Hello Rob
Thank you for your enquiry. I am currently away from home so do not have full access to my research materials. The configuration of ‘short’ MTB flotillas can be found in Home Waters MTBs & MGBs by Len Reynolds, and I have some lists of the ML flotillas when I can access them.
The Battle Summaries for Operation Neptune: D-Day Landings provides related information on the two ‘X’ Craft deployed to mark beacheads.
X.23 and X.20 were towed by H.M. Trawlers Sapper and Darthema till in Lat. 50° 22' N., Long. 0° 50' W., when they were slipped at about 0430, 3rd June. They proceeded under their own power dived throughout daylight, 3rd June, surfacing after dark to cross the enemy mine barrier, and arrived off the French coast about 0500, 4th June.
In addition it contains flotilla details for three out of four of the boats. Our records do not show an MTB 190, only MGB 190, which was Mediterranean based.
14th M.L. Flotilla
ML 190 Ty. Lt. D. K. B. Bound, R.N.V.R.
20th ML Flotilla
ML 205 Ty. Lt. W. A. Crossley, R.N.V.R.
13th MTB Flotilla
MTB 205 Ty. Lt. P. G. A. Irvine, R.N.V.R.
The Admiralty’s Red List of Minor War Vessels for December 1944 shows ML 190 as part of the 11th ML Flotilla, which were equipped as navigational leaders at the time of June 1944, so 190 may have been attached to the 14th in that capacity. The same edition of the Red List shows MTB 205 as having been placed in reserve, while ML 205 was on passage to the Far East as part of the 14th ML Flotilla. Generally speaking the composition of flotillas was fairly static, so it’s unusual to find so many apparent changes with the two boats in question.
I do know that the two ‘X’ craft used to mark the D-Day landing beaches had MLs designated to them to tow them back on the day, once their task had been completed, though I do not have their numbers to hand, making it more likely that MLs were the type of craft used in support of earlier ‘X’ craft operations as well.
HMS Dolphin lay directly alongside the principal Coastal Forces base HMS Hornet at Gosport, so there would have been MLs on hand to provide the escort. If the same boats were tasked each time to allow for familiarity with the job, and if Hornet was not their base ordinarily, they could still have assembled there ahead of time.
Regards
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