British Power Boat Company 71ft 6ins MTBs / depth charges

Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB)
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British Power Boat Company 71ft 6ins MTBs / depth charges

Postby GCU Grey Area » Wed Feb 11, 2015 11:43 am

I wondered whether anyone had any pictures of BPBCo 71ft 6ins boats carrying (or equipped to carry) more than two depth charges?

I'm particularly interested in MTB 416 (lower photo), which appeared to have rails running along much of the deck and an unknown boat (also attached) with racks and rails for small depth charges. I'm intending to draw profiles of these boats for a book appearing later this year.

The rails on 416 appear to be large enough to carry 'full size' depth charges, or cylindrical mines. The photo appears in several books (e.g Osprey's New Vanguard, P.J Kemp's British Coastal Forces of WWII), and is from the IWM.

The other boat features in C.Anthony Law's 'White Plumes Astern', moored to the Mulberry 'Gooseberries' with MTB 466. Both boats belonged to the 29th MTB Flotilla. The small depth charges were intended to be used against very fast small submarines, a threat which didn't materialise. The photo is from the Canadian Archives.

I'm aware that some boats (such as MGB 118) carried four full size depth charges forward. Any help gratefully received!
british-power-boat-mtb-466.jpg
MTB 466 and sister boat © Library and Archives Canada (PA-116483)
british-power-boat-mtb-466.jpg (57.15 KiB) Viewed 8546 times
Image
THE ROYAL NAVY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR: OPERATION OVERLORD (THE NORMANDY LANDINGS), JUNE 1944. © IWM (A 24047)IWM Non Commercial Licence

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