Two divisions (14 P2000 patrol boats and 3 offshore patrol vessels)
Military unit
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.[1] It remained active until the last
minesweepers to wear the "HM Coastal Forces" cap tally were taken out of reserve in 1968. The division received more gallantry awards than any other branch of the Royal Navy during that period.
In 2020, ministerial approval for the change in name from 1st Patrol Boat Squadron to Coastal Forces Squadron was given. It encompasses 14 of 16
Archer-class patrol vessels and the Batch 1
River-class offshore patrol vessels and is responsible for UK
EEZ Protection and Patrol.[2]
The Royal Navy
Captain-classfrigateHMS Rutherford underway during World War II. She served as a coastal forces control frigate in 1944 and 1945.
Predecessor
The Royal Navy had previously operated
flotillas of small
torpedo- and
depth-charge-armed craft (
coastal motor boats) during
World War I (1914-1918). 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 and 1938, following the hard chine
planing hull designed with
T E Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), for high speed rescue of downed aircraft crew.[citation needed]
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, Hong Kong, 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".[3][full citation needed]
They were also used in the Mediterranean[4][page needed] and off the Norwegian coastline.[5] They were used at the
St. Nazaire Raid and the
Dieppe Raid. They were used to attack German convoys and their S-boat (known to the
Allies as "
E-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.[6][7]
A number of
Captain-class frigates were configured to operate as "coastal forces control frigates" (CFCF).[8] 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,[9] these frigates were involved in the destruction of at least 26 E-Boats.[10]
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.[11]
Post-World War II
After World War II, the Royal Navy re-designated all its motor torpedo boats (MTBs) and motor gun boats (MGBs) 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, (
HMS Hornet), decommissioned in 1956.
In 1960, a question was asked in the
House of Lords why Coastal Forces had been reduced to a skeleton of three patrol boats and three ships operated by two crews, based at HMS Dolphin in
Gosport, when considerable expenditure was made in the 1950s but not followed up, and thus wasted. In addition, Coastal Forces was invaluable as a means of training young officers, and the development of small ships, often to the benefit of the navies of Britain's allies.
Lord Carrington, then
First Lord of the Admiralty, responded that limited resources and changing threats were the reason, and that keeping the Coastal Forces at a low level would at least enable it to be rapidly expanded should the need arise. He added that nine boats were in operational reserve to maintain Britain's
NATO commitment.[12]
The last sailors to wear the "HM Coastal Forces" cap tally were the ship's companies of the inshore
minesweepersDittisham and
Flintham on being taken out of reserve in 1968, before individual cap tallies for the minesweepers had been manufactured and issued.
A permanent exhibition of craft, personnel and history of Coastal Forces was established in Gosport in 2021. The exhibition shows that, with 3,000 decorations, including four
Victoria Crosses, Coastal Forces personnel received more gallantry awards than any other branch of the Royal Navy.[13]
Craft types used
Coastal Forces included the following types of coastal defence craft:[11]
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 there were three
flotillas totalling 18 motor torpedo[15] "short boats" between 60 ft (18 m) and 72 feet (22 m) 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.
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 120 feet (37 m) long. The Fairmile
A Type and
B Type were
Motor Launches and the
C Type was a motor gun boat.[17]
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 (known to the
Allies as the "
E-boat"). It could be fitted as either a gun or a torpedo boat, so the designation MGB and MTB tended to be intermixed or 'MGB/MTB' used.[18] It was a good sea boat and could maintain 30 knots (56 km/h) at full load. The later D types carried four 18-inch (460 mm)
torpedo tubes.[19]
The
Vosper Type I MTB appeared in 1943. This was a 73-foot (22 m) craft with four 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes and was capable of a maximum speed of 40 knots (74 km/h).
Bases
Coastal Forces bases were located around the British coast and at major locations overseas.[1][20][21][22]
Fully operational, based at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
MTB 71
60 ft (18 m) Motor torpedo boat
1940
Vosper
Static exhibit
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.
Re-formation 2020
The name "Coastal Forces Squadron", replacing the previous title of "1st Patrol Boat Squadron", was re-adopted in May 2020. As of 2023, the Coastal Forces Squadron comprises two divisions: the Off-shore division comprising the three
Batch 1 River-class offshore patrol vessels and the In-shore division comprising 14 of 16
Archer-class fast patrol boats. Headquartered at
HMNB Portsmouth, as of the mid-2020s the In-shore division of the squadron is playing an increasing role in supporting Royal Navy exercises beyond U.K. waters in both the Baltic and the Norwegian Seas.[41][42]
In 2023, four ships from Coastal Forces took part in an exercise with the Norwegian
Coastal Ranger Command inside the Arctic circle.[43]
The exercise was repeated in 2024 when four vessels of the Squadron,
Biter,
Blazer,
Trumpeter and
Exploit, deployed to northern Norway as part of the NATO exercise "Steadfast Defender".[44]
Lambert, John; Ross, Al (1993). Allied Coastal Forces of World War II - Volume II: Vosper designs and US Elcos.
ISBN0-85177-602-7.
Kemp, Paul J (1997) British Coastal Forces of WWII, ISO Publications, London,
ISBN0-946784-52-3
Konstam, Angus (2003). British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939-45. New Vanguard No. 74. illustrated by Tony Bryan. Osprey Publishing.
ISBN978-1-84176-500-6.
Pickles, Harold (1995) Untold Stories of Small Boats at War: Coastal Forces Veterans RememberISBN978-1-85821-176-3
Pope, Dudley (2006) Flag 4: The Battle of Coastal Forces in the Mediterranean 1939-1945.ISBN978-1-86176-067-8
Reynolds, L.C. and Cooper, H.F. (1999) Mediterranean MTBs at War: Short MTB Flotilla Operations, 1939-45.ISBN978-0-7509-2274-6
Reynolds, L. C. (2000) Home Waters MTBs at War: Channel and North Sea MTB and MGB Flotilla Operations, 1939-1945.
ISBN978-0-7509-2518-1
Reynolds, L. C. and Lord Lewin (2000) Dog Boats at War: A History of the Operations of the Royal Navy D Class Fairmile Motor Torpedo Boats and Motor Gunboats 1939-1945, Sutton Publications Inc,
ISBN978-0-7509-2454-2
Reynolds, L. C. (2002) Motor Gunboat 658: The Small Boat War in the Mediterranean.ISBN978-0-304-36183-0