Coastal Forces Veterans

Hi all, this is my first post on CV. I recently got my hands on my grandads navy service record and I'm hoping you guys, with your expertise can make sense of it and give me some info.
His name was James Cormack McEntee and his record reads:
Aug 43 - April 45 St. Angelo
April 45 - July 45 Hornet
July 45 - Oct 45 Attack (MTB 790)
Oct 45 - Jan 46 Hornet (also MTB 790)
????
I have attached a pic of the document hope you guys can help any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

Hi SimonR,
Your mention of MTB 790 caught my eye. This was one of the Fairmiles my grandfather built at Boat Construction in Falmouth. It was launched in July 1945 and joined its flotilla in Portland at HMS Attack. Later it was rebadged as MTB 5003 and later still as a Fast Patrol Boat P3002. There is a picture of her in this guise in Lambert and Ross highly informative volume on the Fairmiles.

I have not been able to uncover any photos of her as mtb 790. But there is a picture of a scale model at the Imperial War Museum: www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30018351

Hoping this helps Roger

Thanks very much for your info...very interesting. Is there a particular reason theres a model of 790 in particular...or is it just random ?

Hello Simon

Thank you for your enquiry concerning your grandfather's service with MTBs 651 and 790. I took the liberty of rotating your image of the service record, added your later amendment to your original post, and then removed the duplicates.

MTB 651 served in the Mediterranean as part of the 33rd MTB Flotilla, then later the 60th MTB/MGB Flotilla, and the 61st MTB/MGB Flotilla, while MTB 790 served in Home Waters as part of the 72nd MTB Flotilla. I have quite a bit of information on MTB 651, and other boats in the flotilla which I will compile for you later. HMS Collingwood was basic training, Victory the main barracks at Portsmouth, HMS St Christopher the Coastal Forces Training Base at Fort William, with MTB 651 commissioning at the time, so your grandfather was with the boat from the start. St Angelo was Malta, Hornet the principal Coastal Forces base at Gosport, and Attack the Coastal Forces base at Portland.

Regards
Admin

Thank you so much for the info you have given so far and I eagerly await the info you are so very kindly compiling on mtb 651.
As I'm new to all of this it did take me a while to work out that some names listed on the record are bases and not boats.
All we have ever known about my grandad during the war was that he was involved with malta, its exciting finding out what he got up too. He passed away in 1995 and like probably everybody else....I wish I'd asked him more when he was still with us.
Thank you again for your time and effort....
...regards simon

Simon

The principal references for MTB 651 are Dog Boats at War by Len Reynolds, which is still in print, Flag 4 by Dudley Pope, and then there is the privately published memoir of one of the Commanding Officers of MTB 651, Kenneth Horlock, entitled Our Lady of the Pirates. In addition there was an interesting piece written by the Commanding officer of MTB 634, Sir Walter Blount, and serialised within the former Coastal Forces Veterans Association newsletters, on the subject of the German E-Boats surrender at Tagliamento. There are also two photo collections I will post up later from members of crew of boats in the flotilla, which illustrate this and other work of the boats. I am dropping you a line if you could look out for it in your email.

Regards
Admin