NEW NAVAL CRAFT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 56, 8 March 1937, Page 7

NEW NAVAL CRAFT

NOW IN COMMISSION

MOTOR TORPEDO BOATS

Five.of the six : motor torpedo boats of a new design announced in, February, 1936, as having- been ordered for experimental purposes are now in commission as tenders to H.M.S. Vernon, the torpedo school ;a£ • Portsmouth, writes the naval correspondent of the "Observer." The sixth boat of the same batch will shortly join .the flotilla, while the building of another- halfdozen boats of similar type was made public at.the end of September. ]

Recently I was permitted to embark in M.T.B. No. 4 for a trial trip to Spithead in company with M.T.B.s Nos. 2, 5, and 6. It was blowing from the north-north-east, with a short, steep lop when once, we drew opt of; the lee_of the land. The four boats left harbour together and were manoeuvred by wireless as a flotilla, after which No. 4 parted company, to carry out a dummy torpedo attack on the remainder. ,

During the course of the forenoon we proceeded . at, various -.speeds from twelve to well over thirty knots, and though the spray came, over the enclosed wheelhouse in sheets, there was little or no bumping as we drove ahead into the teeth of the wind and sea. I am informed that the boats are more comfortable in a longer sea', =. when each wave can be dealt with separately by .the expert use' of the throttle and wheel. . ■. ■-;

The throttle is eased- as the boat rises on to a crest. This causes the propeller to act, as a brake, and prevents the abrupt'descent into the next, hollow, which causes bumping. Incidentally, the sensation of throttling back at full speed is much the same as in applying the brakes of a motor-car at, say, forty miles an hour. All the engine,, arid other controls are led up into the enclosed wheelhouse, and, withthe dial's and levers, are Reminiscent of those iii an aeroplane., The power is supplied 'by three 500-h.p. Power-Napier-Sea-Lion motor engines, "marinised" from the Napier-Lion: aero engine by the designer. The armament will eventually 1 consist of two 18in torpedoes designed to be discharged over the stern, and a couple of. machine-guns: Living on board. As at present manned, eaph boat is commanded by a lieutenant or sublieutenant, with one petty officer as coxswain, three able seamen, one telegraphist, ■ and one stoker.' ' The crew* are actually living on board, and th> accommodation is comparable to that of a yacht of the same size, about sixteen tons, and a good deal better thao that in 'some of the earlier torpedr boats. "•''." A forecastle, with pneumatic cushion* and four let-down berths, houses eighr men, and the same compartment has ? galley, where the cooking is done on a primus stove, and a lavatory. Thi wardroom, reached through the .wheel house, can accommodate two officer?, for whom a separate wash place; i» provided. There is a little, wireless room opposite. Every detail of, and fitting in, the living spaces has been most carefully thought out and .designed, and; considering their size, -'the M.T.B.S leave little to be desired. It-is early yet to speak of the functions of M.T.B.S in war, since they are still in the process of being tried out. But with their much greater seagoing endurance and habitability than the coastal motor-boats used off the Belgian coast and elsewhere during the war, one can imagine many uses. They would serve for the local defence of naval ports, for attacks, upon a previ-ously-located fleet at anchor or under way, while, given the necessary spacs and hoisting apparatus, their lightness would permit them to be carried on board large ships for use at long distances. GOVERNED BY WEATHER. Their seagoing endurance, one imagines, is governed more by the weather and the endurance of the personnel than by the actual time the boats can remain at sea on one load of fuel.' No men, particularly those in the fenginerobm, can stand prolonged spells of watch-keeping in comparatively small, fast motor .craft. At the same time, if necessary, the boats can stop their engines and ride comfortably in a tolerably heavy sea. They have already done so. , .-'••■ The officers and men are keen and full of enthusiasm for their new craft; and it is as a training flotilla for as many young officers as possible, with the experience of independent''command, that the M.T.B.s will be particularly valuable. Expert knowledge is necessary for all hands; but commanding officers and coxswains. have particular responsibility in handling highj speed craft in which lightness is an important consideration. ' . Apart from quickness of brain and eye, service in the M.T.B.s requires a stout heart, a strong stomach, and a disregard for the inevitable discommon of afl small ships. .It is essential.'? * | job for young men. .