Fairmile C motor gun boat

The Fairmile C motor gun boat was a type of motor gunboat designed by Norman Hart of Fairmile Marine for the Royal Navy. An intermediate design, twenty-four boats were ordered on 27 August 1940 and were completed in 1941; they were initially rated as Motor Launched (ML), but received the designation Motor Gun Boats (MGB) on 1 August 1941, being numbered MGB 312–335.

The Fairmile C motor gunboat MGB 314
Class overview
NameFairmile C motor gunboat
Preceded byFairmile B motor launch
Succeeded byFairmile D motor torpedo boat
Completed24
Lost5
Retired19
General characteristics
Displacement72 tons
Length110 ft (34 m)
Beam17 ft 5 in (5.31 m)
Draught5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
PropulsionThree 850 hp (630 kW) supercharged Hall-Scott petrol engines
Speed26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph)
Range500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (Bunkerage: 1,800 gal + extra 2,600 gal)
Complement2 officers + 14 crew
Armament

Design

The Fairmile type C was a re-use of the hull form of the type A but with the lessons learned from the type A incorporated in terms of steering and deck layout.

Boats
NameShip BuilderCompletedFate
MTB 312Woodnutt & Co., St Helens, Isle of Wight16 June 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 313James N.Miller & Sons, East Shore, St Monance, Fife12 June 1941Sunk by mine 15 August 1944.
MTB 314A. M. Dickie & Sons, Bangor, Gwynedd26 June 1941Sunk in St Nazaire Raid on 28 March 1942.
MTB 315Alex Robertson (Yachtbuilders) & Sons, Sandbank, Argyll10 July 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 316Tough Bros, Teddington Wharf, Manor Road, Teddington19 May 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 317Alex Robertson (Yachtbuilders) & Sons, Sandbank, Argyll3 September 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 318Aldous Successors, The Shipyard, Brightlingsea6 July 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 319Brooke Marine, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft4 September 1941Sold for disposal in January 1946.
MTB 320Alex Robertson (Yachtbuilders) & Sons, Sandbank, Argyll23 August 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 321James A. Silver, Rosneath, Dumbartonshire9 July 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 322A. M. Dickie & Sons, Bangor, Gwynedd29 July 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 323Kris Cruisers (1934), Riverside Yard, Ferryll Road, Isleworth11 July 1941Used as target from February 1945.
MTB 324Woodnutt & Co., St Helens, Isle of Wight4 September 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 325Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall9 September 1941Sold for disposal in March 1946.
MTB 326James A. Silver, Rosneath, Dumbartonshire18 August 1941Sunk by mine 28 June 1944.
MTB 327Risdon Beazley, Clausentum Yard, Northam Bridge, Southampton22 August 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 328Lady Bee, Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex13 October 1941Sunk by gunfire 21 July 1941.
MTB 329Aldous Successors, The Shipyard, Brightlingsea25 September 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 330Tough Bros, Teddington Wharf, Manor Road, Teddington25 July 1941Used as target 1946, destroyed by October 1948
MTB 331Tough Bros, Teddington Wharf, Manor Road, Teddington13 August 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 332James A. Silver, Rosneath, Dumbartonshire8 October 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 333Woodnutt & Co., St Helens, Isle of Wight16 October 1041Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 334A. M. Dickie & Sons, Bangor, Gwynedd9 October 1941Sold for disposal in October 1945.
MTB 335A. M. Dickie & Sons, Bangor, Gwynedd30 October 1941Sunk by gunfire 10 September 1942.

Service

The boats were initially classified as Motor Launches and early units carried 'ML' pennant numbers. These were then changed to 'Q' pennant numbers after the boats were reclassified as MGBs.

The class was mainly involved in close escort work with east coast convoys, and some boats were engaged in clandestine operations. MGB 314 took part in Operation Chariot, the daring raid on the St Nazaire docks (the only facility on the axis-held Atlantic coast suitable to refit Bismarck-class battleships). MGB 314 served as Commander Robert Ryder's command boat for the operation and exchanged heavy fire with the German shore batteries in order to provide cover for the other landing forces as well as for self-defence. In the course of these intense exchanges of fire, the gunner of the forward pom-pom (Leading Seaman William Savage) was mortally wounded but stood by his gun and continued to fire, earning a posthumous VC for his action. Ryder also received the VC for the same battle. As the British assault force was withdrawing after the battle, the heavily-damaged MGB 314 was scuttled after her crew were taken off.[1]

Of the twenty-four boats built, five were lost to enemy action. Two survive to this day, one at Hayling Island and the other in Bembridge Harbour, Isle of Wight, although now sunk and due to be broken up 2018. A third survived in Shoreham until 2002.

  • MGB 328 (nearest camera) and MGB 330 off the coast near Dover
    MGB 328 (nearest camera) and MGB 330 off the coast near Dover
  • MGB 316 at speed
    MGB 316 at speed
  • MGB 316 at rest
    MGB 316 at rest

See also

Notes
  1. Scandal of Smethwick's forgotten VC hero, Birmingham Mail. Updated 15 May 2013.

References
  • Norman Friedman, British Coastal Forces: Two World Wars and After 2023, Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978-1-3990-1858-6
  • John Lambert and Al Ross, Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume I : Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers 1990, Conway Maritime Press ISBN 978-0-85177-519-7
  • A. J. D. North, Royal Naval Coastal Forces 1939-1945 1972, Almark Publishing Co. ISBN 0-85524-069-6 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: checksum
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