MTB 222-class Motor Torpedo Boat, British Vosper 72 feet boats in Dutch service

Suggestions Naval
1
Would you like to see the MTB 222-class ingame?
  • Yes.
  • No.
0 voters
In what techtree would you like to see this boat class be added in?
  • In a future Dutch/BeNeLux techtree.
  • In the French BeNeLux sub-tree
  • Other (Please explain in the comments).
  • I said “No” in the first question.
0 voters

Today I’m going to suggest a class of British Vosper 72 feet boats operated by the Netherlands Navy.

This is the MTB 222-class!

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HNLMS Buizerd (MTB 240) in the port of Weymouth
Source: Foto's

History

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HNLMS Sperwer II (MTB 235) whilst under construction at Vosper in Portsmouth.
Source: Foto's

The MTB 222-class motor torpedo boats came into service during the second world war. Dutch crews were fighting allongside British onces in the British 9th MTB Flotilla, but in 1943 it was decided that the 9th MTB Flotilla would become fully crewed by Dutch crews. And so additional boats were purchased from the British to fill up the flotilla.

In total 9 boats would be used in the 9th MTB Flotilla, three of which were White 73-feet boats and the other six were Vosper 72 feet boats. The boats I’m suggesting in this suggestion are the Vosper 72-feet boats.

The six boats the Dutch bought of this class actually recieved names. The boats were given bird names, and they were as follows:
MTB 222 → Sperwer (Sparrowhawk)
MTB 229 → Gier (Vulture)
MTB 231 → Stormvogel (Storm Petrel)
MTB 235 → Sperwer II (Sparrowhawk II, this boat came as a replacement of the MTB 222 so it was given the same name)
MTB 236 → Havik (Hawk)
MTB 240 → Buizerd (Buzzard)

Dispite the boats being given these names, they were actually not used all that often. In official reports and documentations the boats are simply referred to by they MTB number.

In the 9th MTB Flotilla the boats would be used to carry out all kinds of different missions in the English Channel. Convoy protection, minelaying, bringing spies to German occupied coasts, and harassing enemy shipping in the channel were all things the boats did during the war.

Out of all of these tho the harassing enemy shipping was the most common task the boats carried out. And they did quite a good job of it.

During the war one boat, the HNLMS Sperwer (MTB 222) was returned to the British on the 5th of June 1942 and was replaced with the MTB 235 which was also given the same name. All boats managed to survive the war and were sold around 1946.

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HNLMS Buizerd (MTB 240) after colliding with a British MGB which destroyed her bow
Source: Foto's

Design

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The MTB 222-class boats were 21,95 metres long, had a beam of 5,9 metres and a draft of 1,6 metres, and displaced 35 tons. They had a crew of 13 men and were able to reach a top speed of 39 knots.

The boats were powered by three 1.350 hp petrol engines.

The weaponry I’m about to list here is what was planned/used on the base class. individual boats of the class tended to differ in weaponry due to improvised modifications or wartime needs.

The MTB 222-class were armed with two 533mm torpedo tubes firing Mark VIII** torpedoes. These torpedoes had a TNT warhead size 327 kg, and a range of 4.570 meters at 45,5 knots, and a range of 6.400 meters at 41 knots.

The boats were armed with a single twin 12,7mm Mark V machine gun turret. And the final bit of weaponry onboard were two depth charge racks with one on each side of the boat.

Ingame

Spoiler

The MTB 222-class would be an nice little addition to the game in my opinion. They are all round perfect reserve boats. The single machine gun turret is on the weaker side but should be just enough for reserve tier. And the torpedoes this class has are excellent and can even still be used in much higher ranking battles.

Now where should these boats go to? As usualy with my Dutch vehicle suggestions, I ofcourse want to see this ingame in a Dutch or BeNeLux techtree. Ofcourse the BeNeLux has been added to France, so this is now the only option where Dutch vessels will go to. But it must be said that the Netherlands and France have nothing in common, and do not make sense to combine together ingame.

In the French tree the MTB 222-class would actually be a nice addition. The reserve boats for France are a bit on the weaker side, and this MTB 222-class would go a long way to make the Rank 1 experience a lot better. The British MTB-35 is almost identical to the MTB 222-class so that’s a good ingame example to compare it to.

Specifications

Spoiler

Displacement: 42 tons
Length: 21,95 m
Beam: 5,9 m
Draft: 1,6 m
Powerplant: 3 x 1.350 hp petrol engines
Maximum speed: 39 knots (72,23 km/h)
Crew: 13 men

Armament:
1 x 2 12,7 mm Mark III machine guns in a Mark V mounting
4 x 533 mm torpedo launchers firing Mark VIII** torpedoes
2 x Depth charge racks with one on each side of the boat

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HNLMS Sperwer II (MTB 235) followed by HNLMS Buizerd (MTB 240) and either HNLMS Arend (MTB 203) or HNLMS Valk (MTB 204)
Source: Foto's

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading about this little boat.

See you on the battlefield!

Sources

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History and information:

Extra sources:

Photos:

2

+1 why not