success oI her torpedo
boats in World War I led I taly to
continue work on such craft after
I 9 I 8. The MAS 50 I series retained
Iightweigh t 450 -mm ( I 7.7 -in)
torpedoes and carried only a single
machine-gun, but were capable of
42 kts.
quiet manoeuvring, Although capable
of just under 20 kts flat out, the VAS
were equipped with a parr of 450-mm
(17.7 rn) torpedoes in dropping gear.
As the boats carried only light automa-
tic gmns, the function of the torpedoes
was to destroy any submarine forced
to surface by the boat s 30 depth
charges,
A second gnoup of 18 boats (74,S
231-248) was ordered in 1942, slightly
increased in beam but diffdring fun-
damentally in havingr the better part of
their propulsive power on the centre-
line shaft and cruise enelnes on the
wing shafts. Though again ostensrbly
AS craft, thrs series was f,tted with
high-speed sweep gear, wrth an ob-
vious changre in priority,
There existed also a further and un-
related group of VAS craft, a i2-boat
series (7AS 301-312) from Ansaldo to
Coastal Craft of World War II
Above: Italy completed 36 MS
boats, whichwere similar to
the German S-boats after
testing six G erman-built S -
boats captured from
Yugos I av ia. E ar lier I talian
boats were impressively fast
but lacked adequate
armament.
the yard's own design, These were
much larger 34-m (111.55-ft) craft of
all-steel construction. They shouid
have been diesel-propelled but the
Italian-designed engines proved un-
satisfactory, the boats taking the same
machinery as the second series, Only
half the class was ever to complete tn
time to see sewice under the ltalian
flag, the remainder being captured by
the Germans at the caprtulation, Most
were sunk or scuttled, and few served
for any time in their desrgned function
1.
$,
t:'
iii
.1 *!_,-
, ia --=
. llt_tL
Specification
MAS boat (late production model)
Displacement: 24 to 28 tons
Dimensions:lenqth 18.7 m (61.35 ft);
beam4.7 m(15.42 ft); draught 1.4 m
(4 6 ft)
Propulsion: two petrol engines
delivenngr 1640 kW (2,200 bhp) to two
shafts
Speed:42 kts
Endurance:650 km (404 miles) at
42 kts
Armament: two 450-mm ( 17. 7-rn)
torpedoes, and one machine-gun
Complement: 10
Specification
VAS boat (2nd series)
Displacement:69 tons
Dimensions:lenqth 28,0 m (91 86 ft)
beam4,7 m(15.42 ft); drausht i.4 m
(4,6 fr)
Propulsion: one petrol engine
delivering 857 kW ( 1, 150 bhp) and two
petrol engines each delivering
224 kW (300 bhp) to three shafts
Speed:20 kts
Endurance: not known
Armament: two 450-mm (17 7-in)
torpedoes, two 20-mm cannon, two 6 5-
mm (0.256-in) machine-gnrns, and
depth charges
Complement: 26
The VAS boats were designed
for inshore ASW work.
However, there proved little
need for their desigrned
function and they were used
as supp/emenla ry flotilla
cratt.
t10 tr
 GEBI\,1ANY

LS and KM
Paralleling the carriage of small torpe-
do craft by major units in the Victorian
era, the pre-war German navy rnvesti-
gated two possibilities of stowage for a
small Scfinellboof. TWo 12.5-m (41-ft)
LS type prototypes were built in the
late 1930s, light enough to be handled
by heavy deck gear yet able to carry
two 457-mm (18-in) torpedoes. Only
one of these, built of light alloy, met the
weight limit and was put into service as
IS2 (LS for Leicht SchnelJbool). The
torpedo gear was not standard in the
German nar,ry and was not available in
time, so the boat was modified to lay
three mines through apertures in the
broad transom. Though this reduced
the direct usefulness of the craft, she
was shipped as an auxiliary aboard the
raiderKomet. The boat was a failure as
the aero engines fltted in place ofthe
planned diesels (also not available)
failed with vibration and transmission
problems,
lS3 and.LS4 both received their de-
signed pair of Daimler-Benz diesels, { ..it t.. .!tr;ri-,r'
an interesting feature beinq that a
gearbox was added to increase en-
gine speed by 50 per cent to drive the ,'@,'
propellers at a supercavitanng
3,300rpm, Of these two craft the for-
mer was a minelayer attached to the charges but no sonar, In practice, they proved too small for the job and were LS4 was fitted with an atcrcft gun
raider Kormoran, and the latter (the acted as high-speed inter-island expended in theatres with sheltered turret and two 533-mm torpedoes.
first torpedo-fitted boat) was attached vedettes, waters, N amed'Esau', it was carried by the
to the raider Micfie], Another innovative little craft was German commerce raider
Official policy reqardrng the use of the l6-m (52,5{t) KM type coastal Specification Michef rvhicft sailed from Flushing in
these interesting little craft, which mrnelayer (KM for Ktstenminenle- LS type (as designed) March I 942 and met its end at the
were armed also with a 15-mm or 20- ger). Equipped with twin 4lO-kW (550- Displacement: I 1,5 tons hand s of the Ametic an su bm arine
mm gmn in an aircraft turret, seemed to hp) aero engine drive, these 36 craJt Dimensions:lenqth 12,5 m (41,0 ft); USS Tarpon off Yokohama in I 943.
be lacking. Of the remainingr eigrht that had sufflcient speed to reach the Brit- beam3,3 m(10.83 ft); draught0,76 m
were completed, most went overland ish coat with four mines and return dur- (2 5 ft) Armament: tvro 45O-mm ( I 7. 7-in)
to the Aegean to be used, ineffectually, ing dark hours, having placed them far Speed:42.5 lxs torpedoes, and one 20-mm cannon
for AS duties, carryinq 11 depth more accurately than aircraft. They Endurance:555 km (345 miles) at 30 kts Complement:9

GERMANY

Raumen rs the German verb 'to clear
or remove', hence the Raumboot 01
1o
R-boat type of coastal minesweeper.
These craft were of such a useful srze,
hcwever, that they also did duty as
mneiayers and, suitably rearmed, as
escofis to convoys, in which guise they
',vere involved in frequent brushes
-,nth Bdtish craft,
The origdnal gnoup, R/-/6, was con-
siructed in the early 1930s. Like the
S-boats, they were built of wood on
netal framing with round bilges. They
,';ere, however, of only 60{on dis-
placement and 26-m (85.3-ft) length.
?lcpulsion was by twin-screw diesels
-:: 'ras
a modest 17 kts although one unit,
--i fltted with Voith-Schnider cyc-
-:-Cal propellers, whrch made for
I:at manoeuvrability at the cost of
s:ne speed. Thrs experiment was
i:emed successful, and over 100 R-
::as were eventually so fitted.
:rom Ri7 onwards dimensions
,',':re very similar to those of the S-
::a-s though with extra beam, and in-
::=ased draught by virtue of their
;:aier drsplacement, Even with prog-
::ss-i'ely rmproved diesels, the aver-
=;: R-boat never much exceeded
: - <s and when not actually rnvolved
Above: The German R-boats were
pressedinlo service as minelayers
and convoy escorts. Although they
r eceive d incre asing Iy p owerfu I
diesels they couldrarely manage
much more than hall the maximum
speed of an S-boat.
tn the minesweepinq for which the
type had been designed, was em-
ployed defensively. The exceptions
were the dozen so-called GR-Boote (G
for Geleit, or escort), R30l-3J2, built to
a stretched 4l-m (134,S-ft) desrgn dis-
placing 175 tons. They had triple-
screw propulsion for 24 kts and were
fitted with a pair of torpedoes, Thouqh
used in something like the role for
whtch the British emplol'ed MGBs,
their flrepower was little enhanced,
and BB more projected craft were can-
celled,
Their construction did suqqest the
need for a true multi-purpose escort
for the many coastal convoys that the
Germans ran around North European
waters, The result was the hybrid, An R- boat is shown ofI the N otwegian coas t, whe re the G ermans ran so J? ar.;
steel-built MZ-Boot design (Mz for convoys that they constructed a purpose-built convoy escort based on the
Mefuzweck, or multi-purpose) which, R-boat design. By 1 944 R-boats bristled with guns, carrying a 37-mm ( l.45-::
while having a heavy surface arma- cannon and up to six 20-mm mounts. Many were fitted withVoithScinejde:
ment including two BB-mm (3,46-in) propellers , which increased manoeuvrability at the expense of som e spee:
R-Boot (continued) Coastal Craft of World War II
gn-ms and two torpedo tubes, were of
only singrle-shaft propulsion, OnIy Mzl
was ever completed, not proving suf-
flcrently satisfactory to warrant further
priority being given for completion of
the remaining 11.

Specification
R-boat 140-tontype
Displacement: 140 tons standard
Dimensions: Iength 40,0 m (131,23 ft);
beam 5,6 m (18,37 ft); draught 1.45 m
(4 7s ft)
Propulsion: lwo diesels delivering
1901 kW (2,550 bhp) to hvo shafts
Speed:20,5 kts
Endurance: 2040 km ( 1,268 miles) at
15 k1s
Armament: one 37-mm cannon and up
to srx 20-mm cannon
Complement:38

T he R - bo a ts w ere originally 6 0 - ton

craft armed with a couple of 20-mm
cannon plus depth charges or mines,
as appropriate. FromRTT on they
grre,ar to S-boat size, and mounted an
increased armament - necessary on
the vitalNorwegian iron ore route.

GERNiIANY

S-Boot
Known to the British for some ill-
defined reason as an E-boat, the Ger-
man Scinellboot, or S-Boot, differed
qreatly from its Royal Navy counter-
parts, From its origins in a lrirrssen civil
desiqn of the early 1930s, the S-boat
was built of wood on alloy frames and
had a round-bilged hull form whrch,
while possessing a lower maximum
speed than the hard-chined British
equivalents, was very much more sea-
kindly, In the event, the S-boat was
able to sustain its maximum speed in
sea states that forced the British to
rhrollle back to avoid excessive
pomding.
Diesel drive was specified from the
outset, though the prototype S/ of 1930
and the follow-onS2-^S5 of 1931-2 had to
take petrol engines whrle Daimler-
Benz and MAN developed a suitable
unit, Only with the 56-/3 of 1934-5 did
the three-shaft dresel layout become
estabhshed, These craft were 32,4 m
(106,3 ft) in length and powered for
35 kts. This speed was considered in-
suff,cient, so in the next group the
seven-cylinder diesels were ex-
changed for 1l-cy[nder units, impro-
'nng speed but necessitdting an in-
crease in lengrth to 34.7m (113,8ft),
'.vhich remained remarkably constant
until 1945, in stark contrast to the varie-
ty of boats under the Brrtish flag.
Because of their grreater length the
S-boats carried their two torpedo
tubes forward of the wheelhouse. giv-
ing space for hvo skid-mounted re-
loads abaft them, It was then a small
design step from 526 onwards to raise
the forecastle by 1m (3,28ft), so en-
closinq the tubes and leaving a for-
ward gmn-pit between them and, im-
portantly, raising the freeboard to qive
the cra-ft an enviable dryness.
Always quieter than British equiva-
lents, the S-boats also had a profile that
was hard to spot \ffrthout radar, Gun Specification SI, theprototype S-boat, here seen in
armament had continually to be in- 'S26'class theKiel canal, had tomake dowith a
creased to march that of their oppo- Displacement: 93 tons standard and petrol engine while a diesel unit was
nents, the extra weight being offset to a I 15 tons ful]]oad perfected. The round-bilged hull
great extent by improved weight- Dimensions: lenqth 34.95 m (1 14.67 ft); enabled theS-boats to maintain high
savinq techniques in hull construction beamS.I m(16.73 ft); draught 1,4 m speeds even r'n a rough sea.
and engines of higher power. Protec- (4 6 ft)
tion was improved by the adoption of Propulsion: three diesels delivering
the armoured'Kalotte' type bridge. By 4474 kW (6,000 bhp) to three shafts The 10?-tonSSl works up to her full
1945 speeds had been pushed (by ex- Speed:39.5 kts speed of39 kts. Note the difference
tremely unrehable engines) to a max- Endurance: 1390 lcn (864miles) at made by raising the forecastle I m
imum 42 kts and, whrle no longer, the 35 kls (3.28 ft), enclosing the torpedo tubes
5700 IWe introduced two extra, aft- Armament: two 533-m (21-in) torpedo and leaving space for a forward 20-
facing torpedo tubes, Over 200 S-boats tubes with four torpedoes, and two 20- mm (0.78-in) Wn-pit. The low profile
were built, of which about half sur- mmcannon of theS-boats was a considerable
vrved the war, Complement:upto 21 advantage in the nocturnal mel6es
along the Channel coast.

k:;w
'E-Boct'AB[eg
From their bases in the Low Countries, German torpedo craft attacked the Tfiarnes
estuary so frequently that itwas dubbed'E-boatAlley'. Publicly, thegovernment.
played down the problem, but soon ernbarked on a progyamme of motar gwn-boafs
to beat theenemy athisowngame"
The UK's war effort depended on electrical
power lrom the national erid, and the power
statrons that fed it were coal-fued. Those re-
moved from the coal fields were, lbr the most
part, situated on the ioast, where their unen-
ding appetite couid be satisfled directly by
colliers. Most of these were small, between
1 0C0 and 2,000 deadweight tons, sized to pene-
irale 10 a hundred obscure quays. Simllar:sized
coasters moved a host ofother cargoes, many
to and lrom the major ports that serviced the
ccean-going ships.
At any time literally hundreds oiships were
in iransit coastwise, many of them large deep-
sea vessels on passaqe between ports. Their
convoying had been planned before the war
and began immediately on the outbreak of hos-
:ilities. Most threatened were the east and
south coasts that directly faced the continent.
So, between the Thames Estuary and the Tyne/
iorth ran, every couple ofdays, the FN (north-
ccund) and FS (southbound) convoys whrle,
between the Thames and the SolenVFalmouth,
ran the CE anci CW convoys (eastbound and
-,.,,estbound). Complicating the iatters' cycle
-.,vere the ocean-bound OA convoys, aiso
:ormed rn the Thames.
Navigation hazards
Trafhc heading north from the Thames has,
::r centuries, respected the hazards of navigat-
:rg around the buige of Easl Angha. Channels
are restnctecl. shallow and unstable, hemmed
.: i:etween endless banks of hard, unyielding
sa:rd and a flat and largely featureless coast.
-.;
iih war the naviqating marks were dimmed
:r extlnguished, moved or removed, and a
:=ce of sturdily rndependent skippers was
:criged to accept the group diseipline of the
r::roy. For the first erght months of the war,
W.t#ls),,,:r'
the bhoney wa/ beloved oi journalists, the
traffic suffered only sporadicaliy from air
attack, but more seriousiy from mines. Aircraft
and submarine 'lays' were unsatrsfaciory to the
Germans on the grounds oi both quantrly and
accuracy, so destroyers (carrying 60 mines
apiece) undertook a serles of nocturnal forays,
placing 11 fields oll the T\7ne, the Humber, the
East Anqlian coast and the Thames. These
alone were to claim 76 known victims and ihe
siqht of masls and iunnels proirudino lrom the
silt-laden waters began to be depressingiy
familiar.
Straggling convoys
Sheer numbers ofships saw convoys up to 60
stronq in the early days. Narrow oifshore chan-
nels often resulted in these convoys being
strung out over 32 km (20 mites), rmpossrble for
their few escorts to cover adequately and a soft
tarqet lor the Luftwaffe.
Some ships received a measure of defensive
armament, and some carried naval parties with
Lewrs guns who took passage, returning with
another convoy; most had nothing. Hit and run
aerial attacks were often effective and very
hard to counter as the RAIr had too lew fishters
to mounl conij.nuous cover, and to respond to a
call lor assistance was usually to i:e too late
April 1940 saw the greai German offensive in
the West, starting wilh the Scandinavran cam-
paign. In Mav, even before Dunkirk, the Dutch
ports were taken and, wtth iherr availability,
came the S-boats, known universally to the Brlt-
ish as 'E-boats', Barely 160 km (100 miles) - a
three-hour passage - lrom the Enqlish East
Coast, they rapidly made themselves known,
On the nrqht of 9/10 May, the Britlsh destroyer
HMS Ke,t]y was al1 but destroyed by a eroup of
lour boats whose Dresence had nol even been
'E-Isaats' in theirlair.They were in fact German
S-boafs, andissued forth from their concrete pens
to attack the regular coastal convoys off the
English coast. Eombing the pens was aften tried
but flr.r'sseJdom destroyed them;anly air
superiarity and improved gun-boatswith radar
ended tr1e S-bo ats' career.
suspected, Durin$ the Dunkirk operation a iev.
weeks 1ater. three Bntrsh and French des-
troyers were sunk and lwo heavily damagei
Working singly or in small Qiroups, the S-boai:
combined boldness with a low and rather non-
descript appearance in attacks that provec
highly effective and which earned them some-
thtng ol a 'bogey' image, Their first mo.;e
against a coasiai convoy, offDungeness on the
nietht of 19120 june 1940, claimed one ship.
Wlth the lall of Europe, the battle for aerial
superiority ovet the UK beqan in earnes:
Coastal convoys were bombed remorselessl,
by Cay Lo lure 'he underslrengLh RAf fiqn'
annel i n I I 4 0, a periad w hen th e
fi -,boa fs rn th e C h
German flotilla had little warry about air attack
and could cancentrate anBritish shipping.
Minelaying R-I>oais were a/gru ably mare effective
l&an lfremore EJamorous$-boafs with theiy high-
speed lorpedo a f facks.
..i.is'illll{il
 Coastal Craft of World Wa-r II

squadrons out to,.thejr:,defeace; The, ploy, dtd. ,.ably.'have':had even rnore,':resul-ts ifr therCe-rr British countermea'uies fo.t tes,-boats involved e
noi work; the'serviee gavinq it6edior the qrea'. rnans' had, concentrated' on tainelayinq'', This, "pletltarq sf caaslell cta, these'being Fairmile'C's
:er battle yet to come, but the convoys suflered, . {brm 'warfare' lacked lhe giamoE of: dire-ct:,, (conuetted from Fairllr.ile lAl minelayers) o{ the
'of Dover Patrol Large$ manned byRNVR personne;
Fu1ly aware' of thejr'mpolla8ce, tlrg'Germaris .qornbat; , but : was : €xtremely 'disruptivp ' and. iiiith gfeaf
experleriEe of shoa!,waters, tlze MGB s
allcwedthemho respitg using also theS,boats cost.'effeclrve,Wjth their,-shallow draughl, lhe 'could.gain,tke edge ina gun"dael as they were
:v r-rght . S.-boats," wete' able' 1o, thread the. qats,and,, uttencwrlbered bi mines or jarpedoes.
.rswatchways offshore.t6 lay th€ir mines w-here it.,
Destroyer escorts . hllrt mos|' In doinq. so,: however,: thelf :began lo'l three of his four Dutch-based flotillas ',-,'::=
\4ounting r losses forced rlhe,.Br.itlsh :'to run ,r,un foul of a new,British anlidote, the Motor Gun', withdrawn to ihe :Braltic pendtng the openi::g : -
sraller, more."managdable and',nro:re -easily Boar (MGB) These in the form of re-armed the wEr,againslthe USSR; The respite was cr:=-
j=iended co:rvoys and:.lo-{e-.rquter the OAs . as more enemy boats soon came inro ser,'-::
"Masby' boats;.were- int{oduced,ln March,194i , ,-Mosl boats,, sf .btth,er petsuasion, s-;
:-,r:habout; Trawlers. and Mls'acted, as. rtr ip. 'and, .under' the leadership. of such:as,Rohert'i
.'.:es', ballosR, p11s ships kept the,would- 'Hichen, began to cfrailerge the S.boats direet:,' plemented. their offieial armament. Bul ',.;iE::
:= sira-fers hlgther "t6 ahd, ijest'of ail,: the'Huhtl 1y. 'The, big ,Fairmilq.l10, footers,. whictr fo.l., the Gerr.nans:werg'laden with mines or icry=-
:-,.ss escort destroyers were. becoming avail- lowed; were capable o.f .raakrngthe Germansr
.lives,really uncomfoJtabls Most oi the Brjtisli: MTB30 #aF a llosp er. 7q-ft: craf t lost during i 94 2.
=: -:, fur a lop these Could alinQstrpac€,an S:boat boats vrere poweled by three petrol
.:.: =eir l0 l, 6:mm (4-in)' guns'had an_ unqom:: boals wefe . RNVR:manned;,r lHos!11itieo...O4iv' these engines' that enabled them tQ ieach 4A kls, but &et'
---
.. : lv hrgh rate ol fue, They also had radar .sailors drawn ir.orn the ranks,of pre:war.yashls::. w€ie znuch iaisier'than the S'.b6als - a d:sf.incf
6 Z:pdr,liofl{orward il11191n h3t men whose enlhustasm for the task was match. disadiip nta.ge be tot e radar' b e came w i d e Iy
:

::_.:.=n ed by their experience oi shoal waters, As it .availabl6': Early madels weie lightly armed, the
-:. :erms oi slrlppinq| sunk,ralher :than-offen. ,happened 'their errlviil eoincided wjih a tem- ': fdtward drrnament of'this,boat being two pinll+
. .'.'= efect, the S:boat cbrhpaign .would,prob:. .poraiy:slackeninq of, the enerny op.siaught,, as'' motntedLewjsgiznF:l:. ..', :
 bl-Boat'AJley

: .=2.bttilt in I943" mounted a 40-mm (1.57-in) AA

a{t and a 30-mm gun in firc forward
-;un Q.?9-in)
:..t;on.Disp/acingover 100 tons. Sl42was
::.ncng the largest S-boats built and could carry six
: : * j1;* l,-nines :n s tead af spare torpedoes.

f;6.J5" =a

T:i;l.?n$if :Fffi{F.ffi#:+qjiT:-.fi il.+Efr "€i*iis

i:i

' ,.,
,
,€
:,.
I*
--l-- r:. .

:i-. - -r'**S&:.i:' : !_{

:H
,e

. v#:3.1

I i:j ' :.t

 eo*stal e,raft nf Vlc' ,.:

: ..ra;ir rr.q {oilsx.rNJt:1eg ajie;" sff $ f,eaeur*ri a:l

:r ilt.r:red {:c}t't:t.lnq' l:rare,l" es a r:'rdence ag:arnsf iJt*
.'.:,:,'r,:i,:r;irltJ#,p.-;g',tu,:,ttl.:J.gil;t gi:lno:-nej:i cal'vicel f:-lr
ji:.i,;e .{r l;gf,j. iriesei,J !rr$.g1luisr'i:: i;lr.ls s-i:er',1#ed.{ier:
r.::
-. : ...... ,,.,". .,i,..,.r
" - -{i,r,,,,i
:,
't;,i: a {ju ee".shel'? iarirr:i {,hui r"he :,'eizs;n-
;1.:rj-r*"*i
:r'r'.rrrd*:.r r.fjesejs ril*jd snj-r,r*f;re "'e 35 ,{ts. J?e-
., .:;:i r,rrif.h J I fi.'fi::r,ler r*r:ri:l*f;', Ji"r:*e l.r g'rer,'a j-n
"r-,rj.ti:i'r {o l:riar-jj,'3,5 ir.r i:'ul t-r:fJ l*,ri 40 }r:s" {,La fi,i
. r;,..:
':
-,t L,t, .t ntt r 'ra."..J1d,s
- . rr" -J?.,.... a 8,.,;".."--._ .;' ,j, :. F;t '.i"!.s
''.i, r':i icnra.r sr.ll';nl le*ifu:s.

:1- :
"::El!r-r,

'' iir++;i '

. ., j!: i. !,i

:
'- :'j .:l-l'::a
t:
' :;'i"i:-':r':';" ..!3-i:

) ti:

-:-"*: ;];-,,
,;-s';i'!'f,: _
d],.i-,'"=-;;. '-' L '
qj.ii"It
€d$;€+'ffi;!* '
'E-Boat'Alley

does to carry out their primary mission, the

Eritish were not and haci the edge, particularly
rn calm conditions, Their onginal machine-gun
:utflts were, however, at a disadvantage com-
cared with the Oermans' 20-mm cannon, which
ered explosrve shells that posed a grave lhreat
rc fraii petrol-enqined hulls. Boats lay station-
ary ior hours, awaitinqr the deep throb that
announced therr enemy's arrival. A careful plot
oy ear then preceded a crash start and in- a6b- 3
.$
ffi\ 't;
.erception, followed by a confused melee, a*;;aTi#;
criel and bloody, lhat often found as many J
boats victim of collision as ol gunfire.
Noi until 1943 was the S-boat threat con-
:ained. Aircrafl increasingiy attacked them as
:ney 1eft or returned to their bases in daylight,
ccniining their activities more to the longer
rights. Radar began to appear on Bntish coas-
:aI craft as well eis the larqer escoris. Wilh
]lnfire proving ever more darnaginq, the Ger-
:-ians adopted armoured bridges for therr craft,
:::'"ving them further.
ln contrast with eariler rapier-thrusts by a
:andfui of boats, the Germans began to resort
.: ihe bludgeon of mass strikes. For instance,
:Z S-boats hit the northbound FN I160 convoy
:-r Cromer on the niqht ot24/25 October 1943,
-ievltably, so large an attack lost cohesion.
: -',-e destroyers in the close escoit fought them
- - ior the ioss of one small straggler while six
I,l3Bs fel1 on them as they withdrew
:- ::emeal. T\mo S-boats were sunk,
lnroughout 1944 the Germans were in- Ab ove : K o n terad m ir a I. K a:rl I rfintngr say'uf es
:::asingly lortunate to survtve at all. No prior C ommander D.H.E. M cC owan after surrendering
:..-.::nnaissance was available to them, and dls- his cemmand at Felixstowe. H is S-n'oats were the
tirst Gerrnan surface craft tocapitulate in May Eelaw: Arnajor reason lbr ffie iontainment of the
=--gaqrement needed to be ultra-rapid to avoid I 945. boat threat was lfie advenf of sr.lcJ'rAJJied crafl as
.:.: ,r iath of the escorts, By the end of the year S-
the Fairrnile'D' series af MGB/MTB. Big; fast and
r: :any S-boats were being lost as colliers, but taineC the evii reputation oi'E-Boat Alley'to the heavily armed, these powerlulboafs were a/so
:":r as late as IB/19 March 1945 they suc- end, but they eventually lost their cause by fitled with radar, ne€ralrngr f}re njeri?t-filrfitr$g
::: jed in srnkrng two olFS 1759 by torpedo off having to battle alone against an incteasingly acivantage given ta the Germans by their baats'
-: ,-, estoft, Fightrng long and hard they main- eilective and co ordinated opposition. lawprofiles.

DK tritish Power Boats 60-ft types
-:-: a result marnly of lack of funds the
-iLsh did not develop the CMB con-
::pt firrther until 1935, when British
i:wer Boats interested the Admiralty
: an 18.3-m (60-ft) boat developed as a
lnvate venture. It was wooden-hulled
'.'-th, initially, aluminium deckingr and
-l contrast to the CMB, was hard
:hrned without a step, T\,ryo 457-mm
.iE-rn) torpedoes were carried;
.rough launched over the stern as in
:arlier boats the arrangement was
iifferent. The torpedoes protruded
:erough ports in the transom and had
.reir outboard halves supported on lat-
..ce outriggers that could be hinged
l:ack on deck when not required, The
room crew had to work with the
=ngine
c'..siness ends of the torpedoes sup-
,.orted on overhead runways over the
';rng' shafts Launching rnvolved run-
::ng the torpedoes up, removinq their
:estraints and suddenly accelerating
.:e boat, With the torpedoes having to
.ijmt in the disturbed water of the
aoat's wake aiminq was somewhat
:.:phazard
A strong paper defence was
- orded by no less than eight Lewis
;:ns but these, being arrangTed in two
t:adruple mountings set in pits at the
:,:irerr€ ends of the boat, proved un-
...sfactory The hull design, though
.,:-,'rer than that of the CMB, proved
:.-re seakindly il like all of its kind,
.:'tas discoveredvery soon that the
j ?B armament of quad Lewis guns at
zotv and stemwas inadequate, and
:.at a larger designwould be
-.=:essary to handle the increased
.i aaponry.
Coastal Craft of World War II
prone to pounding in a head sea The
BPB 60-footer proved seaworthy and
capable of staging as far as Malta; the
flrst type to be termed a motor torpedo
boat, rt rekindled interest on the part of
the Admiralty,
Eighteen were built in the initial
batches between 1936 and 1939
(MTBI-12 and MTB14-I9), BPB then
producing a two-enErined versron
whose torpedoes were exchangred for
depth charges. Known as MA/SB
('Masby') craft, they found little em-
pioyment in their initial form and most
were later refitted as early MGB types
to supporl MTBs in therr operallons
For this they carried, usually a single
2-pdr and four 12,7-mm (0 5-1n)
machine-guns, but many armament
variations existed. Interestingly, depth
charges were silll often carried: set
shallow, these could be used to detbr
pursuit or, hair-rarsLnqly, to drop
alongsrdeaLdrger :"^
I Specification B ritis h power bo ats w er e
{" BPB 60-fttype instrumental in the revival of Ro;'a.
I Dispiacement: 22 tons Navy interest in coastal craft n tie
ti
t!{
Dimensions: Ienqth 18.36 m (60.25 ft); l930s.Their designs sold abroac,
beam 4, I m ( 13 4 ft); draught 0,86 m these 70-ft MGB s originally beitg
'i',
(2 83 ft) built as stretched MNSBs for ti,e
Propulsion: three petrol enqdnes Frcnch until taken over anci
lil
,s.lt".
delivenng 1342 kW (1,800 hp) to three completed for the Royal Nara'.
l:',1 \ shafts
Speed:33 kts Armament: two 457-mm (-: -:.
Endurance: 652 km (4OS miles) at 33 kts torpedoes. andeLght 7.1-:::. . ...-
machine-guns
Complement: 9

ffi torp", ?0-ft type

.-:::ssrul Vosper 70-ft type orr
=- -' ,:e single 20.7-m (68-ft) boat
: i:el as a privare venlure rn
: -,=.: :ventually commissioned
- .-:',-.-',';:od
as MTB 102. Built com-
:- she was driven by
.- =-:laschrni petrol engdnes
i:,-..Im output of 2573 kW
: -r.
: rese drove the boat at a
-- .::ed of nearly 44kts in
:: :r-:1 \\ere chosen as no
' :,-- :;_lvaient existed, Lrke
" - l-::s ihey were extremely
, . = -'.'.'-p i.,rrer Ford engtne was
' ': . :lurch rnto rhe wing
. )4I
,: . -:-,',-speed but silent !
.-- l=:-:rehne torpedo tubes .i
. -,--:ciuded, one forward .l
-: :he nai,ry did not ltke
::','eloped the sided
-:.=:--: aropted thereafter. MTB
.. . . - -=:le also for beinq the first
r -*
-f

: .:: '.'.'ere invoived in

:: ::.: Leitteen Genoa and La
: :.' : .-:.: .',!ay 1944, and achieved
: ;-' ::. e succes s h arrying
:": ::=p)y convoys.
Vosper 70-ft type (continued)

Royal Navy vessel fitted wrth the later

udversal 2O-mm Oerlikon cannon.
Desprte a further strong challenge
by BPB with an alternative 21,34-m (70-
ft) pnvate-venture boat, the Admiralty
chose the Vosper design as being the
stronger in heavy seas, (Actually
keeping these fast wooden hulls
together rn poor conditions was a
probiem that was never satisfactorily
solved,) Four Vosper and two similar
Thornycroft boats were ordered in
1938 and provided the basis for the war
programme, with little design changre
except a nominal increase in lengrth to
improve seakeepingt and cater for the
lrowing load of topweight. Alternative
engines were a problem; a few con-
;erted Merlins were coaxed from the
Au Minrstry but manyboats hadto take
low-powered Hall-Scotts until the
powerful American Packard became
available, Oerhkons were virtually un-
cbtarnable, and the alternatle 7,7-mm
iC.303-in) machine-gn:ns proved of lit-
:le use against E-boats runnrng as
MGBs Eventually 12,7-mm (0,5-in)
nachine-gmns and 6-pdr quns were
lrted which, with radar, made for an
ejicient night-f,ghtlnq boat, Stronger Specification Speed:40 kts MTB 80 was on e of the first of
but hghter hulls, together with uprated Vosper 72.S-fttype Endurance: 463 km (2BB miles) at 40 kts Vosper's 72.2-footers. The class was
3i1gtnes, meant that boats were car- Displacement: 36 to 49 tons Armament: two 533-mm (2 ]-in) to give excellent sewice when fitted
ring a 7O-per cent increased equip- Dimensions: Ien qth 22, I m (72,5 ft); torpedoes, and varrous combinations with 6 pdrs and 20-mm cannon, but
::ent load by 1944 tn.th little speed beam5,94 m(19.5 ft); draught i.6B m of 6-pdr gmn, 20-mm cannon, and 12,7 - the original armament of two I 2.7-
penaity, Orders for 193 boatswere met (5 s ft) mm (0.5-rn) and 7.7-mm (0 303-in) mm (0.5-in) and four7.7-mm (0.303-
l:elween 1939 and 1945 with the ex- Propulsion: three petrol engTines machine-gnrrs in) MGs was not adequate (as was
:eption of a few late boats which were deliverins 2983 kW (4,000 bhp) to Complement: 12 or 13 unfortu na tely p r ov en w he n MTB B 0
:rncelled. three shafts was lostin l94l).

>K fairmile 'D'type

-actical pre-war experience demon-
srated that MTBs would probably find
riculty in penetrating a determined
:sccrt to reach a target, particularly if
-i.a: escofi was of 'E-boats', What was
::qurred was a more heavily armed,
::: still fast craft to occupy the latter's
i.:entions, to defend the MTBs and
.'-3-r,/ them to concentrate on the main
::'ectives, A further requirement was
:-: need to defend convoys aqainst
:-bcats in the absence of a destroyer
where this decreased the draught as a
result of smaller-diameter propellers,
it was due more to the power of avail-
able engines than design requlre-
ments. Early craft had direct drive but
etearboxes were later introduced, im-
provinq both efficrency and speed.
Hard drivingr exposed the weaknesses
of mass-producrng an all-wood craft of
this size, and repairs and strengthen-
inq were frequent. Some 200 'D' TYpe
craft were produced between 1942
Because of their size (and endur- misery heaped on the Afrika Korps'
ance when fitted with auxiliary tanks) supply convoys, Aqainst the low-
Shetland-based 'D' types were able to
proflle E-boats, they possessed the
worktheNorwegiancoastand,operat- great advantage of radar,
inq out of Malta and B6ne, to add to the
Fairmile'D'MTB 1944 cutaway drawing key
1 Chemical smoke dlspenser 15 Seaman'swashroom
2
3
Smokefoat
Steerlnggear
I6 Aft magazine
7 Fueltanks (foMard tanks
compadment
1

hold3,240ga; afttanks
:s3rr1. As aheady related, a few of the and 1944, Towing eye hold 1 ,820 gal)
'lB Torpedobastscreen
r','a,jable BPB 'Masby' boats were Armaments, official and otherwlse, B udder
Screw 19 lSlntorpedotube
::::rned to sewe temporarily but, for varied considerably, the boats sewing Shaft 20 Oer ikon twin 20-mm Mk
.:-: lcng term, the Fairmile'D'type and as MGBs (90{on displacement), MTBs IX

-.--3 siearn Crunboat were developed, (95-ton displacement) or combination 21 Spllnterscreentogun

platform
--:alf as long again as the average MGI',4/MTBs ( 105{on displacement), 22 20-mm ready use
l.::B the 'D' type was of unique form in In the last role the armament was for- ammunition
flattlsh vee sections aft merqing
--.r', -:rg midable, with four 457-mm (18-in) tor- 23 Mastcrutch
24 Flag locker
:-:: a round-bilge form forward, the pedo tubes, two 6-pdr guns, and four 25 Handgrenade ocker
r::=irilon taking the form of a pro- 12.7-mm (0.S-in) and four 7,7-mm 26 Ventllatorshaft
---:':::ced hard knuckle that acted use- (0.303-1n) machine-gnrns, The speed,
----; as a spray deflector. This com-
::::::rse hull and the extra length
inevitably, was reduced to about
29 kts. A short-barrelled 114.3-in (4,5'
_
" :;,-ed them to operate in more se-
',-::3 sea states wrthout the usual heavy
in) gnrn was fitted forward on some,
::::-iinqr. The wide transom pemit-
=: ;aadruple shaft propulsion but,

-
 Coastal Craft of World War II
>K fairmile'A' and'G' types
So well associated with the construc-
:ion of coastal craft did the name of
Fairmile become that it is, perhaps,
suprising to discover that it began op-
erations as late as 1939, It convinced
'Jre Admiralty of the need for a motor
launch (ML) along the lines of those
iat served during World War I, These
nad been built in the USA and, mainly
Jrough lack of lenqth, were not totally
satrsfactory in sewice. Fairmile prop-
:sed to increase length substantially
' -: 22.85-24,37 m (75-80 ft) to 33,53 m
.. r0 ft) and to qear up to an extended
progrramme by prefabrrcatton. Thus, in
place of a yard framinq up a boat,
planking it and fitting it out in the tradr
tronal (and slow) manner a variety of
wood-workinq companies, not neces-
sarily connected with boat buildinq,
would be involved ln the series con-
sffdction of component parts. These, ttffi"t-u"r"'*
-lll*a:''
made from standard jigs, would then
be assembled rapidly in the actual
',vaterside yard, even the planking way and throw spray. More seriously, charged engflnes and better laid out A Fairmile 'C' MGB with the originat
being supplied in ready{o-assemble the bunker capacity for the three Hall topsides, MTB-style, with an enhanced armamentof two2-pdrs and two
:umbered sets, Scott petrol engines was far too small, armament of two 2-pdr gmns and two pairs of 12.7-mm (0.5-in) MGs makes
To test the system, the Admiralty For the long warlime producLion runs, twin 12.7-mm (0.S-in) machine-gmns. herway atclose toher maximum
rrdered 12 Fairmile 'A' type craft, therefore, a new desiqn known as the speed of 25 kts. Slower but larger
rumbered ML.l 00- I I L They were, in- Fairmile 'B' type was produced. Specification than s tandar d MG B s, the F airmil es
ieed, produced rapidly in 1940, but The initial 12 'A' type boats were Fairmile'A type were also up-gunned, with up to siz
ire design rtself was found to be less later converted into inshore mine- Displacement:58 tons 20-mm cannon being shipped.
ran ideal, It had been developed for Iayers, with a capaclty of up lo nine Dimensions: length 33.53 m (110,0 ft);
general inshore patrol and auxiliary mines each, Durtng the invasion scare beam 5,31 m(17.42 ft); draught 1,83 m Speed:22 kts
iuties, an asdic (sonar) set and 12 of 1940, motor gun boats (MGBs) were (6 0 fr) Endurance: notknown
iepth chargtes being carried as stan- needed urgently and the 'A' type jigs Propulsioir: three petrol engines Armament:one 3-pdr qun. ani:.';: - . -
iard. In practice, the desrgn's hard- were used to construct 24, known as deliverinq 1342 kW(1,800 bhp)to mm (0. 303-in) machine-qun-s
:irLne form tended to pound in a sea- the Fairmile'C'type. These had super- three shafts Complement: 16

Specification
Fairmile'D'type
Displacement: 90 tons
Dimensions: lenqth 33, 53 m (1 10.0 ft);
:eam 6.4 m (2 1.0 ft); drauqht 1.58 m
Propulsion: four petrol engnnes
:ehvering 3728 kW (5,000 bhp) to four
Endurance: not known
Armament: two single 6-pdr gpns,
one twin 2O-mm cannon, two twin
12, 7-mm (0, 5-in) machine-guns, and
(optional) four 457-mm (18-in)
torpedoes
Complement:up to 30
Below: Considerably larger than
preceding MTB types, the Fairmile
'D'wasof similar dimensions toits
m ain oppone nt, the S - boat.
Bottom : A F airmile'D' enters
harbour atAlgiers during theNor:.
African cam p aigm, whe n the b i g
boatswere mucft used rn ftarass:-:g
Rommel's supply routes toTunis.
Being such capable boats they were
used where the fighting was thickes'-

Speed:29 kls
ry )-
which explains the loss of nearly +, ai
the class in action.

I
',]

:_: .e room 35 Loud hai er 45 i\,4achine-gun ammunition

:::<ard petrol
1 2 cylinder 36 TWl2aerlal locker
-l:l-hpengine(four) 37 TCSaerial 46 Twin Vickers 0.303-ln
-:::do tube support 38 Bridge machine-guns (each side
39 Whee house of bridge)
=-e
'.:-< benches 40 Radaroffice 47 Powermounting
: :::im 41 Pattern23liferaft 48 2-in rocketf ares
- :-::ss platform 42 Freshwatertank(five) 49 Catwa k
43 Windscreen 50 Ollskin locker
We291ot242 44 Wind def lector 51 Mast aerlal
52 Open six-pdr MkVll
53 Wardroom
54 Outer hull frames to hard
chine hul
55 Lobby
56 CO's cabin
57 FoMardmagazlne/shel
room
58 Recessed scoop in hul
59 TypeTlSAhydrophone
60 Pitometer log
61 Stemeye
62 Crew'sWC
63 Forepeak
64 Waterllne
65 Electric heater
66 Aftmachinestores
67 Anchorwindlass
68 Exploslonchamberto
torpedo tube
 UK
Fairmile 'B'type
Cne of the most versatile types ol
-,-iarship ever to see sewice, the Fair-
mije 'B" type motor launch (ML) was
:lso one of the most numerous, some
370 being bullt in all between 1940 and
-944 The lines, in contrast with those of
::e 'A' type, were of a seakindly round-
brlge form and were of Admiralty de-
s,qm berng turned over to Fairmile for
:.re preparation of construciional
drawinqs to suit a mass production
prograrnme, A largre numb,er of yards
',','ere rnvolved in :he construction
:anging rn the UK from Sheerness
?.cyal Navai Dockyard to Southampton
S:eam Joinery, and all over the Com-
:rcnwealth from Vancouver Shipyard
.r ihe Anglo-American Nile Tourist
3:mpany at Cairo,
The initial requirement was ior a tri-
pie-screwed craft, but the Hali Scott
le'rrol engdnes specifled were tn short
s:cply and only two were ever frtted,
-::urring a speed penalty of 4 to 5 kls,
-ler legend armament was a 3-pdr
;-r- rwo 7.7-mm (0 303-rn) Lewrs gn-rns
-d a dozen depth charges (supported
:-.' an asdic set) but in practrce they
:::k a bewilderrng variety of flts. Tor-
;:jo tubes were removed from the
-::se-Lend flush-deck destroyers
-j fitted
:;:rlds
to some, makrng them the
only 20-kt MTBs, a measure of
.::: ciesperate stop gaps adopted in
, :i, They sewed as gmnboats, air-sea
::s:ue boats, AS patrol boats inshore
: l]lretic and acoustic minesweepers,
:::-:kelayers, hospital boats and con-
',-,'.- 3scorts, for which
duty they sailed
Harbour Defence Motor Launch
on their own bottoms to the West In-
dies, West Africa and the Mediterra-
nean. Hulls were supplied with stan-
d-ard fittings to allow rapid chanqe of
armament or the shipprng of auxiliary
fuel tanks,
Probably the best-known involve-
ment of MI:s rn an operation was that of
16 in the raid on St itJazaire tn March
1942, the situation of the port insrde a
weil-defended estuary demanding
shoal-draught vessels. In fighting their
way both in and out, landing and re-
coverinq the commandos they carried,
12 were destroyed, some needing to
be scuttled durrng the retirement for
damage received,
Specification
Fairmile'B't1pe
Displacement: 67 to 85 tons
Dimensions:lenqrth 34. 14 m (l I2.0 ft);
beam5.56 m(18.25 ft); draught 1.52 m
(50ft)
Propulsion: two petrol engines
delivering 895 kW ( 1,200 bhp) to two
shafts
Speed:20 kts
Endurance: I I 12 km (691 miles) at Above: ML I 36 rs seen on p atrol aff the
20 kts
^Scotrsl coasl e arly in her career.
Armament: (as desiqned) one 3-pdr
gun tvuo 7, 7-mm (0,303-in) machine-
Armedwith a Hotchkiss 3-pdr
gnrns, and depth charges
fotward and two twinlewis guns
abaft the funnel, the class had room
Complement:16 for more weaponry, and indeed six
of the usual fit of I 2 depth charges
It was perhaps inevitable that such a can be seen at the stern.
versatile class built in some numbers
woulC see considerable variatian in
weaponfit.
which required a hiqher level ofcrafts-
manship in construction than did the
Fairmiles. Some had to make do with
inferior timber as a result of shortages,
and were consequently short-lled,
Despite ther greater complexity they
were built widely, not only in the UK
but also in the USA and all over the
Commonwealth. Pendants ran from
1001 to 1600 but it is by no means cer-
tarn that all of these were actually
issued, They were lovely craft to hand-
le, seakindly and responsive with their
double rudders, Employed rn large
numbers in every theatre, they
travelled on therr own bottoms as far
afleld as lceland. One flotilla, required
for use in the West Indies, was fitted
wtth temporary sailinq riq to assist fuel
economy on the long transatlantic leg;
though saiiing was demonstrably feasr-
ble, the craft were re-allocated to the
North African landrng forces. They Dimensions:lenQrth 21.95 m (72,0 ft); HDML 1383 leave s H arwich harbour
worked also as inshore mrnesweep- beam4.B2 m(15,83 ft); drausht l,68 m pastHMS Crxzon(formerly the US
ers, despatch boats and (radar-fltted) (5sft) destroyer escort DE-84). This
as nangation markers for major amphi- Propulsion: two dresels delivering example is armedwith a20-mm
bious operations. 239 kW (320 bhp) to two shafts Oerlikonfore and aft and twinlewis
Speed: 12 kts guns on each side of the bridge.
Specification Endurance: not known
Harbour Defence Motor Launch Armament: one 3-pdr gnrn, one 20-mm machine-qnrns
Displacement: 54 tons cannon, andtwo 7.7-mm (0,303-in) Complement:10

Steam Gun Boat
-=-,':-:ped in parallel with the Fair-
:-: i s type was the Steam Gun Boat
SGB) a type which at over 44-m
l-n) lenqth was vrewed as virtual
-
l--::n Marys' by the coastal forces
---: 1st of class commenced trtals in
l':-.'ember 1941, some three months
- --::iof the frst 'D' type, The concept
=,'-:ed at all only as a typically British
-,-::cn to a problem that should not
:-',': existed in the first place, r,e. the
oi a suitable indigrenous small
-=:-<
-:se1 engine, Steam plant had the
:r;antagte of quietness but, even wtth
-:3 most compact twrn-screw plant
:ra;anE steam from a sinqle boiler, it
:;:-randed a large hull which while
---:-,rng the drsadvantage of being a lar-
l::r tarqet was a positive factor for sea-
.::eping, in which the E-boat was ack-
---:-vledged to be excellent.
iVooden hulls of this stze were not
::-ible for mass productron and steel
;as used, Unfortunately this meant that
:cih hulls and machinery were now
:eyond the scope of the small yards
:rgaged in the rapid expansion ofthe
coastal forces, and the SGB thus com-
peted for berths in yards hard put to
produce urgently requrred convoy
escofis, Ofthe 60 planned, therefore it
is not surprsing that oirly nine were
ordered, and ofthese but seven com-
pleted, in 1941-2,
In practrce the steam plant proved
complex and lulnerable, with inttial
troubles concentrated on insufficient
energy beinq delivered by the boiler
and heavily-cavitating propellers,
Even when these problems were
cured, fuel consumption remained
heavy with the added disadvantagre
that where a petrol-engined boat
could starl from cold and get away im-
Coastal Craft of World War II
mediately, an SGB had to rematn ln
steam, usrng a considerable amount of
fuei and man hours in the process,
In action, however, the E-boat com-
manders respected the SGBs only a
little less than destroyers, as they
could pounce unexpectedly and hold
their speed rn a seaway. They proved
excesslely lulnerable to actron dam-
age in the machinery spaces, and the
necessary addition of l8-mm (0.7-in)
protectrve plate added much weight,
More armament and crew increased
displacement further and service
speed was eventually reduced to only
30 kts.
Specification
SteamGunBoat
Displacement: 165 tons
Dimensions: Ieng|h44,42 m 1-i: -:
beam 6. I m (20.0 fr): draughr - :i :. -
(5 5 ft)
Propulsion: wo sets of gea-rec --:-=jr.
turbines deliverinq 5965 kW
(8,000 shp) to two shafts
Speed:35 kts
Endurance: not knornm
Armament: (flnal arrangene::l ::--:
76.2-mm (3-in) gun, rwo surgl: :-::--
guns. and nvo rwrn 20-mm ca::.- :
Complement:27
Veritable battleshrps of Lhe coas:e-
forces, the Steam Gun Boats 'ttere -'=:-:
and heavily- armed yessels. arJthci;,q-:
vulnerable to damage in the
machinery rooms. Nonetieiess. Jie;-
were warily respected by their
opponents across lfteNorth sea.

F USA

: Elco 80-ft type

)-aring World War I the Electric Boat
3cmpany (Elco) had built a large num-
:er of small craft for the US Narry, but
:3d lost design continuity with the
:-ary's post-war lack of interest, When
:: official competition was announced
:. the late 1930s, therefore, Elco ac-
:-rired from the British Power Boat
Jompany a state-ofthe-art European
:rat in a 21 34-m (70-ft) private ven-
:-re, armed with four 457-mm (18-rn)
:rpedoes, Elco succeeded rn getting
:e US Nalry not only to purchase the
:rat but also to order 23 more based
::: the Cesign, 12 of them fitted with
r:pth charges rather than torpedoes,
-:e PT versrons began to enter ser-
'.-:e rn November 1940, They were
'.::wed as experimental and, though
:e:sfactory, it was recommended that
-::ther boats incorporate standard
i::kard petrol engines and 533-mm
:--in) torpedo tubes. This necessi- war and EIco had already constructed lengrth, being bought up by additional EIco PT Boatswere expanciec
::ed an increase in length to 23.47 m four squadrons of 77-footers which still equipment, Thrs was partially offset by versions of the origin al H aJ.,- S cs ::
,- ft), Five were thus constructed for carried the non-preferred 457-mm ( 1B- the Packard engine beingr progres- desrpn, with room for four toise::€r-
':-: competition in 1941, and the 70- in) torpedoes. All told, 358 Elco B0- sively uprated in power. and awidevariety of gruns.
-^::ers were transferred to the UK footers were constructed, the three
-:-:er Lend-Lease terms, Packard engines gdvinq them an edge Specification Propulsion: three peu:i -:-;--.=.
-: the play-off the Elco boats did in speed over their similarly-powered Elco 80-ft type dehvering3020 kW (4.ir. c--: ::
'':::-1. returning high speeds with good Higgins runmng mates, Of the hvo, the Displacement: 38 tons three shafts
:,=oeuwability, On the other hand, Elco was the preferred desrgn but suf- Dimensions: length 24, 38 m (80, 0 ft); Speed:40 kts
::_,' slammed worse than the others fered as a result of its extra reserve beam 6,32 m (20.75 ft); draugrht 1.52 m Endurance: notkron'n
.:-: suffered minor structural failures drsplacement, resulting from its (5,0 ft) Armament: (typical; t :: :: :-:-:. -. -
required design modiflcation, Ex- in) torpedoes. one 40-r:;. ;-:- ::-: -. -
::-=--engtlr was also recommended for A 1944 experiment saw an Elco boat mm cannon, and fow lZ --::-: - : -- .

:,-;:cved
' seaworthrness and habita- painted in this startling dazzle machine-gnrns
: :_; as the speciflcation put the max- scfieme, i Complement: 14
-:-'-:r at 25 m (82 ft), Elco went to i
,= :: m (80-ft), By then the USA was at ./,.
,//t' '\
'
The Battle oI the
Surigco Strait
SurigaoStraitis rememberedas the lastbattleship-versus-battleship actionin
history, as well as being one partof the titanic clash known as the Battle of LeyteGulf.
What is less well l<nown is the valuable contribution to the destruction of
Nishimura's force that was made by the PT boats of the US Navy.
On 20 October 1944 the Americans started a
major landrng on the island of Leyte. It had two
major objectives: to launch the reconquest of
ihe Philippines and to provoke the still-
powerful Imperial Japanese Navy (lJN) lnto a
final showdown on ground of the Americans'
choosrng, Intelligence had given the US forces
a good idea of how the Japanese counterplan,
i<:lown as SHO-I, would work and they were
:on-f,dent of defeating it.
Arrcraft-carriers had so dominated the
Pacrfic war that no chance of their destruction
,';as ever lost by either side, Through thelr
reckless squandering of trained aircrew, the
japanese had already much degraded the per-
:crmance of their own carriers, and the 'SHO'
cian hrnged upon using their remainrnAr flight-
iecks as an rrresistible lure to the Americans
-,'.
ho, having left their landing denuded of cover
:1; their pursuit, wouid have it destroyed by a
I,nchronized attack by surface lorces covered
:-; Japanese land-based arr power,
ln the event Leyte, the chosen site, suited the
p-an's purpose admirably, the sheltered wa-
:ers ol its gulf being approachable from the
;;est by lwo major waterways, the San Bernar-
jic Strait to the north and the Surigao Strart to
-:-e south, The series of acttons consequent
:pcn Japanese efforts to wipe out the landing
iecame known collectively as the Battle of
,/,-e !,ull.
-:
Simultaneous attacks
tsnefly, the SHO-1 plan inrtrated on I0 Octo-
:e: -.r,ras to use Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's
:rrrier group to seduce Vice Admiral William
: --ialsey's 3rd fleet from its offshore station and
:-e:: to attack the gmlf srmultaneously from both
and south, overcoming resistance irom
---:rjr
-,--:e
Admiral Thomas S, Krnkard's weaker 7th
-eet by a combination of surprise and sheer
s:enfri.
.:: The Japanese San Bernardino group
Northern Force) under Vrce Admrral Takeo
I'::ria, including the world's mightiest bat-
-esnips, Musashi and Yamato, was sighted and
:a-,-aged by Halsey's seaborne air power
:::ughout 23 and24 October during its transit
:: re Sibuyan Sea. At 17,00 on 24 October,
::-,rever, Ozawa's carriers (the Strike Force)
','.-ere sighted, The impetuous Halsey took the
','.-:oie 3rd Fleet north in pursuit, leaving a
',',':'.nded but resolute Kurita stili coming and
:= S'rait ungmarded, Already delayed, the lat-
:er:arsitted the Strait but ran into an American
:s:crt carrier group which, by 'bold face' tac-
::s and conspicuous bravery, turned Kurita
:a:k rr the wild action off Samar,
The PT boats formed the first line of the US
defence. Thirty-nine boats were deployed in 13
three- boat sections tasked with locating and
trackingJapanese heavy units and engaging them
as appropriate. The PT boats detected the
approach of the enemy by radar and delivered a
series ofatfacks , but it took two hours for them to
inlorm Rear Admiral Oldendorf, commander of
the US battleship squadron.
This is to anticipate, for the Japanese South-
ern Force, similarly attacked over rts long
approach, was shaping up to burst through the
Surigao Strait, It was an oddly divided com-
mand in two separate groups. Vice Admiral
Shojl Nlshimura led wlth the elderly battleships
Yamashiro.and fuso, the heavy crurser Moga-
ml and four destroyers,
Trarling it by about two hours was Vice
Admirai Kiyohide Shlma's force of two heavy
cruisers, one light cruiser and seven des-
troyers, The two groups appeared to have an
independent existence, whiie Kinkard had en-
joyed adequate time to plan their interception
and discomfiture, They were to be harried
throughout their approach by PT boats, then by
destroyers, each using the night torpedo
attacks practised so well by the Japanese
themselves, Any enemy that penetrated this
gauntlet-run would find itself met by the
armoured wail of Rear Admrral Jesse Olden-
dorfs six veteran battleships, backed by three
heavy and flve light cruisers, plus 29 des-
troyers,
No less than 42 PT boats warted in the area,
newly-arrived and chafing through earlier
underemployment. Wlth little night air recon-
naissance available, their task was to flnd,
track, report and to attack on opportunity. The
39 boats available on the day were organized
into 13 three-boat sections covering 1 13 km (70
miles) from Bohol Island, across the eastern
Mindanao Sea and up the southern half of the
crucial Surigao Strait,
ThreeJapanese groups
With nlghtfall, Nishimura prudently pushed
Ihe Mogami and three destroyers ahead to
reconnoitre while his heavy units kept closer
under Bohol, which lay to port. This put the
Japanese rn three qroups, Shima being about
64 km (40 miles) astern. It was perfect PT
weather: a dark, calm night wrth a quarter
moon due to set shortly after midnight. Sure
enough, at 22.36 the first PT sectron picked up
the Japanese admiral's big ships on radar. They
then closed at moderate speed to avoid exce-
sive noise and giveaway bow-waves but, even
so, the cat-eyed Japanese sighted them
promptly, Nishrmura acted vigorously, turnlng
,rfii€:?' :' :.
;
';$$i1:..
toward the midget vessels and uslng sear-
chlights and raprd-fire medium-cahbre gmns in
textbook fashron, The Americans were young
and inexperienced, and therr attack wilted
under this riposte, PT-152 had her forecastle
peppered by a contact burst that blew forward
gun and gunner into oblivlon, Her running
male, PT-130, rushed in with smoke only to be
pierced herself by a projectile that did not
explode, None of the section gained an attack-
ing position; nerther, more importantly, dld
they make a contact report, Worse, the Moga-
ml group had passed the second section wrth-
out either side being aware of the other. Not
until two hours after first contact did Oldendorf
hear of the enemy's approach, the message
having passed by several relays. Fortunately it
confirmed hls dispositions.
The third PT section, meanwhile, took on the
Mogami group near Limasawa Island just be-
fore midnight, TWo boats, PT-146 and PT-l1l,
each managed to get a torpedo away, but with-
out effect, Again they were obliged to hrghtail
it, pursued in their snaking paths by a hail of fire
laced by arcs of tracer and blue white beams of
searchlights.
Again no contact reports got through,
Nishimura now re-concentrated his group
the better to meet this scattered opposition. At
this point he held the initiatlve and sent a con-
fident progress report to Kurita who was head-
ing for the San Bernardino Strait to the north,
though much delayed by air attacks in the
Sibuyan Sea, Shortly before 02.00 he was pas-
sing the narrows between Pananon and the
northern tip of Mindanao, beyond whlch he
would turn northward up the strait, In this 16-
km (10-mr1e) wide chokepoint no less than five
sections of PTs were concentrated. These suc-
ceeded in closing piecemeal to the point
where about a dozen torpedoes were ex-
pended, again wlthout result. It was in this daz-
zling, deafening confusion that the PTs suffered
their first real casualty, PT-490 belng badly hlt
while pressing in to deliver a pair of torpedoes.
PT-493 saw her predicament and closed to
assist and lay smoke, As she did she received a
salvo of three medium-calibre shells which

caused severe casualties, removed most of her
upperworks and badly holed the hull, She
oeached successfully but later slid off and
oundered.
Triumphantly, Nishimura held course, hav-
ng proved again that torpedo attack by small
:raft needs the advantage of surprse. OnJy two
sections of PT boats were now left alead of
rim, and both these were ordered to stand
:lear lor the planned destroyer attacks. The
jme was 02. 15 on 25 October; Shima was clos-
ing astern and Kurita had passed the un-
gnrarded San Bernardino Strait almost two
hours before, At this point Leyte Gulf was in
dire danger.
Though the little ships had enjoyed scant
reward for their efiort so far, they had marked
ihe Japanese onward progress to the yard and,
paradoxically, engendered a measure ofover-
confidence in thelr enemy. At 03.30, however,
from the dark cover ofland on each side, Nishl-
mwa was attacked by destroyers. There was
no warnlng before 27 torpedoes were away
and, seemingly paralysed by indecisison, the
Japanese took little evasive action. Both bat-
'Jeships and three destroyers were hit, one
blowing up, A second wave of six destroyers
followed immediately. The Yamashiro was hit
again but pressed on; the already stricken
Fuso blew into two separate halves which re-
nained afloat for a while, A further destroyer
lisinteqrated. Nishimura's force was already
shattered, only the flagship, the heavy cruiser
)4ogamt and one destroyer proceeding but
'r;avering. They were already coming under
-e from Oldendorfs main body at the head of
re strart when the third and last destroyer
-:tack was made,
The PT boats approached their quarry at
rroderafe speed to avoid excessive noise and teL[-
!a|e bow waves, but the J apanese quickly spotted
them. Powerful searchlights picked out the PT
boats and tft e b attleships' quick-fire gung poured
out a hailsf fire through tfte darkness.
This, somewhat discomforted by 'friendly'
fire, succeeded in putting tvvo more torpedoes
into the doomed Yamashiro, at the cost of one
destroyer heavily damaged, The Japanese
flagship was dismembered within nine minutes
by the American heavies, but the Mogamr and
the destroyer Shigure hrrned about and ran
back down the strait, only to run (literally) into
Shima: the Mogamj collided with the cruiser
.l/achi but proceeded, At this ponl PT-137,
whlch had hung around after fruitlessly ex-
pending two torpedoes after an advancing
Nrshimura, saw the enemy returning and
loosed a further torpedo at a destroyer. It mis-
sed but went on to disable the liQrht cruiser
Ab*uma beyond. Shima was also now in full
and sensible retreat. With a new day dawning
the PTs returned to harry their withdrawal.
Mogamipursued
The doggedMogam; was trackedby PT-49l
for 20 minutes, the boat eventually misslngwith
two torpedoes while under 203-mm (8-in) salvo
flre at close range. PT-137 made a further
attempt, but the damaged cruiser and her sole
remaining destroyer saw her ofi P?-/90 at the
same time enthusiastically but unwisely
approached Shlma's main force andwasfortun-
ate to escape, nearly in one ptece. PT-323,
earlier cheated of action by being kept clear
.:
liil .1
.! ii-
F
Coastal Craft of World War II
for the destroyer attack, became separa:ed
from her sectlon during the night ald car:e
across a burning wreck at first light, Standr:f
by was the damaged destroyer Asaga;r:
which took the PT under hot fire, frustra--::
three attempts to attack, The PT's final cause:::
frustratlon was the arrival of an Americal cr-:-
sier/destroyer force which promptly fintsrei
off both Japanese! PT-150 and P7-194 ursr::-
cessfuliy took on the heavy cruiser Nachi --ie
latter boat taking a 203-mm (8-in) shell tir:
The surface action was now finished, it be::-g
left to American aircralt to pick off the ene=-.-
straggiers, only two cruisers and flve des-
troyers surviving out of the combtned Souiher-
Force, The PTs had come through ihe.:
gEeatest test with much credit but few scalps
Interestingly, they had been repulsed mair
by that very combination of searchlights ari
quick-firing gmns adopted by the Vtctonar
navy to defeat its own torpedo-boat bogey
It has never been easy to apportion credit as to
whotorpedoedwhom in a nightaction, and
whether itwas a PT boat or a destroyer that
achieved the first hit on the lapanesebafllesfupsrs
open to question.ThePT b6ais certainly keptihe
Japanese busy, but the fact remains that itwas the
destroyers and finally Oldendorf s bat4e-line that
smashed theJapanese squadron to oblivion.
:r:l:.4.:i1-n i::' t::i.'a
,l;i lli ll: i
,1i:
-*:'*'".+w'i,l@-5"f
:
F USA

Higgins 78-ft type

1e Hiqgihs 78-ft type had its origins rn teriorated further as more and more Specification The Higgins boats (alongwith the
: series of trials held by the US Narry in armament and equipment were Higgdns 78-fttype EIco desigm) bore thebrunt of theUS
-341 to determine the boat best suited added, To assist matters a new light- Displacement:35 tons PT boat war At 78 ft (23.77 m), it was
:: :'s purposes from a series of conten- weiqht torpedo was developed. This Dimensions:length 23,77 m (78,0 ft); also large enough to carry four
:ers. Higglrs entered a 25, I 5-m (82, 5- had a heavrer warhead and a hrQlher beam 6,32 m (20,75 ft); draught 1,52 m torpedoes although some were
:i pnvate-venture boat derived from speed, but only a short range, It could (s.0 ft) landed Later in the war in favour of
= earlier
s;n
Sparknan and Stevens de-
Six boats of various types were
be Iaunched by dropping gear, obnat-
ing the need for torpedo tubes. Gun
Propulsion: three petrol engnnes
deliverins 3356 kW (4,500 bhp) to
mofeguns.
er:aushveiy evaluated in a range of armament varied consrderably and three shafts While the activities oIthePT boats in
:::ditions. From this experience a unofficially. Most later craft had a 40- Speed:41 ks the Solomons and the Philippines are
s::3n Lst of three was selected for mass mm weapon aft, a 20-mm cannon for- Endurance: 555 km (345 miles) at 4 I kts well known, it should be
p::duction against a light specifica- ward and up to flve 12,7-mm (0,5-in) Armament: four 533-mm (21-in) remembered that they contributed
::: One of these was the Higgins, machine-guns, Some landed their tor- torpedoes, one 4O-mm gmn, and two to campaigns as fat apatt as those of
T:::cn was to be 'suitably reduced in pedoes in favour of more guns for use 20-mmcannon the Adriatic or (as seen here) around
s.:e to carry such ordnance loads as in an MGB role against the Japanese, Complement: 17 the Aleutians in theNorthern Pacific.
-e :equred by our Nalry',
tose boats chosen were of hard-
::::.e rvooden construction and prop-
:'-ed by three Packard petrol engines,
;t::-:b had emerged as the most reli-
-re and economical for the job, Each
n-:Jd carry four 533-mm (21-in) torpe-
j:es and four 12,7-mm (0.S-in)
Fully laden they would
=a:h:re-gurs,
:e capable of40 kts for one hour. From
;::.:ally notlung the Americans cre-
a:=d in a space of three years, the
:::le'.s of a powerful force of PT boats.
l;r-c dozen (two squadrons) ofHiggins'
:.3's. now 23.77 m (78 ft) in lenqth,
,rere intialiy ordered, but these dld
::: start to enter service until the
half of 1942 and, of these, slx
=*nd
,re:e trarsferred to the British and four
:: te Soviets, Eventually over 2OO
itere consfructed which, with the Elco
2-i 3€-m (80-ft) type, were to be the US
lia-,-ys standard choices, The third
1pe successfirl rn the pre-war play-ofl
-'e Huchrs 23.77-m (78-lt) type, was
':sed. ir: the traimng role,
Service speed, always heavily de-
pe:Cent upon weather conditions, de- Initially the secondary armamenton
PTB s waslimited to I 2.7 -mm (0. S-in)
MGs, but before long heavier
weapons, such as stern-mounted 20-
mm cannon, began to be fitted.

fi
i".
Armed Forces of the World

Indicl
Part 2
The lndian Army
--: lndian Armyretains manyof ther::o : :-si^:. -
' :r ted from the Br tish arrywhe' '.':'?.'. ' : z:
--?rVWasformed in 1947. Perhapsi"e -:s: -aaL
.- o'these s that tne army rema rs; : ."':* .-=
:: t cal involvernent that has beder' ea s: T3^\'
: -^er nations after emancipation fror- 3' .:^ :- e.
- -rough the army has a policing role r'i :i : -tr : ls
--: n task is to defend the borders arc : ^as icne
.- s on several occasions since 1947, :ibe:,'vith
. degrees of success. In the years s rce I 947
-:'-v;ng
indian Army has passed througn a oer'od oi
-: aiive neglect, reorganization and re-eqripment
.^at has resulted in its now be ng an eiiicient and
:elanced force, but one still reflecting tne precarious
-.:ate of the lndian economy and the fierce socialand
-:liqious divisions that continue to preva l in modern
rdia. The lndian Army has two armoured drvrsrons, cur- Thelndian army remains heavily influenced by
The lndian Army has seen action since 1947 in a rently being organized on a brigade basis. Most of British practice, especially in dress and
,.eries of 'test matches'with Pakrstan and a number the tanks used by these armoured divisions com- organization, and since partition has been
involved inwars with Pakistan and various borcier
:' border clashes with China to the north. Internal prise 700 Soviet T-54s and T-55s with 300 T 72s in
clashes with China. Here two soldiers in familiarl'r
.- bal campaigns and internal rnsurrections still con service and more on order. ln numerical terms the British kit use Indian-built LlAi rifles.
. rue, and United Nations peace-keeping duties will most widely-used Indlan Army tank s the locally-
^c doubt keep a part of the army in some form or '1
built Vijayanta, of which over ,900 are in use, but
,rcther of active duty for some time to come, so the many of these are in the single mechanized divislon howrtzers and 94-mm (3.7-in) anti-arrcraft g--s .'=
:'my's strength of nearly one million volunteers out and the five independent arr,noured brigades. There still in use; anti-tank guns still in service lnc -:: .-=
-'a total populatron of over 745 million ls not exces- are 1B infantry divisions, some of them using 750 ex-British 6-pdr (57 mm12.244-tn) f rom Wor c ,',.-
: Ve. examples of a wide variety of armoured personnel However, a re-equipment prog amme S c--':-'
The army is organized into five regional com- carriers of Soviet origins (BMP-1 , BIVP-2, BTR 60 under way to replace much of this elderly ra.=- '
'--ands. One (the Northern Command) has a head etc.), and foliowing the debacle of the 1962 Hima- 'nclud'nq an inler'lal:onal conpelitior Io :: - -. -:

:-arters location that has never been disclosed,
:':sumably for security reasons. but the other com-
-'-and locatrons are as foilows: Southern (Poona),
,',esteTn (Chandi Mandir), Central (Lucknow), and
:-stern (Calcutta). Formations are still orqanized
: :ng British lines with divisions, brigades etc.,
: -rouqh the caste and social system is still main-
-'red to provide a mixture of 'pure' regiments re
.. rng recruitment from the 'martlal races' of lndta
:-ln as the Jats, Sikhs and so on. There are a
--^,lber of regrments where social and religious
- -.: nctlons are retained at company levels and
-
='e are a few regiments where a mix of races and
: i tjllS CX 51.
laya clash with China 10 new mountain divisions
have been organized. The infantry formations in-
clude a Brigade of Guards and a number of Gurkha
regiments. There is also a m jxed parachute brigade.
Seven independent infantry brigades are in being.
Reserves amount to some 200,000.
The lndian Army artillery is organized lnto 17 inde
pendent artillery brigades that include 20 air
defence regiments. The equipment used by these
brigades is a very wide mrx that ranges f rom Yugo-
slav 76-mm (3-in) mountain guns to Sovret S-23
'1
BO-mm (7.087-in) long-range guns. Some of the
artillery is getting rather old, for ex-British 25-pdr
(87.9-mm/3.46-in) gun-howitzers, '1 39.7-mm (5 5-in)
new '1 55-mm (6.1-in) howitzer.
lndia has a thrrving armannent industn' -.'.'. '=.
produced much of the army's current ec- :^ =-
most of it licence produced ln origrn. T" s =:,:-
ment ranges in scope from the lshapore-r' ':= . =-
sion of the British/Belgian LIAl/FAL 1 62 ^'* - :-
rn) rif le up to modern 105-mm (4.13- n) ari :-.
Udaygiri rs one of India's six British 'Leander' c.a::
frigates, the first maior warships to be built i
I ndian yards. Similar to the broad- be am
'Leanders', their hangars are enlarged to car..; .::
A6rospatiale Alouette III helicopter, and Dutci
radar is fitted.

' - itF-
- 'a -.' -J-
i;
i1
It
'c
it.
i-,i
.c'

ry

:'s tanks have been locally-produced to form the
" 'a-yanta MBT with its 'l 05-mm main gun, and this
::s c vehicle has been further locally converted to
,:'1,, tne Soviet M-46 '130-mm (5.12-in) long range
I -.. Some work has been carried out to produce the
-:':.on anti-tank missile, but the costs involved
-:,.e resulted in the purchase of 3,700 Milan mis-
vessels. mainly f rom British origins with some built
in lndian yards. The latter includes the six'Godavari'
class frigates that are a local variation on the Britlsh
'Leander' class design, of which there are six. The
remainder of the frigate force is made up of ex-
British designs, sorne of which are used only for
tra i ni nq.
APT-76 Model2 amphibious lighttankof the
Indian army is seeninBangladesh during the
Indian invasion of 197I.ln addition to her own
Vij ayanta MBT,.lndja uses Sovjet T - 54/ 55 s and,
now, theT-72.

= :s. Set against this acqulsition must be seen the
'::- rnat many lndian Army soldiers are still equip-
:=: ivith the old No. 1 Mk lll Lee Enfield f .-l-mm
- 3!3-in) bolt-action rifle.
-re Indian Army encompasses a number of para-
- iary formations such as the Border Security
=:-:e tabout B5,O0O strong), and a number of re-
::"al police forces are organized and equipped
: :-g army lines and even have a combat iunction in
.:-e border areas..The Ministry of Home Affairs
-:s a 21 -battalion strong force known as the Assam
= 'gs and recruited mainly f rom Gurkhas.
^ ::1e years following Partition, the lndian Army
-:-a ned its ex-British structure and traditions but
::-cred them with a switch to the Soviet Union for
:^: o-l< of its equipment. Receni years have seen a
--'- ng away f rom this source of equipment supply
- ::der to maintain supplies without too much re-
:^3e on a single source. Thus French, Swedish and
::^er sources have been tapped for equipment at
,^c trne or another. and at present the United
:.;:es s emerging as a leaoing contender [or lut.rre
.'.:3cons such as self propelled artillery and electro-
- .s. The main problem for lndia is defence f inance.
- .s attempt to remain unaligned between the main
::,i,er blocs the nation cannot expect to receive the
- taryaidprovidedtoneighbourssuchasPakistan,
:-r consequently the national budget has to spend
s:-e 20 per cent of lts expenditure on defence and
:-e army obtains only a share of this.
The lndian Navy
lne lndian Navy is the smallest of the lndian de-
=:rce forces and contains only some 47,000 men. lt
s. nowever, one of the most powerf ul in the region,
::r',ng as its main strike force eight Soviet 'Foxtrot'
: ass submarines with four more on order. Also on
:rier are four 'Type 209' class submarines from
.'iest Germany. There is also an aircraft carrier, the
', <rant (ex HMS Hercules) operating BAe Sea Har-
':rs and Dassault-Breguet Aliz6s.
The main surface force consists of three Soviet
(ashin' class destroyers, with three more on order.
-ne frigate force is sizeable, being formed of 23
The remainder of the Indian Navy is made up of Coast Guard Air Wing has now been set up. lt has
small craft such as the ex-Soviet 'Osa' class fast already received some Chetaks, and will also oper-
attack (missile) and patrol craft. There are 16 of ate some of the HAL-produced Dornier 228s.
these along with a force of vessels such as small
minesweepers, various auxiliary craft and suppiy
vessels. Orders of battle
The main western naval base is at Goa, the south-
lndian Army
ern base is at Cochin, and Vishakapatnam and Port 2 armoured divisions \f -12,f -54, T-55 and Viiayanta)
Blair are used in the east.
1 mechanized division (BMP-1 , BIVIP-2, Bl\lD, OT-
62, 0r-64 and BTR-60)
lndian Navy air service 1B lnfantry divisions
The sole INAS aircraft-carrier, iNS Vtkrant. was '1
0 mountain divisions
refitted in 1983-4 with a ski-jump for the service's
5 independent armoured brigades
new BAe Sea Harriers. Six sinqle-seat Sea Harrier 7 independent infantry brigades
FRS.Mk 51s and two Harrier T.Mk 60 trainers are 1 parachute brigade
now in operation with No. 300 Squadron. A second 17 independent artillery brigades, includlng 20 air-
squadron will be formed when the 10 more single- defence regirnents
seaters and two trainers of a supplementary order
are delivered. lndian Navy
The Sea Harrier squadron is shore-based at Goa Vi kra nt ai cr aft-carrier
alongside No. 310 Squadron (eight Dassault- 3 'Kashin ll' class destroyers (3 more on orded
Breguet Aliz6s) and No. 315 Squadron (f ive llyushin 23 frigates (4 more on order)
ll-3Bs). Also here are a search and-rescue unit, No. 3 'Nanuchka' class corvettes (2 more on order)
321 squadron with Chetaks, and an OCU, No. 551 16'Osa'class fast attack craft (missile)
Squadron with Kirans. 7 large patrol craft
''l
Until three new coastal bases are completed in 6 minesweepers (6 ocean. 4 coastal and 6 inshore)
the late 1980s, the only other INAS base is Cochin.
'1
0landing craft (6 LCTs and 4 LCVs, plus 6 more
Nere, 12 Westland Sea King Mk42l42As serve with LCTs on order)
Nos 330 and 336 Squadrons. They deploy to the B 'Foxtrot' class submarines (4 more on orded
navy's 'Godavari' class missile frigates and two 4 'Type 209' class submarines (on order)
latest 'Leander' class trigates tor ASW operations. Naval Air Force
Twelve new Sea King Mk 42Bs with Sea Eagle 1 attack squadron with B Sea Harrier \12 more on
anti-ship missiles willbe delivered in 'l 986 Torpedo- order)
carrying Chetaks from No. 331 Squadron deploy to '1
anti-submarine squadron with 5 Aliz6s
the older 'Leander' class frigates, and the five 2 maritime reconnaissance squadrons with 4 Super
Kamov Ka-25 'Hormone' helicopters of No. 333 Constellations and 3 ll-38 'Mays' (3 more on
Squadron are used aboard three Soviet-supplied order)
'Kashin' class heavy destroyers. The INAS is sche- 4 anti-submarine helicopter squadrons with 10 Sea
duled to receive 1B Kamov Ka-27 'Helix' helicopters. Kings, 5 Ka-25 Hormones and B Alouette llls (12
Helicopter training is conducted by No. 562 more Sea Kings on order)
Squadron at Cochin with a few Hughes 300s and 1 communlcation squadron with 1B Defenders
Chetaks. Coastal patrol duties have been under- 1 SAR/llaison helicopter squadron with 10 Alouette
taken by No. 550 Squadron from Cochin with 16 llls
Britten-Norman BN-2B lslanders. However. a new 2 training squadrons with B aircraft and 7 helicopters

E=vc) € I