Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the US and Royal Navies.

During World War II. The US Navy boats were usually called by their hull classification symbol of "PT", hence PT boats though the class type was still 'motor torpedo boat'. The Royal Navy (RN) referred to them as MTBs and the German fast torpedo boats as E-boats. MTBs were designed for high speed and manoeuvrability on the water to get close enough to launch their torpedoes at enemy vessels. With next to no armour, the boats relied upon their agility at high speed to avoid being hit by gunfire from bigger ships.

• HMS Cricket, launched in 1906, was the first RN ship to use oil for her boilers. She was initially designated as an "Insect" class coastal destroyer, but was later reclassified as atorpedo boat. The class were nicknamed "Oily Wads" by RN seamen.

• A similar size boat with a different role was the RAF Rescue Launch .

Specification

Many boats were built with the MTB designation.

Specification of a Royal Canadian Navy torpedo boat of the 29th M.T.B. Flotilla Originally designed as Motor Gun Boats (MGB's), they were redesigned Motor Torpedo Boats

• Manufacturer - British Power Boats, Hythe
• Displacement - 55 tons
• Overall length - 72, 6"
• Breadth - 20, 7"
• Draught - 5' 8"
• Full Speed - 38 to 41 knots
• Armament - 6 pdr gun, two Torpedo tubes, .303 or .5 MG20 or 40 mm Oerlikon cannon
• Powerplant - 3 Rolls Royce or Packard V-12 Supercharged 1250hp
• Range - 140 miles while cruising at 25 knots

Between 1943 and 1945 two Vosper designs appeared

Vosper Type I

• Length 73 ft (22 m)
• Engine 3 Packard engines for a total of 4200 hp
• Speed 40 kt
• Range 470 nm at 20 kt
• Displacement 47 t
• Armament 4 x 18" Torpedo, 20 mm Oerlikon, 2 x. 0.303 Vickers MG, optional: 2 x 0.5 Vickers MG
• Crew 13

Vosper Type II This design remained in use after the war.

• Length 73 ft (22 m)
• Engine 4200 hp
• Speed 40 kt
• Range 480 nm at 20 kt
• Displacement 49 t
• Armament 2 x 18" Torpedo, 6 pdr QF Mark IIA (57 mm)*, 20 mm Oerlikon, 2 x 0.303 Vickers MG
• Crew 13

( * An automatic loading version of the 6-pounder Anti-tank gun)

References

• "British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939–45" by Angus Konstam, Osprey, 2003, ISBN 1841765007
• "Dog Boats at War: A History of the Operations of the Royal Navy d Class Fairmile Motor Torpedo Boats and Motor Gunboats 1939-1945" by L. C. Reynolds and Lord Lewin,Sutton Pubns Inc, 2000, ISBN 0750924543

External links

• http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/3540.html