Brave-class patrol boat

The Brave-class fast patrol boats were a class of two gas turbine motor torpedo boats (MTBs) that were the last of their type for the Royal Navy (RN) Coastal Forces division. They formed the basis for a series of simpler boats which were widely built for export.

HMS Brave Borderer on the Rhine, 1961
Class overview
NameBrave class
BuildersVosper & Company, Portchester
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byDark class
Built1958–1960
In commission1960–1970
Completed2
Retired2
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeMotor torpedo boat
Displacement
  • 89 long tons (90 t) standard
  • 114 long tons (116 t) full load
Length90 ft (27 m) wl 98 ft 10 in (30.12 m) overall
Beam25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Draught7 ft (2.1 m)
Propulsion
Speed52 knots (96 km/h; 60 mph) maximum 46 knots (85 km/h; 53 mph) continuous
Range400 nmi (740 km; 460 mi)
Complement20 (3 officers, 17 ratings)
Armament

At the time of their introduction the Braves were the fastest naval vessels in the world.

Brave class

The Brave class followed the Dark class of convertible motor torpedo boats/gunboats. They were larger than the Dark class, and differed in being powered by gas turbine engines rather than the diesel engines of the Dark class. (Gas turbine propulsion had been tested in the Bold class of two experimental fast patrol boats). Three Bristol Proteus engines propelled the Braves to a maximum of 52 knots (96 km/h; 60 mph). Like the Dark class, the Braves had a mahogany skin over aluminium frame construction. They were built to be able to be used as either motor torpedo boats or motor gun boats. For the former role they had a 40 mm Bofors gun, four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes and two depth charges, in the latter two 40 mm guns and two torpedoes. It was planned to arm the ships with a new 3.3-inch (84 mm) gun based on the 20-pounder tank gun in a stabilised mounting, but this was abandoned.[3][4]

Visitors boarding HMS Brave Borderer at Oberwinter, Germany, 1961

The Royal Navy abandoned the idea of large scale coastal forces in 1957, so only two Braves were built for the Royal Navy. The two Braves, along with a single member of the Dark class, formed the Coastal Forces Trials and Special Service Squadron, based at Gosport. These were used to maintain proficiency in Coastal Forces operations, also being used as targets and for fishery protection.[3][5] The two Braves were retired from use in 1970.[3]

Ferocity and derivatives

The Braves were expensive boats, so as a private venture, Vospers produced a simpler derivative, Ferocity. This was smaller than the Braves, with an overall length of 90 feet 8 inches (27.64 m) and was powered by two Proteus engines instead of three, which were supplemented by two diesel engines for cruising. Construction was all wooden to minimise costs. Despite the reduced size and power, performance and armament were similar to the Braves. While Ferocity herself was not sold, it formed the basis for a number of boats for export.[5][6] These included sales to West Germany (two, called the Vosper class), Denmark (five of the Søløven class), Greece, Malaysia for the RMN in 1966 (four craft), Brunei and Libya, and was also the basis for the Scimitar-class fast training boat.

Boats

The two RN craft were both built by Vospers at Portchester:

  • HMS Brave Borderer (P1011), launched on 7 January 1958 and commissioned on 26 January 1960[5]
  • HMS Brave Swordsman (P1012), launched 22 May 1958 and commissioned on 20 July 1960[5]

At the end of their life they were sold to the Haydon-Baillie aircraft museum.

HMS Brave Borderer was the subject of an attack by the IRA in 1965.[7] Royal Navy ships had begun to visit Ireland on friendship visits, but Republicans objected to their presence, and members of the IRA's Kilkenny Brigade, led by Richard Behal, determined to make a political point by attacking one of the vessels (it was not their intention to kill any crew). On 10 September 1965, as HMS Brave Borderer was departing Waterford down the River Suir for the sea, she was fired upon using a World War 2-vintage Boys anti-tank rifle which blew two holes in the side of the vessel's stern. The vessel went to full speed and was out of range before any more rounds could be fired; there were no casualties, but the vessel had to return to Vospers for several months of repairs.

Export

Denmark
Badge of Swedish motor torpedo boats
Badge of Swedish motor torpedo boats

Denmark purchased six Søløven-class fast patrol boats, with the larger hull form and the 3-Proteus powerplant of the Brave class and the wooden construction of Ferocity. Armament consisted of two 40 mm Bofors guns and four torpedoes.[8][9] The first two boats, Søløven and Søridderen were built by Vospers (with Søløven being paid for by the United States and hence given the nominal US designation PT-821), with the remaining four boats being built under license by the Royal Dockyard, Copenhagen.[10] They were placed into reserve in 1988, and disposed of when the Flyvefisken-class patrol vessels entered service, with disposal complete by 1992.[8]

NameNumberLaid down[9]Launched[9]Commissioned[9]Fate[11]
SøløvenP 51027 August 196219 April 196312 February 1965Decommissioned 5 July 1990
SøridderenP 5114 October 196222 Aug 196310 February 1965Decommissioned 5 July 1990
SøbjørnenP 5129 July 196319 August 196420 October 1965[10]Decommissioned 5 July 1990
SøhestenP 5135 September 196331 March 196521 June 1966[10]Decommissioned 5 July 1990
SøhundenP 51418 August 196412 January 196620 December 1966[10]Decommissioned 5 July 1990
SøulvenP 51530 March 196527 April 196617 May 1967[10]Decommissioned 5 July 1990

One of the Søløven-class boats, apparently in a derelict state, was auctioned in Belgium from 12–24 February 2016,[12] being moored alongside another in Antwerp harbour.

West Germany
German Strahl in 1965

West Germany ordered two fast patrol boats (both designated Type 153) from Vospers on 22 August 1960. The first, Strahl was based on the Brave class, with three Proteus gas turbines, while Pfeil was based on the smaller Ferocity with two Proteus. Armament was the same convertible combination of Bofors 40 mm guns and torpedoes as the Brave class, with the option of replacing the torpedoes with eight mines.[13] They were transferred to Greece in 1967.[14]

NameNumberLaunchedCommissionedFate
PfeilP 619326 October 1961[14]27 June 1962[14]To Greece 1967 as Aiolos (P19). Discarded 1976[15]
StrahlP 619410 January 1962[13]21 November 1962[16]To Greece 1967 as Astrapi (P 20). Discarded 1979[15]

Libya

In October 1966, Libya ordered three fast patrol boats of the Susa class from Vospers based on the Danish Søløven class, with the wooden construction of Ferocity but a larger hull powered by three Proteus engines. Armament consisted of eight SS.12 wire-guided anti-ship missiles and two 40 mm Bofors guns.[17][18]

NameNumberLaunchedCommissionedFate
SusaP 51231 August 1967[18]
SirteP 51310 January 1968[18]
Sebha
(originally Sokna)		P 51429 February 1968[18]

Malaysia

The Royal Malaysian Navy ordered four Perkasa-class fast patrol craft on 22 October 1964 to be designed and built by Vospers. The design was similar to the Danish Søløven class, with a large (30.4 metres (99 ft 9 in)) wooden hull with an aluminium superstructure and powered by three Proteus engines. The original armament was four torpedoes (which could be swapped for 10 mines), a single 40 mm Bofors gun forward and a twin 20 mm Oerlikon cannon mount aft.[19][20] The four boats were delivered in 1967 and re-armed with eight SS-12 missiles in 1971.[19]

  • KD Perkasa P150
  • KD Handalan P151
  • KD Gempita P152
  • KD Pendekar P153

Brunei

A single boat of the class was purchased by the Royal Brunei Navy, KDB Pahlawan.

Notes
  1. Blackman 1971, p. 371.
  2. Blackman 1960, p. 48.
  3. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 539.
  4. Blackman 1960, pp. 48–49.
  5. Blackman 1962, p. 286.
  6. "Ferocity". British Military Powerboat Team. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  7. "The Last Hurrah of the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle; when the IRA Shot a Royal Navy Torpedo Boat! - Military History - Military Matters". 31 January 2020.
  8. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 79.
  9. Blackman 1971, p. 73.
  10. Prézelin and Baker 1990, p. 107.
  11. "SØLØVEN Class (1965-1990)". Danish Naval History. 26 April 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  12. "Brave-Class Fast Patrol Boat (Faillissement)".
  13. Blackman 1962, p. 104.
  14. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 150.
  15. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 165.
  16. Blackman 1971, p. 150.
  17. Blackman 1971, p. 223.
  18. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 256.
  19. Blackman 1971, p. 275.
  20. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 260.

References
  • Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1960–61. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1960.
  • Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1962–63. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1962.
  • Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1971. ISBN 0-354-00096-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert and Stephen Chumbley. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
  • Prézelin, Bernard and A.D Baker. The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1990/91. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN 0-87021-250-8.
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