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Anatomy of the Ship: The Fairmile 'D' Motor Torpedo Boat
John Lambert
1985

When you think of a World War II-era warship, the image that probably comes to mind is a sleek destroyer cutting through the waves, or a massive battleship letting loose with a salvo from it's main guns. For the most part, the thousands of coastal craft, such as motor launches and torpedo boats, tend to get lost in the shuffle. One of these small vessels was the Fairmile D combined Motor Gun/Torpedo Boat, of which 229 were constructed were built during the war by 30 British shipyards. Prefabricated and shipped as giant "kits" for on-site assembly, the 'D's were cramped Frankenships which used American engines, were armed with whatever weapons were available, and were so ugly that their crews took to calling them "Dog Boats." Under their ungainly exterior, however, was a vicious little fighter which packed more firepower than a pre-World War I destroyer.

Like the American PT Boats, the Fairmile Ds had a "hard chine" hull shape and were constructed from diagonally-planked mahogany. Intended as a counter to the German Schnellboote, the Fairmile D MGB/MTB evolved into the most heavily armed, on a ton-per-ton basis, warship of World War II. Displacing 105 tons, a typical late-war Fairmile D might mount four 18-inch torpedo tubes, two Quick-Firing 6-pound guns, a pair of Vickers twin heavy machine guns, a twin 20mm Oerlikon Anti-Aircraft gun, and four depth charges. With a top speed of 32 knots, they were substantially slower than the PTs and Schnellbootes, but more than capable of taking back some of what they could dish out.

For the fifth book in the series, Conway once again chose to focus on an entire class rather than a single ship. This is the first of two entries by John Lambert, a naval historian and draughtsman best known for his superbly detailed plans of British naval weapons and warships of Destroyer size and smaller. The result is a book that's superior to The Type VII U-Boat, but which still suffers from some nagging flaws.

The introduction, though only 16 pages, is longer and more detailed than those found in most Anatomies. Opening with a history of the development of Fairmile's A, B, and C motor launches, Lambert describes the evolution of the D design throughout the war, each type of gun and torpedo that could be mounted, and the particulars of the machinery. A number of tables are also included, showing which boats were constructed at which yards, the completion date and fate of each "D," detailed specifications of each weapon, performance data for the B through D Fairmiles, variations in machinery installations, and the scantling dimensions for the B through H models. The next section includes 23 large and fairly obscure photographs that Lambert managed to acquire during his research. These include photos of the prototype "D" under construction, a number of "in action" shots, and onboard images of the weapons carried.

The drawings chapter is divided into seven sections:
A - Developments and variations of Fairmile types
B - General arrangements
C - Hull structure
D - Machinery
E - Superstructure and rig
F - Armament
G - Fittings

Section A opens with 1/150 scale profile and cross-section views of the Fairmiles, A, B, and C designs. The rest of the chapter traces the design of the D model, depicting 16 representative vessels in profile and occasionally plan, including the type fitted as an RAF rescue boat, and an unbuilt ASW conversion, noting the differences in armament fit in each. Section B includes sectional and plan views of an early "D" gun boat, sectional, plan, and profile views of a late-war combined gun/torpedo boat, and 1/75 scale plans of the hull lines. Section C features three 1/50 scale sections showing the arrangement of the hull structure, and several perspective views showing details of bulkhead, planking, and frame construction.

Section D is by far the most detailed of the seven sections. This chapter includes detailed plans of the water cooling, bilge, and lubricating oil systems, the fuel tanks and their piping, fire protection equipment, propeller shafting, the engines and their carriers, and the exhaust system. Section E depicts the arrangement of the bridge, details of the mast, and some of the electronics aerials. Section F details the boat's armament, including the Mk 11A six-pounder, the 20mm Oerlikon and it's various mounts, the Vickers 0.5 inch machine gun, 18 and 21-inch torpedoes, and the rocket flare launcher. The final section shows the location of each deck fitting, depicts the different types of guardrails and several deck fittings, and details the hull markings and draft lines.

As you've probably started to notice by now, every book in this series is superb in some areas and merely "blah" in a couple areas. Regardless of Lambert's skill as a draughtsman, this book suffers from a number of annoying production flaws. Although some of these books do a fine job circumventing the issue, the idea of segregating the text, photographs, and drawings into separate sections is a pretty flawed one. Some later Anatomies managed to get around this by including more detailed text and notes along with the drawing keys, a luxury not afforded to the reader here. In several instances, the drawings are unlabeled but the equipment being depicted is described in greater detail in the introduction, forcing the reader to jump between the text and plan. The most grating example is Lambert's superb drawings of the engine room, showing the space in plan, profile, and at four sections. Unfortunately, these plans are unlabeled, forcing the reader to "piece together" the compartment from the other drawing keys in Section D.

There's also a heavy emphasis on weapons Vis-à-vis internal arrangements and hull structure. Granted, a warship isn't much without weapons, but I'm more of a naval architecture geek myself. Only 3 1/2 pages are devoted to hull construction, compared with 24 pages of armament details. Having detailed views of the six-pounder's ammunition feed rail, cutaways of an Oerlikon magazine, and close-ups of a Vickers MG gas plug, is nice and all, but doesn't really say much about the design of the actual ship.

I've considered giving this one 7/10, but I'm bumping it up to 8/10 for four reasons. John Lambert is a superb draughtsman, and once you get over the somewhat awkward format, you'll kick yourself knowing he only published one other Anatomy. Secondly, there's still quite a bit of material here for the serious naval geek to chew on, probably more if naval weaponry is your thing. Thirdly, you'll never find this much material on this type anywhere else, so if you're planning on modeling a Fairmile D, this is the place to start. Finally, it introduced me to an obscure and impressive breed of fighting ship, which I'd previously only heard snippets about. Despite it's annoying flaws, this book is a treasure trove of "good stuff" for anyone interested in coastal craft.

Final Rating: 8/10