MGB 81, the Spitfire of the Seas | World War II gunboat test drive review | Motor Boat & Yachting

every now and then of motorboating yachting we get the chance to do something a bit special and today is one of those days at around this time of year we like to do a Christmas boat test special using all the normal boat test techniques but on something very different and today we are testing MGB 81 she is an original World War 2 motor gunboat built by the British power boat company to go out and defend the British for Tiller's against attacks from German e-boats and she has just been the subject of an extensive restoration here at the Bothan Burton boat yard where she has been refitted with new engines and we are going to be the first people to go out and test her the original engines were Packard engines built in the US of around 1,500 horsepower each they were supercharged petrels she's now been fitted with triple FB TC 13s new diesel engines of about 850 horsepower each but that still should be quite powerful enough on a boat this size so let's start him up and see how she goes [Music] to and that's a third agency we've got all three engines running now on straight through exhausts and I don't even know if you can hear me because it's pretty raucous back here but imagine what it must have sounded like with triple v12 petrol engines it sounds good enough with these [Music] so there are triple engines we've got two outside ones on V drives and then a central one on a straight shaft at the back it's the only way that could fit the big v12 in such a narrow hole and as you can see she is a beautiful looking thing it's the classic Hugh Scott paint design with the beautiful sloping decks that help give it the rigidity it needs to perform so it's beautiful it's fast and it's heavily armoured - these were the gunboats not the torpedo boats so we've got a big three pounder gun on the foredeck we've got the twin Oerlikon machine machine gun on the back and then these two lightweight lewis guns either side as anti-aircraft and then the only explosive thing we've got are the depth charges down on the side decks and rumor has it that in one particularly daring attack the captain of the boat took it right under the bow of an oncoming German ship let the depth charge out and exploded it right in its path and sank it so that's the kind of thing these boats were used for not so much these days but we've still got all the replica weaponry and we're going to go out and see just what it's like to actually drive this incredible ship this is quite an experience it's not like any other boat I've ever driven it's a completely different beast we've got the triple gears which take a huge amount of effort to get into gear and you can just feel it kicking in and even at 500 rpm it's doing seven eight knots and then we've got the triple throttles over on this side which again require a decent amount of effort to get going it only really starts to have any effect on the runner once you're up to speed because it's designed to be maneuverable at speed and when I say maneuverable it's a very relative idea because to be honest I've rarely driven a less maneuverable bait but compared to the battleships and destroyers it was trying to attack it was far more maneuverable but we've only got half the tournament lock either side and it takes a niche for it to really start responding and again it's a huge amount of effort required it's not too bad at this speed but you'll see what happens when we throttle up let's give it a go start spin it the telephones are kicking in at about 1500 rpm give it more Willie again it's a very physical experience and now there's another second boost in about 2,000 rpm you can really feel it starting to charge we're doing 27 28 knots now we're still building it'll go all the way up to 30 31 knots and now it runners really waiting up just drop a physical effort required and the turning circle it's about 100 meters wide at this point so it takes a brave man to go in and attack a battleship on something like this but really it's just a magnificent experience looking at that big wake behind us then the view of the foredeck and the beautiful sheer line it's just a privilege to drive something like this so this is the Afghan onboard MGB 81 it's a pair of Oerlikon heavy caliber machine guns mounted on a platform that swings around and elevates and the gunner would sit here you've got your sights here line up with the enemy craft and give a burst of heli caliber machine-gun fire and then try and get out of there as fast as you possibly could so as well as the twin Oerlikons on the aft deck there are these lowest guns on either side deck they rise up on a strut so you can get the your shoulders tucked in and these were used predominantly for anti-aircraft fire or indeed if you needed a lighter machine gun one on each deck so whichever side you are you can always hit the enemy the only explosive power on board are these depth charges unlike the motor torpedo boats you are only really armed with guns so if you needed to try and sink something bigger the only way to do it was to get right up in front of the enemy's path drop that in front of him and hope it explodes underneath the boat not an easy task particularly giving them a maneuver ability of this and then there's the main gun on the foredeck which is the three pounder it's not a huge convert caliber we're not talking a massive battleship gun so you need to get in close and when I say close we're talking about within a couple of hundred yards so the gunner sits in this chair here the whole gun itself is mounted on a swiveling platform you've got the elevation there's a wave deflector wrapping right the way around it and this is really the whole point of the motor gun boat it's this big flat four deck where the gun is mounted it's all designed to give maximum strength and a nice flat platform so the gunner can do his job this is the original navigation room and you can probably see just how small everything is down here the helm itself is all outside so this is the only inside space with any kind of view at all but what you have to remember is that when these were being used in anger they were going out at night at 40 knots with basic basic navigation equipment crossing the channel getting involved in some kind of skirmish off the coast of France or Holland and getting back all in the dark using basic navigation techniques and just this very small little wheel has to do it all from it's amazing what they managed to do what's really remarkable is just how small everything is so coming back from the navigation station forward in the wheelhouse there's this tiny little corridor which my shoulders barely fit through I certainly can't stand up and imagine try and move around this boat at 40 knots in the dark and here's the little radio room tucked under the helm again I'd have to duck to get in and just about squeeze through but this is where the radio operator would stay in communication with the shore because these were not boats where the crew was staying on board they were billeted on shore and would just come out for their raids at night there were 12 to 14 crew on board this everybody had their role but they weren't living or sleeping on it they were just using it purely as their attack craft and then leading back from the radio room we come into the ammunition store so this little space will have been packed full of ammunition for the the guns on board and in particular the aft Oerlikon mounted on the deck just above us here this gives you some idea of just basic and physically uncomfortable this boat is it's not a boat built for leisure it's built for a very specific purpose so just squeeze down this narrow ladder which is the only access to the lower accommodation and even when you get here there's not a lot to it we've got a crew room over here to starboard the ward room where the officers hung out and then a very small basic galley down the middle you can see why the crew had to be billeted ashore because there simply isn't space on board to actually live here for any length of time it's a basic piece of military machinery you can see a little bit from these original plans how the hull shape came together so you've got a relatively deep narrow V up at the forefoot and it flattens off after to give that planing surface which is what gave it the speed it meant that they weren't terrific sea boats in all on they were built for speed so with that flat Stern they would bang a bit but it did mean that they planed relatively early and they went quickly I think with the original engines they were good for certainly at least 40 knots but you can see the triple shaft and propellers the outer two which are on V drives and the central one direct shot and three relatively small rudders which in what makes it what makes it such hard work to steer at lower speeds and here you can see an example of the work that persons have been doing recreating these frames using laminated strips of wood you got ash and you teal which is a mahogany like hardwood which have all been clamped together every single frame has to be a little bit different to create that wonderful shape of the hull there's an enormous amount of work involved but it's the only way that they can recreate the original structure and the rigidity they need for it to perform as it does and here in the officers Ward room is a lovely little bit of history that tells you all you need to know about these boats this steel plate here was an emergency repair made to the hull after enemy gunfire ripped through this relatively thin mahogany actors casing the gun fire ripped through and in the space of 24 hours or however long it took they rapidly patched it up with this metal plate but imagine what it must have been like down here with gun fire coming through knowing that right behind you a 3,000 liter tanks of highly explosive petrol it gives some idea of how basic the boat is and how brave the men must have been who falls on her well that has been the most extraordinary day it's been an absolute pleasure and of privilege to go out and see trial this motor gun boat original World War 2 motor gun boat and it's thanks to the Portsmouth Naval Base property trust who are the owners of the boat and in fact the Chancellor's LIBOR fund which has paid for the restoration of it for all of us to enjoy this piece of heritage not just as a staffing exhibit but as a working boat that will be out and about demonstrating what those brave men did all those years ago and for me it's been an absolute privilege and I hope what we've managed to do is convey some of the feeling and excitement of what it's like to drive this magnificent craft you

Channel: Motor Boat & Yachting

Views: 1,246,211

Keywords: yacht, yachting, yachts, yacht boat, motor boat and yacht, motor boat, motor boat review, motor boat test, mgb 81, motor gun boat 81, motor gun boat, review, mgb 81 review, mgb 81 video, gun boat, battleship, world war II, restoration, war ship, military ships, military boat

Id: BoSXhLATGWE

Length: 14min 28sec (868 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 16 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Mentott510]

Thanks for the posting. A beautiful boat.