Coastal Forces Veterans

My father served as first lieutenant on MGB 8 from mid 1943 and took some photographs of some of the other boats of the second MGB Flotilla (6, 7, 13) as well as boats I think were with other flotillas (16 and 57). The quality is not brilliant, but some of the people may be identifiable. Might the location in the attached be Portland?

Robert

Hi Robert

MGB 8 is presently a houseboat at Shoreham called Lanroc (ex Puffin).

This information is from Phil Simons the CF Historian, he quite recently identified her.

Plenty of photos on the internet for example;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/austin7nut ... 7014874044

I'm very much looking forward to your next superb photo, thank you for posting it.

Well I knew MGB 8 had gone to Shoreham as a houseboat postwar but I didn't expect her to still be there! She seems to be lived in (or was at the time the photo was taken) - at least the roofing felt looks new. It's amazing that she's lasted so long.

This photo is of MGB 16 (off Weymouth?). There seems to be an army officer on board (far side of the bridge), and I wonder why.

Robert

This is another shot of MGB 16 - I presume taken shortly before or shortly after the previous photo. It's a bit blurred (though that's not a surprise, I suspect, given how fast the boats must have been travelling). Does anyone know what the pennants might mean?

Robert

More great shots, photos like these are rare as hens teeth. My only (wild) guess about the flags and the army officer is that she is doing some target or range safety work.

Read in one forum that MGB-9 in combat German ships 13/05/1942 received such severe damage that more did not go out to sea, but information about casualties among the crew was not found. In this day of losses RN including one who died sailor from the MGB-13. These MGB participated together in one fight?

Reynolds' "Home Waters MTBs at War" says "there were only two major actions during May 1942, even though patrols were mounted almost every night". Actions are described on 11/12 May involving MGBs 41, 46 and 67, and a second action on 13/14 May involving MTBs 219, 220 and 221 and "two MGBs of the 2nd Flotilla".

The latter is described as "a very gallant battle" in which an armed merchant raider (Stier) escorted by "four Moewe class Torpedo Boats, eight M class Minesweepers and ten E/R boats" was attacked by boats from Dover. Apparently "the official record is extraordinarily lacking in detail" but the attack achieved some success at the cost of serious damage to MTB 220 (including the death of its CO). Reynolds goes on to say that "post-war Intelligence reports from Kriegsmarine records reveal that two Torpedo Boats - Iltis and See Adler - were sunk, although Stier successfully reached Boulogne".

a second action on 13/14 May involving MTBs 219, 220 and 221 and "two MGBs of the 2nd Flotilla".

Yes. This is the same battle. MGB-9 and -13 participate in it?

Official information about it is not found. Probably because the group was the senior officer at MTB-220 died in battle with the ship.

Reynolds' book does not identify the two MGBs except to say that they were from the 2nd MGB Flotilla. Both MGB 9 and MGB 13 were from that Flotilla (Reynolds, p196) so it seems quite possible that they were involved.

MTB 220 was sunk, of course.

I read a report the commander of the 5th flotilla torpedoboats Schmidt. He wrote that his flagship Zeeadler early in the fight for more than 15 minutes led to a gunfight MTB (?), Who was in charge of the 40-mm and 20-mm guns. It was probably one of the MGB.
And there War Activities MGB-9?

I don't know if there is an action report from either of the MGBs involved. The National Archive has an account of the sinking of MTB 220 by one of its crew. This has not been digitised but a copy could be ordered on-line. Here is the link : http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.u ... i=C7429601

Thank you. How were armed MGB-9 and -13 13.05.1942?

I don't know for certain, I'm afraid. As I understand it, these MGBs would have been armed with two twin Vickers 0.5' MGs (or possibly four .303'MGs) and either a 20mm Oerlikon or a 2 pounder pom pom. I have a photo of my father's boat (MGB 8) which shows an Oerlikon - this would date from 1943.

Here are photos of MGB-8 and -13.
http://www.yalumba.co.uk/Framesets/Brit ... 0MGBs.html
At the stern 20 mm "Oerlikon"? Very similar to the 2-pound "Rolls-Royce".

Checking back with the photo my father took of "the mad Scotsman Macnair and his Oerlikon" , I think it must have been taken on his other boat, MTB 731. This would date from 1944 or 1945. And yes, the other photo does look like it could show a 2 pounder.

What types of shells "Oerlikon" British gunners used MGB?

TITS.

Tracer, Incendiary, Tracer, Semi-armour-piercing.

Gunners found it easy to remember the mnemonic TITs for some reason, in order to load the shells in the correct order.

TITS.

Thank you. And of 2-pounders what projectiles fired?

Angus Konstam's book British Motor Gun Boat 1939-45 (published in 2010) shows on page 8 MGB 8 armed with a Rolls Royce 2 pounder. This is an illustration but there is a photo on page 38 of MGB 10 in Dover Harbour "in early 1942" with a Rolls Royce 2-pdr aft. He also notes (page 31) that "the Rolls Royce 2-pdr was introduced in mid-1940; although an improvement on the existing hand-loaded 2-pdr as it was faster to use, it was awkward to operate, but it had a slightly higher rate of fire". He says that the weapon "was capable of firing High Explosive (HE) rounds and had an effective range of 1,500 yards".

The National Archive has an account of the sinking of MTB 220 by one of its crew. This has not been digitised but a copy could be ordered on-line. Here is the link : http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.u ... i=C7429601

Unfortunately, for me it is problematic. Let us hope that someone will read this and spit out a report. The strange thing, but the only English paper on the most successful attack Coastal Forces has not yet been published and is interested in this feat of British sailors, people are forced to use or truncated information or data Germans.

Guthlac: Those photos really are superb. I used to live in Weymouth, and the coastline visible behind the three-quarter view of 16 looks to me like the coast between Bowleaze Cove and Ringstead.

Are there any more?

I ask because I am currently drawing colour profiles of British Power Boat Company MGBs, MTBs and MA/SBs for a book due out next year. This will be a sister volume to one on Vosper MTBs which was published last month.