Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy


Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy initially established during World War I, and then again in World War II under the command of Rear-Admiral, Coastal Forces. It remained active until the last minesweepers to wear the "HM Coastal Forces" cap tally were taken out of reserve in 1968.

History

Predecessor

The Royal Navy had previously operated flotillas of small torpedo- and depth-charge-armed craft during World War I. They operated as often in action against the enemy coast as in defence of British coastal areas.

Establishment

The first post WWI motor torpedo boats built for the Royal Navy were built by the British Powerboat Company at Hythe, Southampton. MTBs 01-19 were built between 1935-38, following the hard chine planning hull designed with T E Lawrence, for high speed rescue of downed aircraft crew.
During World War II, the first Coastal Forces headquarters was set up at in 1940 under Rear Admiral Piers Kekewich, Flag Officer Coastal Forces. The chief staff officer to the admiral was Augustus Agar, VC, who had commanded coastal motor boats during World War I and in British operations in the Baltic Sea in 1918 and 1919 in support of White Russian forces during the Russian Civil War.

World War II operations

Royal Navy Coastal Forces craft operated mainly in the English Channel and North Sea waters. They were also based in Malta, The 1st & 3rd MTB Flotillas, Numbers 01-06 & 14-19, and HMS Tamar, Hongkong, the 2nd MTB Flotilla, numbers 07-12, 26 & 27. On 19 December 1941 MTB 07 led the attack on Japanese landing craft in Kowloon Harbour, Hong Kong, taking fire from land, sea and air. The operation was arguably the most daring daylight MTB raid of all time losing over 40% of the flotilla. MTB 07 was hit 97 times losing two crew dead and all three engines. It was hailed as the "Balaclava of the sea".
They were also used in the Mediterranean and off the Norwegian coastline. They were used at the St. Nazaire Raid and the Dieppe Raid. They were used to attack German convoys and their S-boat escorts, carry out clandestine raids and landings, and pick up secret agents in Norway and Brittany. Alongside British officers and men, the coastal craft were manned by various Allied nationalities including Dutch, Norwegian, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealanders.
A number of Captain-class frigates were configured to operate as "coastal forces control frigates". Operating with Coastal Forces officers embarked and responsible for controlling and providing radar support to groups of Coastal Forces' motor torpedo boats intercepting German motor torpedo boats in the North Sea, these frigates were involved in the destruction of at least 26 E-Boats.
By 1944 Coastal Forces numbered 3,000 officers and 22,000 ratings. Altogether there were 2,000 British Coastal Forces craft. Affectionately known as the Royal Navy's "little ships", they fought over 900 actions and sank around 400 enemy vessels, including 48 E-boats and 32 midget submarines. They fired 1,169 torpedoes, shot down 32 enemy aircraft and carried out many mine laying operations. 170 of the "little ships" were sunk or otherwise destroyed.

Post-World War II

After World War II, the Royal Navy re-designated all its motor torpedo boats and motor gun boats as "fast patrol boats." The Brave-class fast patrol boats were the last craft to be built for the Coastal Forces, and the Coastal Forces were disbanded as a separate unit and their last base,, decommissioned in 1956.
The last sailors to wear the "HM Coastal Forces" cap tally were the ship's companies of the inshore minesweepers and on being taken out of reserve in 1968, before individual cap tallies for the minesweepers had been manufactured and issued.

Craft types used

Coastal Forces included the following types of coastal defence craft:
TypeDesignationBuiltLostDesigned purpose
Motor launchesML, HDML, RMLHarbour defence and submarine chasing or rescue motor launches.
Motor gunboatsMGB
Steam gunboatsSGB71Hunting down German E-boats
Motor torpedo boatsMTB

At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 there were three flotillas of motor torpedo "short boats" between and long. These could typically maintain 40 knots and were armed with two torpedo tubes. They were built mainly by the British Power Boat Company, Vospers, and Thornycroft.
In 1940 a modified craft, the motor gunboat, was introduced. These were armed with weapons such as the 0.5 in Vickers machine gun, 2 pounder "pom pom", a single or twin 20 mm Oerlikon and ultimately the autoloader fitted 6-pounder gun.
It was also apparent that larger craft were needed as the operational capability of the short boats was too restricted by sea conditions. Fairmile designed a series of larger coastal craft, up to long. The Fairmile A Type and B Type were motor launches and the C Type was a motor gunboat.
In 1943 the Fairmile D Type appeared. It was a motor torpedo boat – nicknamed the "Dog Boat" – and was designed as a counter to the German S-boat. It could be fitted as either a gun or a torpedo boat, so the designation "MGB" disappeared and all the craft were labelled MTBs. It was a good sea boat and could maintain at full load. The later D types carried four torpedo tubes.
The Vosper Type I MTB appeared in 1943. This was a craft with four torpedo tubes and was capable of a maximum speed of.

Bases

Coastal Forces bases were located around the British coast and at major locations overseas.
;South coast
;West coast
;East Coast
;Mediterranean
;Indo-china
;Other
Although British Commonwealth coastal forces operated independently from British ones, they used similar vessels:
Coastal forces ofTypeBuiltLostNotes
CanadaFairmile B motor launch
Fairmile D motor torpedo boat
BPB motor torpedo boat		80
10
11
AustraliaHarbour defence motor launch
Fairmile B motor launch		31
35
New ZealandHarbour defence motor launch
Fairmile B motor launch		16
12

Surviving craft

Some surviving motor launches in British waters were taken on as pleasure boats and a number of them are on the National Register of Historic Vessels.