.png) MTB 102 taking part in theThames Diamond Jubilee Pageant for Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder | Vosper Ltd, Portsmouth |
| Laid down | 1936 |
| Launched | 1937 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Heritage vessel |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Motor Torpedo Boat |
| Length | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Beam | 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m) |
| Draught | 3 ft 9 in (1.14 m) |
| Propulsion | 3 1,150hpIsotta Fraschini IF 183 57-litrepetrol W18 engines: 3,450 hp (2.57 MW) |
| Speed | 48 knots (89 km/h) unloaded, 43 knots (80 km/h) loaded and armed |
| Complement | 2 officers, 10 men |
| Armament | 2 × 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes |
MTB 102 is one of the few survivingmotor torpedo boats that served with theCoastal Forces of the Royal Navy in theSecond World War. She was built as a prototype but was purchased and taken into service by the Admiralty.
She was the smallest vessel to ever serve as a flagship for the Royal Navy.[1]
Designed by CommanderPeter Du Cane, the managing director ofVosper Ltd, in 1936. She was launched and completed at Portsmouth in 1937, bought by theAdmiralty, and taken into service with the Royal Navy asMTB 102, the 100 series denoting a prototype vessel. She had an all-wood hull, described as "double diagonal Hondurasmahogany on Canadianrock elm".
Besides thetorpedo tubes she was built with,depth charges,machine guns, and the SwissOerlikon 20 mmanti-aircraft cannon were all tested on her.
MTB 102 was the fastest wartime British naval vessel in service at 48 knots.
From 1939 to 1940, she was stationed in theEnglish Channel. DuringOperation Dynamo (theevacuation from Dunkirk, May–June 1940), she crossed the channel eight times. She acted as flagship forRear Admiral Wake-Walker when his flagship, destroyerHMS Keith, was disabled.
In 1943, she was transferred to the Army's 615 Water Transport Company,RASC, and renamedVimy.
In 1944, she carriedWinston Churchill and GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower to review the fleet forOperation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy.
MTB 102 was sold off after the war and converted to a private motor cruiser on theNorth Sea.
In April 1966, in an unseaworthy condition and partially converted into a houseboat, Derek Brown bought her from Robinson's boatyardOulton Broad. Brown single-handedly completed extensive work and eventually relaunchedMTB 102.
In 1973, she was acquired by the 1stBlofield andBrundall Sea Scouts ofNorfolk, whose care she remained until 1995, when ownership passed to the MTB102 Trust. The vessel came with the purchase of the plot of land used as the group's water base at Brundall Marina onHobros Dyke.
In 1976, she was refurbished by a film company for use in the filmThe Eagle Has Landed and in the Dutch filmSoldier of Orange the following year.[2][3]
In 1977, she appeared in QueenElizabeth II'sSilver Jubilee pageant on theRiver Thames.
In 1983 and 1990, extensive structural repair was carried out on the hull and decks, totalling around £70,000.[4]
Since 1979, she has appeared several times atNavy Days and is now listed as part of theNational Historic Fleet.
The MTB 102 Trust was established in 1996 to fund the operation and maintenance ofMTB 102; it is aregistered charity under English law.[5]
Several changes in engines have occurred over her life. The original ItalianIsotta Fraschini engines became difficult to maintain during the early part of the war as Italy allied with Germany. However, they lasted until replaced after the war whenMTB 102 was converted to civilian use. In 1985,Perkins Ltd donated two turbocharged diesel engines, and in 1996 and 2002,Cummins Marine provided new engines.[4]
102 appeared as herself in the 2017 war filmDunkirk.
