The Escape of the 2nd MTB Flotilla

MTB's 07 & 09 under camouflage on Christmas Day 1941

Hiding in Telegraph Bay on Christmas Day 1941 prior to the escape that evening



Photo from Ron Ashby's collection ©

MTB 07 alongside the stone pier with 09 covered in straw and branches hiding from enemy aircraft in Telegraph Bay on the day of the escape, Christmas day 1941. 07 still has a full complement of depth charges on deck.

 

The Flotilla was over-painted with a mixture of dark camouflage colours on the 14th December 1941 in preparation for air attacks. Here MTB 07 is alongside a stone jetty at Telegraph Bay on Christmas Day with MTB 09 lashed alongside. The boats were covered with straw and branches for camouflage from air attack during daylight hours. Later in the day when Governor Sir Marc Young finally surrendered to the Japanese the boats rendezvoused south of Ap Le Chau Island and made good their escape with the Chinese liaison party headed by Admiral Chan Chak.

 

 

 

1st MTB Flotilla escorting King George VI from Westminster to Greenwich

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• MTB's 03-06 of the 1st MTB Flotilla escorting King George  VI with a young Princess Elizabeth
• from Westminster to Greenwich to open the National Maritime Museum on  27 April 1937. This was the first public appearance of the post WW1 Scott-Pain MTB's
• All boats including the Royal Barge were Scott-Pain.
• The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich was the former home of the
• Royal Hospital School which re-located to a 200 acre site at Holbrook
• near Ipswich in Suffolk in 1933.










MTB 01 during sea trials in 1937


• The torpedo stern racks can be seen very clearly











The Lewis guns on MTB 18 of the 3rd/1st MTB Flotilla



• British Power Boats 60-foot Type

• MTB's 01-12 & 14-19 were the 1st RN MTB's since WW 1
• MTB's 01-06 were 1st Flotilla
• 07-12 +26 & 27 were 2nd Flotilla
• 14-19 were 3rd Flotilla [Note the modified Lewis gun layout either side of the conning tower]
• 1st Flotilla was based at Malta & later Felixstowe
• 2nd Flotilla was based at Hong Kong
• 3rd Flotilla was bound for Singapore, but joined the 1st en route at Malta
• 01 - 19 were Hubert Scott-Paine boats built between September 1935-39

The first two post WW1 Coastal Motor boats were ordered on 27th September 1935. By October another four Scott-Paine boats were ordered. The six boats were commissioned on 27th April 1937. The 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla was born. The first public appearance was escorting King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I with Princess Elizabeth down the River Thames from Westminster to Greenwich to open the new National Maritime Museum housed in the former Royal Hospital School buildings.

 

 

 



The 60 foot Scott-Paine boats carried two 18 inch aircraft torpedo's stored in the engine room on overhead rails, with two hinged lattice girders stowed on deck. The hinged lattice girders swung over the stern to form a continuation of the engine room overhead rails. The torpedo's fired forward from astern of the boat, and it took great skill in aiming the boat at the target, firing, then turning sharply away to avoid the torpedo.

The boats were powered by three Power-Napier Sea Lion W12 petrol engines.

The 1st MTB Flotilla shaped course for the Mediterranean on 22nd June 1937, calling in at Brest, Corunna, and Lisbon before arriving in Malta on 17th July 1937. Later it was increased by the 3rd Flotilla which was bound for Singapore originally. At midnight on the 11th November 1939 the 12 boats of the 1st MTB Flotilla shaped course to return to the UK via the French canals. MTB 06 was scuttled by HMS Dainty en route to France and the remnants were later stationed at Felixstowe. MTB's 01-05 were disarmed and used for other duties.

HMS Dainty scuttled MTB 06 by ramming it in half.