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Coastal Forces History Articles

The Loss of MTB 316

MTB 316 was lost with all hands in the Straits of Messina after happening upon the Italian cruiser Scipione Africano Read More

John Francis Costello

John Francis Costello Read More

The Bari Raid

The following account has been given by Peter Bickmore BEM who served with Coastal Forces and was present in Bari on the night of the raid, and who sustained… Read More

The Loss of ML 916

After the success of the D-day landings in June 1944 and the breakout from Normandy in August of that year, the Allies had steadily advanced through France and… Read More

The Loss of MTB 345

MTB 345 was an experimental craft built by Thornycroft to a design that echoed the earlier Coastal Motor Boat (CMB) which first saw service during the Great War of 1914–18. Thornycroft had continued building… Read More

The Sinking of MTB 710

April 10th marks the anniversary of the loss of MTB 710 in 1945, which was one of several Coastal Forces boats to suffer a particularly large loss of life through a sudden and catastrophic sinking… Read More

Saint-Nazaire: The Greatest Raid

The Royal Navy had a long established tradition of pursuing enemy vessels that had eluded them at sea back to their home ports,… Read More

The Ostend Tragedy 1945

February 14th sees the anniversary of an incident that occurred three months prior to the end of the Second World War in Europe; one which saw the greatest single loss of men and boats of Coastal Forces… Read More

Postwar Gay-Class Boats – The End for Petroleum

The following is an account of a well known incident that occurred in the Danish port of Aarhus during the 1950s. With the cessation of hostilities the risks to naval operations using petrol powered vessels… Read More