My late Mother was a WREN in Ramsgate during WW2. Watching this I could see her going about her duties and waiting for the boats coming home just like the girls in the film. Love these wartime films with the men who were in it doing the acting! Thankyou.
I know just what you mean, even though my Mum was in the WAAFs I can just imagine her when I see these old films, right down to her hairstyle at the time. I love watching these films, always makes me feel close to my parents.
I love these movies, it reminds me of the huge sacrafice that my father's generation made, for the freedoms that we take for granted today. Just ordinary men, called up to do their duty, and every single one of them did that. We owe all of them our gratitude.
My Father was a boat builder and during the war was stationed at Ramsgate - building and repairing the MTB's. I remember him telling me that he was amazed that some of them were still afloat on their return from action as they were so badly shot up!
Wonderful generation of people…. Godspeed to your father and everyone else who lived through and gave service to support the war at home too. My great grandparents worked at the B-24 bomber plant at Willow Run, Michigan. While their son (my grandfather) was flying in one as a Tail gunner… he was on the Ploesti mission, big week, etc. 54 missions over Europe. Survived the war.
I think of all tasks in W.W.II, the MTB crew would be the one I'd choose to do. Their hit and run daring was outstanding. They pulled their weight. We Will Remember Them.
Great little film. My father bought mtb98 (Greyling) after it had been given to the Maidstone Sea Scouts after the war, it was too big for them to maintain. Dad converted it to a very comfortable houseboat. It was moored at Rochester, dad sold it and it was moved several times and ended up further down the river still in use as a houseboat’. MTB 98 saw quite a lot of action in the English Channel and got badly shot up but survived, she was an early boat built of double diagonal mahogany on oak (I think) and powered by triple Packards. Her build was funded by the people of Litherland in war ship week and presented to the free French to crew. The only British member was the wireless operator who was later decorated by the the French president for services rendered. I still remember the patches in the hull, the cracked porthole glass and chunks out of the deck stantion.
Love the dialogue and articulation. Well spoken with good sound recording level, unlike today with machine gun delivery, no articulation and sound levels here there and half way to Germany! My father was in submarines during the war, uncle in the RAF and Merchant Navy while my Grandad was in the Royal Scots. So proud of them!!
My old geography master at school in the early 1950’s had been on MGB’s during the war and wrote a best selling book about the experience. He was L C Reynolds and the book was Gunboat 658. I still have my copy.
My father who was an 18 years old Canadian who served on MTB 726 witch you can see listed on the docking board at 7:12 of movie was one of those great people that gave there service at such a young age for our freedom
I remember as a kid seeing old MTBs as house boats on the Thames where I lived. Their days of high speed action had gone and they were careworn even then- over 50 years ago. Good little film that is all the better for being cliche free and focusing on the reality of the task in hand.
I am amazed they could tell who the enemy was at night at sea with spray etc, I bet sometimes they got close and suddenly realised and then opened up. Whatever rank or role they were great men and women and kept us safe and free. Our thanks as an island nation will echo down the ages, some of them slumber in the sea that encircled and secured our liberty. Thank god.
A freind of mine lived on an MGB Named Jet D'eau moored on taggs island near Hampton court in 1962 it still had its original motors and a great deal of "atmosphere " could be felt or imagined whenever I went on board , I was 9 years old
Outstanding little film. I like that it avoids falling into the cliche-evoking dialogue that many of these types of short military re-enactments do. The actors do seem to be a wee bit older than what an average sailor would have been during the war, but that a tiny insignificant item.
My dad was in Holland, on the other side. They had a barrel of Guiness wash up below their position, must have been more than a few kegs afloat in those days. It was well appreciated.
Strange thing is that as far as I know the German e boats were faster than the mtb,s but these brave men still went out in foul weather for rescue and attack, true heroes
My granddad was Able Seaman Thomas Quigley served on both MGB & MTB based at looe in cornwall and was awarded the DSM D/JX.I4H05 and mentioned in dispatches for For skill and bravery in action against enemy E-boats, while serving in H.M. Motor Gun-Boats: incredible man and as a kid can remember going through all his stamp albums and him telling me of his story's around the world whilst in the British Navy.
@@Steve-bo6ht My own grandfather was a master shipwright , as was my uncle's , and last but not least my self . He told many years ago how fast they built them , and it was really fast . Thanks for your reply 😃
Great film, I love these old movies. My Dad was an ERA engineer, West Africa on a Corvette, HMS Kilderry, convoy protection 42-45 but after the war had a couple of years on an experimental MTB based at HMS Hornet Portsmouth. P1602 was the first all aluminium MTB with three Griffon Spitfire engines, capable of 40 knots plus. He spoke fondly of this boat but never saw action. Always said that the German E Boats were faster and diesel powered so less prone to major fires in action.
stevegreen You are wrong on the engines, Griffon not used in MTB they were American made PACKARD M2500 purposed designed gas engines, Brits came begging for engines as aircraft engines in Britain were not allowed in boats, had to go to aircraft, and short supply. Same engine the US Navy used in all their PT Boats !!!
In the mid-sixties my family lived on a converted MTB moored at D'Oyly Carte Island on the River Thames. It was originally commissioned as MTB 208. When my father bought it it had a rebuilt deck house and was plenty big enough for the 5 of us. Sadly it is much more difficult to get affordable residential moorings nowadays but back then there were maybe 15 houseboats on the island including an old coal barge, a Motor Gun Boat (MGB), and a submarine chaser, as well as my family's MTB, and various other smaller craft. Exciting times for a 10 year old, including having to take the ferry to go to school
Incredible! I was just wondering what I could buy one of those for and what it would cost to make it my home XD Thanks for sharing, ya old CURMUDGEON!!! XD XD
The home port used in the film is actually in Weymouth, Dorset. The MTB is berthed near what is now Weymouth Pavilion Theatre. Early in WW2 this part of the harbour was a shore base called HMS Bee which operated coastal forces with the crews living in the nearby guest houses. By 1944 it was an embarkation point for some of the US forces destined for "Omaha" beach, the main embarkation for "Omaha" beach was from nearby Portland Harbour. Nearly all the buildings visible in the film are still there to day.
I was watching for the boat operations, but three minutes in and I'm like "That's bloody Weymouth!" (I live here, y'see). How lovely to see the harbourside actually hasn't even changed much in the intervening eighty years.
Me too... its definitely Weymouth with the North, the Stone Pier and lots more. VERY SADLY in about 2020 the Council (of incomers) removed the WWII train lines along the quay. They did it for spurious heath and safety reasons. What is the world coming to ?
My dad served on HMS Ekins a destroyer from early 44 till the end of the war going out every few nights with MTB's and ML's looking for trouble with E boats which he said "they found"
I knew a fella, the first one-armed man to circumnavigate the world in a yacht, who owned an MTB during the '60's. He used it as a blockade runner to ferry supplies to Radio Caroline.
I was puzzled by the term ‘blockade runner.’ Was it illegal to supply a pirate-radio vessel? Was ‘Caroline’ blockaded? If so, who by? The Royal Navy? U.K. Customs?
@@heli-crewhgs5285 I dunno exactly. That's what he told me, and he was in company with other mariners of his generation, so I have no reason to doubt him. The government's frustration with a radio station broadcasting in UK territory led them to create Radio 1, which hired most if not all the DJ's.
In case you were wondering why, in the briefing room, one officer had straight rings on his sleeves and the other had wavy rings that was because the one with wavy rings was in His Majesty's Royal Naval Reserves. Also known as the " Wavy Navy ".
They had Packard Merlin V12 engines. They were powerful but did not last very long. Aero engines are not designed to handle the shock loading that high speed boats will deliver. After WW2, the type was fitted with 18 cylinder (36 piston) Deltic two stroke diesels. These were the same type was used by US PT boats in Vietnam. There's a YT film of some Swedish Deltics going at full chat. th-cam.com/video/LXqCzD38zX0/w-d-xo.html
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Yes completely different to the Aircraft engines, they are a large marine V12 engine .Theres a preserved PT in the USA which is here on YT somewhere and can be seen getting prepped for a run.
My father’s cousin was the C/o of HMMTB 638, he was killed in an action off the Tunisian coast where an Italian boat the Sagittario and aircraft attacked his boat, April 1943.
When I was 11, a new teacher joined our school. He had been an RN lieutenant commanding a MGB based at Weymouth. I think he was hero worshiped by just about all the boys in the school. If you had him as one of your teachers then, at the end of term, after exams were over you could persuade him to tell the odd tale or two. He mentioned that you only made contact with the enemy very occasionally, that firefights only lasted for minutes, at most, and a direct hit from single 5 inch shell from a destroyer, would leave virtually no trace of the boat or crew. Operating at night, they would hightail it out to sea, then sit silently listening for E-boats or other ships. He had the DCM.
Wow! You see that handler flinch every time the twin Vickers K guns are fired? I bet I would've felt the same. "Woah! That's too loud, too dangerous, and too close!"
One of the crew says. "I think its a waste of good engines". Wartime boats used aircraft petrol engines which were not built to take the stress and failed regularly. They must have been scary to use with all that flammable fuel about. The Germans had bigger (but very fast) diesel powered Schnellboots (E-Boats). There's an ex MTB running around South Devon. It has the amazing Deltic engines so was re-engined post-war or it's a later hull. There is also an E-Boat near Plymouth to be restored by Kevin Wheatcroft (race track owner) but money has stopped progress.
David -perhaps for this reason the Admiralty commissioned the building of 9 Steam Gunboats by Denny, Glasgow powered by early steam turbines (with plans for many more). They were larger and extremely fast but had two initial limitations compared with MTB- Slow startup time because of the need to “flash” the boiler plus vulnerability to direct fire (no armour to protect boiler/turbines to save weight). My father was First Lt of SGB7 which after sinking a German ship in 1941, was scuttled after a direct hit to the boiler immobilised it. It was the only SGB lost during the war but no more were built and the remaining 8 were armoured. Fortunately all the crew were picked up and spent the war as POWs.
@@WALTERBROADDUS Yes they were !!! The Brits came to the USA looking for boats, planes engines. The Brits had the Merlin earmarked for aircraft and PACKARD supplied their M2500's to the US Navy and the Brits, some 14,000 M2500's were built, thats 25oo cu in of supercharged engine, most were 1500 HP the later version went to 1850 !!! And no the M2500 was NOT a Packard built merlin, Packard did build the merlin but three years later and they went to the Brits for aircraft !! !
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I suggest you reread my comments you are replying to? Packard Marine engines have nothing to do aircraft engines built under license.
We really don't. Well, we have better tracking of birth records, so people like my old friend John MacDonald of the Back-of-Kepoch can't go to war with their trawler by saying they were 16 when they were actually 14. He was sunk while sweeping mines in the channel, but obviously survived. The youngest Brit to die in Afghanistan was 18, in the Falklands the youngest was 17. We still send the youngest we can to fight wars. They are more bidable and haven't learned they are mortal.
@@cageordie I had an old mate in New Zealand years ago, who i saw attending a Maori battalion reunion .I asked if he was there on his late fathers behalf, as he was a lot younger than the rest of the soldiers present. but said No, he was a big kid and signed up at 14 .He fought in Greece, Crete North Africa and Italy .
I used to know an old chap who was on these boats. He told me that each of the 3 engines used 150 gallons of gas per hour. He said the German E-boats passed them like they were standing still.
E boats were a nasty thing to encounter and sank US shipping during D-Day rehearsals on Slapton beach with heavy loss of life. The screen destroyer had to suddenly go in for urgent maintenance. Shame there weren't any MTBs/MGBs available.
Can't remember its title but I have an interesting book (up in the loft maybe..?) written by someone who served on them. Quite often instead of the Hollywood dramatic high speed torpedo launch (which he says will send them plunging to the depths!) they would sneak across the bows of cargo targets and drop depth charges on short fuses. Many brutal battles with the deadly E-boats (S-boats more accurately) who, with their diesel engines, could take a lot of hits and were well armed. Must read it again soon.
Interesting how at 4:55 the officer going up the steps salutes with his left hand, and then on saying goodbye, salutes with the correct (right) hand. :)
Where can I find the song in this film “you’ll never get to heaven in an mtb”. P.s. it’s so refreshing to be able to hear clearly pronounced English. My hearing problems are made no more when people try to pronounce words correctly instead of being lazy or even attacking people for wanting to pronounce properly.
@Destraex It's an old British (originally US ) song in the form of a "call and response round". The main singer of each verse often makes up the words, (so therefore getting this exact song is going to be difficult) and then the other singers repeat, and there's a chorus e.g. C) "You'll never get to Heaven" R) "You'll never get to Heaven" C) "in an MTB (insert as appropriate, I remember a verse where it was TR7- a type of car)" R) "in an MTB" C) "'cos (short for because) an MTB" R) "'cos (short for because) an MTB" C) " only goes to sea!" R) " only goes to sea!" (C&R) - repeat all lines together (Chorus) The base song is called "I Ain't Gonna Grieve My Lord No More" and some sample lyrics can be found at www.bethsnotesplus.com/2018/07/aint-gonna-grieve-my-lord-no-more.html. Also, this video will give you an idea of the tune (and some lyrics) here: th-cam.com/video/5ptb9Vjs9CE/w-d-xo.html (and other places). The main singer involves each of the others by making up a verse about each of them.
Those three Packard engines in one boat sounded so delicious. It's a common misconception that they are Rolls Royce Merlin engines made by Packard. However, the Packard marine engine was 25% bigger than the RR aero. For decades I believed them to be Merlin's after reading it in a novel.
@@WALTERBROADDUS Thanks. I found this out about 2 weeks ago and couldn't remember where I'd left this mistaken comment. I put it somewhere else too. If you come across it please let me know so I can do something about it.
What books that from then mate???? Or do you meen the Packards that was a copy of RR for license?, in fact was it because all MTB was built to the same copy of such licence only with alco and higgins given the licence to copy such boats as in pt6 the first ever, or was it because the factory got bombed at the time so they had to use american made packards because the licence of the english designed MTB was already in place???, if not why didn't the brits just shove their own engine in their fairmiles and vospers and Pt's???? After all they did design them and make them at home for their own aircraft??, so give me your source please?..
In Wikipedia it says Packard marine engines were bigger than Merlin's, and that only the Canadians had had tried three Merlins in a MTB. It didn't give any figures I can remember except the Packard marine was a different engine, 25% bigger or 25% more powerful than a Merlin, better suited for boats. No doubt the Brits kept their RR's for Hurricane's Spitfire's etc. etc....the Packard's for boats.
@@cozmcwillie7897 (NO) figure's means irrelevant then?, and now people are realising how unreliable Wikipedia is these days? , unless it hasnt been taken from a source from history books or ones on the subject in question, then it should be taken with a pinch of salt im affraid and one should do a further assessment on their own research to gain some insight and not to just rely on what they have been told on the net as gospel..
At 04:55 The senior officer, climbing the steps, returned the salute with his left hand. HIS LEFT HAND? Somebody (director?) must have put him right when they saluted at departure.
Got a kick out of the "Canadian" with the British accent. Good of them to acknowledge our contribution, though. 9:16 I'll take the tall one on the left.
@@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry Ayup. Though we do have our own regional accents. I spent twenty odd years in the Maritimes. Coming from Southern Ontario they thought I was a Yank. Moved back to Southern Ontario, tey tink I'm a Newfie.
@@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry We had the chance of American know how, British government, and French culture. We got American culture, French government, and British know how.
These training and propaganda films are priceless.One wonders of the originals exist, and if they could be transferred/scanned at a higher resolution??
This period was the best for style. Men wore suits and hats with polished shoes and ties and the women were all slim and wore beautifully feminine dresses and "sensible" shoes and pretty hats. Now days men wear shit that looks like they are homeless or on the street and the women dress like over made up slapper street hookers and we are all fat slobs. Manners and good behavior in public are things of the past. EVERYONE is so selfish and self absorbed in their cell phones posting shit that would bore someone watching paint dry. And NOBODY knows how to park a car without taking two spaces because they can't think of anyone else. And I'm a junkie! I wonder why? A bit disappointed with life as we live it now I guess it's a cop out. Well why not. I'm sick of being the best dressed guy everywhere I go and making a spectacle of my self.
There are men these days who wear hats and suits with polished shoes. And back then rationing was on so of course the ladies were thin. Boy you speak utter clap trap
I haven't seen many and America wasn't rationed. Boy you speak utter clap trap! And not a word about the evil corporate junk food industry and the amount of SUGAR, SALT, FATS and so called energy drinks and alcohol and tobacco? I guess you don't think they play a part in the obesity that is going to ruin every health care system IN THE WORLD. Clap trap you say? Yes you did say it! Still, what did I expect on UT! An intelligent debate? More fool me. OK? You got me in the arse. Well done.
@Paul Zeigler take your incel winkie issues and shove 'em where the sun don't shine, bubbles. And if ever you'd spent a day in uniform, you'd realise the importance of prompt contact reporting. Twat.
Was part of this this filmed in Weymouth, Dorset? From 9.20 to 9.30 it looks like the Nothe Fort in amongst and the trees and Stone Pier with the chalk hills and cliffs across other bay at Rinagstead.
What sort of MTB was that representing. I thought that all active service UK MTB's had either 3 or 4 engines, mainly Packard or Isotta but that one only appeared to have 2 engines or was that just artistic licence by the film makers.
I'll bet they were as good as PT-73, star of Mchale's Navy. North 75 west. Look at a compass rose. North is obvious. 75 degrees is roughly ENE. West is west. I've never heard a more confusing bearing in my life. 34:33
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My Grandad is the one playing guitar in the film. We knew about him being in a film but have only just found it! Thank you for posting!
Awesome!
So glad you got to see it.
Sospan Fach! Llanelli boy was he? My old man served on cruisers mainly but a monitor on D Day. Cymru am Byth!
Wow!
❤❤❤
My late Mother was a WREN in Ramsgate during WW2. Watching this I could see her going about her duties and waiting for the boats coming home just like the girls in the film. Love these wartime films with the men who were in it doing the acting! Thankyou.
I know just what you mean, even though my Mum was in the WAAFs I can just imagine her when I see these old films, right down to her hairstyle at the time. I love watching these films, always makes me feel close to my parents.
I love these movies, it reminds me of the huge sacrafice that my father's generation made, for the freedoms that we take for granted today. Just ordinary men, called up to do their duty, and every single one of them did that. We owe all of them our gratitude.
You said it all word for word
@@number8485 Thank you very much, and I feel as strong as ever in what I wrote. Have a great day.
@@pauldg837 😁👍🇬🇧
all wasted..take a look at modern england....
My uncle served on MTB'S throughout the war. He was a real hero. A golden generation.
My Father was a boat builder and during the war was stationed at Ramsgate - building and repairing the MTB's. I remember him telling me that he was amazed that some of them were still afloat on their return from action as they were so badly shot up!
Wonderful generation of people…. Godspeed to your father and everyone else who lived through and gave service to support the war at home too. My great grandparents worked at the B-24 bomber plant at Willow Run, Michigan. While their son (my grandfather) was flying in one as a Tail gunner… he was on the Ploesti mission, big week, etc. 54 missions over Europe. Survived the war.
I think of all tasks in W.W.II, the MTB crew would be the one I'd choose to do. Their hit and run daring was outstanding. They pulled their weight.
We Will Remember Them.
Great little film. My father bought mtb98 (Greyling) after it had been given to the Maidstone Sea Scouts after the war, it was too big for them to maintain. Dad converted it to a very comfortable houseboat. It was moored at Rochester, dad sold it and it was moved several times and ended up further down the river still in use as a houseboat’. MTB 98 saw quite a lot of action in the English Channel and got badly shot up but survived, she was an early boat built of double diagonal mahogany on oak (I think) and powered by triple Packards. Her build was funded by the people of Litherland in war ship week and presented to the free French to crew. The only British member was the wireless operator who was later decorated by the the French president for services rendered. I still remember the patches in the hull, the cracked porthole glass and chunks out of the deck stantion.
If anyone is interested I have a copy of the build plans
Love the dialogue and articulation. Well spoken with good sound recording level, unlike today with machine gun delivery, no articulation and sound levels here there and half way to Germany!
My father was in submarines during the war, uncle in the RAF and Merchant Navy while my Grandad was in the Royal Scots.
So proud of them!!
Superb little film that encapsulates what life was like for MTB crews. Brave men one and all.
My old geography master at school in the early 1950’s had been on MGB’s during the war and wrote a best selling book about the experience. He was L C Reynolds and the book was Gunboat 658. I still have my copy.
@@alasdairmmorrison74 You were there, were you?
My father who was an 18 years old Canadian who served on MTB 726 witch you can see listed on the docking board at 7:12 of movie was one of those great people that gave there service at such a young age for our freedom
That's pretty cool!
Thank you for his service. These young men gave so much for our freedoms. My father was posted to the Far East in the British army.
I remember as a kid seeing old MTBs as house boats on the Thames where I lived. Their days of high speed action had gone and they were careworn even then- over 50 years ago. Good little film that is all the better for being cliche free and focusing on the reality of the task in hand.
I used to see them on the River Arun at Littlehampton, too.
I am amazed they could tell who the enemy was at night at sea with spray etc, I bet sometimes they got close and suddenly realised and then opened up. Whatever rank or role they were great men and women and kept us safe and free. Our thanks as an island nation will echo down the ages, some of them slumber in the sea that encircled and secured our liberty. Thank god.
A freind of mine lived on an MGB Named Jet D'eau moored on taggs island near Hampton court in 1962 it still had its original motors and a great deal of "atmosphere " could be felt or imagined whenever I went on board , I was 9 years old
Thank you so much I saw this film on channel 4 at some point in the late 80's aged 15 and have been trying to find it ever since!
This was filmed in Weymouth where I live. Fascinating to see that it hasn't changed much!
Outstanding little film. I like that it avoids falling into the cliche-evoking dialogue that many of these types of short military re-enactments do.
The actors do seem to be a wee bit older than what an average sailor would have been during the war, but that a tiny insignificant item.
Fascinating thank you and refreshingly in stark contrast to films about American PT boats, thank you for showing this rare piece of film.
My dad was in Holland, on the other side. They had a barrel of Guiness wash up below their position, must have been more than a few kegs afloat in those days. It was well appreciated.
That's fascinating. I can picture that like I was there. Coastal defence I assume?
There were so many lives entagled in that mess.
A lot of the Irish were pro German :)
Strange thing is that as far as I know the German e boats were faster than the mtb,s but these brave men still went out in foul weather for rescue and attack, true heroes
My granddad was Able Seaman Thomas Quigley served on both MGB & MTB based at looe in cornwall and was awarded the DSM D/JX.I4H05 and mentioned in dispatches for For skill and bravery in action against
enemy E-boats, while serving in H.M. Motor
Gun-Boats:
incredible man and as a kid can remember going through all his stamp albums and him telling me of his story's around the world whilst in the British Navy.
I am sure you are very proud of granddad , rightly so . My own grandfather built these boats during the war in North Devon. 👍
That's amazing really appreciate your reply Andy yes indeed incredible men that built and sailed these incredible boats.
@@Steve-bo6ht My own grandfather was a master shipwright , as was my uncle's , and last but not least my self . He told many years ago how fast they built them , and it was really fast . Thanks for your reply 😃
Great film, I love these old movies. My Dad was an ERA engineer, West Africa on a Corvette, HMS Kilderry, convoy protection 42-45 but after the war had a couple of years on an experimental MTB based at HMS Hornet Portsmouth. P1602 was the first all aluminium MTB with three Griffon Spitfire engines, capable of 40 knots plus. He spoke fondly of this boat but never saw action. Always said that the German E Boats were faster and diesel powered so less prone to major fires in action.
stevegreen You are wrong on the engines, Griffon not used in MTB they were American made PACKARD M2500 purposed designed gas engines, Brits came begging for engines as aircraft engines in Britain were not allowed in boats, had to go to aircraft, and short supply. Same engine the US Navy used in all their PT Boats !!!
They calmly faced the challenge and did their duty well.
My father served on MTB689 during WW2 and received the DSM from the king
great little film, my dad served on the mtbs based at hms beehive at felixtowe. met my mum there who served as a wren at the same base.
In the mid-sixties my family lived on a converted MTB moored at D'Oyly Carte Island on the River Thames. It was originally commissioned as MTB 208. When my father bought it it had a rebuilt deck house and was plenty big enough for the 5 of us. Sadly it is much more difficult to get affordable residential moorings nowadays but back then there were maybe 15 houseboats on the island including an old coal barge, a Motor Gun Boat (MGB), and a submarine chaser, as well as my family's MTB, and various other smaller craft. Exciting times for a 10 year old, including having to take the ferry to go to school
Curmudgeon
Great story ! Thanks !
I envy you.
Oh wow! My grandfather Fitzgerald served on 208 for more than 2 years
@@redbaron1392 MTB 208 is now moored at a boatyard in Sunbury, on the River Thames. Apparently it's being renovated.
Incredible! I was just wondering what I could buy one of those for and what it would cost to make it my home XD Thanks for sharing, ya old CURMUDGEON!!! XD XD
The home port used in the film is actually in Weymouth, Dorset. The MTB is berthed near what is now Weymouth Pavilion Theatre. Early in WW2 this part of the harbour was a shore base called HMS Bee which operated coastal forces with the crews living in the nearby guest houses. By 1944 it was an embarkation point for some of the US forces destined for "Omaha" beach, the main embarkation for "Omaha" beach was from nearby Portland Harbour. Nearly all the buildings visible in the film are still there to day.
Wow thanks!
I was watching for the boat operations, but three minutes in and I'm like "That's bloody Weymouth!" (I live here, y'see). How lovely to see the harbourside actually hasn't even changed much in the intervening eighty years.
@@KrillLiberator Yes I thought that was Weymouth too.
@@KrillLiberator I thought exactly that as well
Me too... its definitely Weymouth with the North, the Stone Pier and lots more. VERY SADLY in about 2020 the Council (of incomers) removed the WWII train lines along the quay. They did it for spurious heath and safety reasons. What is the world coming to ?
My dad served on HMS Ekins a destroyer from early 44 till the end of the war going out every few nights with MTB's and ML's looking for trouble with E boats which he said "they found"
An excellent movie telling the little known job of the men who served during World War 2 on the Torpedo Boats.
My dad was a stoker on MTB670 aged 18 and straight off to the Med April 1943.
I knew a fella, the first one-armed man to circumnavigate the world in a yacht, who owned an MTB during the '60's. He used it as a blockade runner to ferry supplies to Radio Caroline.
I was puzzled by the term ‘blockade runner.’ Was it illegal to supply a pirate-radio vessel? Was ‘Caroline’ blockaded? If so, who by? The Royal Navy? U.K. Customs?
@@heli-crewhgs5285 I dunno exactly. That's what he told me, and he was in company with other mariners of his generation, so I have no reason to doubt him. The government's frustration with a radio station broadcasting in UK territory led them to create Radio 1, which hired most if not all the DJ's.
Awesome movie! You'd never see anything like this anywhere. Thank you Periscope Films.
In case you were wondering why, in the briefing room, one officer had straight rings
on his sleeves and the other had wavy rings that was because the one with wavy rings
was in His Majesty's Royal Naval Reserves. Also known as the " Wavy Navy ".
I did notice that but didn't have the slightest idea. Thanks.
RNVR - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve - Wavy Navy. RNR had gold chain rings then
Remember reading war comics when i was a kid..and stories about fast attack torpedo boats was one of them.
My late father was a morse code telegrapher on an MTB 352? During the war. Born 1926. They were made of sterner stuff in those days
My father served on MTB 689 as orlikon gunner and coxwain
Quaint bit of archive material. Amazing how these things survive. I loved the roar of those huge engines...
The U*S PT boats used 500 (US?) gallons per hour. (flat out)
They had Packard Merlin V12 engines. They were powerful but did not last very long. Aero engines are not designed to handle the shock loading that high speed boats will deliver. After WW2, the type was fitted with 18 cylinder (36 piston) Deltic two stroke diesels. These were the same type was used by US PT boats in Vietnam. There's a YT film of some Swedish Deltics going at full chat.
th-cam.com/video/LXqCzD38zX0/w-d-xo.html
tedthesailor Those engines were PACKARD made in the USA M2500's !!!!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Thank you - I know...!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Yes completely different to the Aircraft engines, they are a large marine V12 engine .Theres a preserved PT in the USA which is here on YT somewhere and can be seen getting prepped for a run.
Please rewind the film when you are done watching it.
My school teachers would become so vexed when they had to rewind the film before presenting it and also after.
My father’s cousin was the C/o of HMMTB 638, he was killed in an action off the Tunisian coast where an Italian boat the Sagittario and aircraft attacked his boat, April 1943.
When I was 11, a new teacher joined our school. He had been an RN lieutenant commanding a MGB based at Weymouth. I think he was hero worshiped by just about all the boys in the school. If you had him as one of your teachers then, at the end of term, after exams were over you could persuade him to tell the odd tale or two. He mentioned that you only made contact with the enemy very occasionally, that firefights only lasted for minutes, at most, and a direct hit from single 5 inch shell from a destroyer, would leave virtually no trace of the boat or crew. Operating at night, they would hightail it out to sea, then sit silently listening for E-boats or other ships.
He had the DCM.
There’s 1 of those boats by me under restoration it’s in the water I’ve seen it moving at speed that’s a sight to behold
4:10 "Regular little assault craft, isn't she?" Hilarious!
I loved this. Great stuff. When we worked as one.
My late grandfather CPO RG Watts commanded MTB's in coastal waters and the Med 1940/42
God bless those Brits. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
That was spiffing. I loved the clipped and plummy middle-class accents. Top Hole...
Just as well they put their plummy spiffing accents on the line or you would be speaking German now.
Wow! You see that handler flinch every time the twin Vickers K guns are fired? I bet I would've felt the same.
"Woah! That's too loud, too dangerous, and too close!"
Yeah, I noticed that too, probably bloody deafened.
One of the crew says. "I think its a waste of good engines". Wartime boats used aircraft petrol engines which were not built to take the stress and failed regularly. They must have been scary to use with all that flammable fuel about. The Germans had bigger (but very fast) diesel powered Schnellboots (E-Boats).
There's an ex MTB running around South Devon. It has the amazing Deltic engines so was re-engined post-war or it's a later hull. There is also an E-Boat near Plymouth to be restored by Kevin Wheatcroft (race track owner) but money has stopped progress.
David -perhaps for this reason the Admiralty commissioned the building of 9 Steam Gunboats by Denny, Glasgow powered by early steam turbines (with plans for many more). They were larger and extremely fast but had two initial limitations compared with MTB- Slow startup time because of the need to “flash” the boiler plus vulnerability to direct fire (no armour to protect boiler/turbines to save weight). My father was First Lt of SGB7 which after sinking a German ship in 1941, was scuttled after a direct hit to the boiler immobilised it. It was the only SGB lost during the war but no more were built and the remaining 8 were armoured. Fortunately all the crew were picked up and spent the war as POWs.
Actually they used marine engines, no aircraft types. Packard 2500's as I recall.
th-cam.com/video/BoSXhLATGWE/w-d-xo.html
@@WALTERBROADDUS Yes they were !!! The Brits came to the USA looking for boats, planes engines. The Brits had the Merlin earmarked for aircraft and PACKARD supplied their M2500's to the US Navy and the Brits, some 14,000 M2500's were built, thats 25oo cu in of supercharged engine, most were 1500 HP the later version went to 1850 !!! And no the M2500 was NOT a Packard built merlin, Packard did build the merlin but three years later and they went to the Brits for aircraft !! !
@@wilburfinnigan2142 I suggest you reread my comments you are replying to? Packard Marine engines have nothing to do aircraft engines built under license.
12:39. Now I know where the actor who portrayed Blakey on On The Buses got his inspiration from!
Interesting to see Weymouth during the war. It hasn't actually changed that much.
Thought I recognised it...
@@nemo6686 I live there. Hardly changed at all!
Just the housing prices! I can't imagine what those quayside buildings sell for nowadays.
A lot of the crew on these vessels were teenagers and early 20's . We live on a different planet today.
We really don't. Well, we have better tracking of birth records, so people like my old friend John MacDonald of the Back-of-Kepoch can't go to war with their trawler by saying they were 16 when they were actually 14. He was sunk while sweeping mines in the channel, but obviously survived. The youngest Brit to die in Afghanistan was 18, in the Falklands the youngest was 17. We still send the youngest we can to fight wars. They are more bidable and haven't learned they are mortal.
@@cageordie I had an old mate in New Zealand years ago, who i saw attending a Maori battalion reunion .I asked if he was there on his late fathers behalf, as he was a lot younger than the rest of the soldiers present. but said No, he was a big kid and signed up at 14 .He fought in Greece, Crete North Africa and Italy .
I remember the last two proper MTB’s. Brave Borderer and Brave Swordsman
Great film. Thanks for posting.
W
I used to know an old chap who was on these boats. He told me that each of the 3 engines used 150 gallons of gas per hour. He said the German E-boats passed them like they were standing still.
love this film thank you
Must be a pretty calm sea state. The Ratings in the engine all calmly sipping away.
Grandad was a stoker on one of those round Africa and Vietnam
This was fantastic thanks
Another great video rescued!
E boats were a nasty thing to encounter and sank US shipping during D-Day rehearsals on Slapton beach with heavy loss of life. The screen
destroyer had to suddenly go in for urgent maintenance. Shame there weren't any MTBs/MGBs available.
Good little film. Did you notice at 5.00 min the Commander giving a left handed salute? We used to do that to snotties.
Yes, but a few seconds later, when they leave, the salutes were both right handed! Probably because these were actors, not actually sailors!
@@davebinks They were all actual Officers and Enlisted acting
What on earth are ‘snotties?’ If you must use slang, then explain yourself.
@@heli-crewhgs5285 Midshipman. They were very young, starting at 12 in the 18th century, hence the nickname.
great pictures of weymouth dorset during the war or just after , this was a mtb base
I kove these old films
What a great film!
Can't remember its title but I have an interesting book (up in the loft maybe..?) written by someone who served on them. Quite often instead of the Hollywood dramatic high speed torpedo launch (which he says will send them plunging to the depths!) they would sneak across the bows of cargo targets and drop depth charges on short fuses. Many brutal battles with the deadly E-boats (S-boats more accurately) who, with their diesel engines, could take a lot of hits and were well armed. Must read it again soon.
Go through the comments, someone else posted about their schoolmaster writing a book about his experiences...Gunboat 658
Good film, thanks.
A smashing film, thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the "wavy" comment. Subscribe and consider becoming a channel member th-cam.com/video/ODBW3pVahUE/w-d-xo.html
A fascinating film but also reading the comments about people's relatives
Interesting how at 4:55 the officer going up the steps salutes with his left hand, and then on saying goodbye, salutes with the correct (right) hand. :)
Those were the days we were still proud to call ourselves British !
I still am, well English. It's all the others.
So am i ,four years on,and i always will be untill the day i croak, so keep it up bruver and stay strong., 👍.
Where can I find the song in this film “you’ll never get to heaven in an mtb”. P.s. it’s so refreshing to be able to hear clearly pronounced English. My hearing problems are made no more when people try to pronounce words correctly instead of being lazy or even attacking people for wanting to pronounce properly.
@Destraex It's an old British (originally US ) song in the form of a "call and response round". The main singer of each verse often makes up the words, (so therefore getting this exact song is going to be difficult) and then the other singers repeat, and there's a chorus e.g.
C) "You'll never get to Heaven"
R) "You'll never get to Heaven"
C) "in an MTB (insert as appropriate, I remember a verse where it was TR7- a type of car)"
R) "in an MTB"
C) "'cos (short for because) an MTB"
R) "'cos (short for because) an MTB"
C) " only goes to sea!"
R) " only goes to sea!"
(C&R) - repeat all lines together
(Chorus)
The base song is called "I Ain't Gonna Grieve My Lord No More" and some sample lyrics can be found at www.bethsnotesplus.com/2018/07/aint-gonna-grieve-my-lord-no-more.html.
Also, this video will give you an idea of the tune (and some lyrics) here: th-cam.com/video/5ptb9Vjs9CE/w-d-xo.html (and other places).
The main singer involves each of the others by making up a verse about each of them.
Apparently the Americans worked out that just rolling the torpedoes over the side was just as effective as the projectile launch.
Actually what happened is a change to aerial type torpedoes. They were lighter and did not need tubes.
The original US torpedos were from WW1 and notorious for not exploding...
Those three Packard engines in one boat sounded so delicious.
It's a common misconception that they are Rolls Royce Merlin engines made by Packard.
However, the Packard marine engine was 25% bigger than the RR aero.
For decades I believed them to be Merlin's after reading it in a novel.
Not Merlins. Packard Marine engines.
@@WALTERBROADDUS Thanks.
I found this out about 2 weeks ago and couldn't remember where I'd left this mistaken comment.
I put it somewhere else too. If you come across it please let me know so I can do something about it.
What books that from then mate???? Or do you meen the Packards that was a copy of RR for license?, in fact was it because all MTB was built to the same copy of such licence only with alco and higgins given the licence to copy such boats as in pt6 the first ever, or was it because the factory got bombed at the time so they had to use american made packards because the licence of the english designed MTB was already in place???, if not why didn't the brits just shove their own engine in their fairmiles and vospers and Pt's???? After all they did design them and make them at home for their own aircraft??, so give me your source please?..
In Wikipedia it says Packard marine engines were bigger than Merlin's, and that only the Canadians had had tried three Merlins in a MTB. It didn't give any figures I can remember except the Packard marine was a different engine, 25% bigger or 25% more powerful than a Merlin, better suited for boats.
No doubt the Brits kept their RR's for Hurricane's Spitfire's etc. etc....the Packard's for boats.
@@cozmcwillie7897 (NO) figure's means irrelevant then?, and now people are realising how unreliable Wikipedia is these days? , unless it hasnt been taken from a source from history books or ones on the subject in question, then it should be taken with a pinch of salt im affraid and one should do a further assessment on their own research to gain some insight and not to just rely on what they have been told on the net as gospel..
Aye, those lads in the new fangled MTB's, what will they think of next? Radar? Armour?
People may laugh at the Brits and their colonial back up, but they smashed the crap out of their foes more than once.
Watch a movie. It's called _The Ship That Died Of Shame_ I can't remember if it was an MTB or an MGB. It was a quite good movie.
Yep, Anthony Steele, Dickie Attenborough, great film.
That was an MGB. The film's based on a Nicholas Monsarrat short story.
At 04:55
The senior officer, climbing the steps, returned the salute with his left hand.
HIS LEFT HAND?
Somebody (director?) must have put him right when they saluted at departure.
Got a kick out of the "Canadian" with the British accent. Good of them to acknowledge our contribution, though.
9:16 I'll take the tall one on the left.
He was Canadian, all right, speaking the way educated Canadians used to speak, before we were completely drowned in American "culture".
@@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry Ayup. Though we do have our own regional accents. I spent twenty odd years in the Maritimes. Coming from Southern Ontario they thought I was a Yank. Moved back to Southern Ontario, tey tink I'm a Newfie.
@@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry We had the chance of American know how, British government, and French culture. We got American culture, French government, and British know how.
@@kleinjahr welcome back!
Stirring stuff!
I wonder when they started giving the guys in the engine room hearing protection?
Catcrumbs
Pardon?
I said "I WONDER WHEN THEY STARTED GIVING THE GUYS IN THE ENGINE ROOM HEARING PROTECTION?". I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN SUBJECT TO A SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCE?
God Bless the HMS Queen Elizabeth and all who sail in her!
Glancing too quickly, I read this as something about the " broad .410's"
This film was narrated by Miles Cholmondley-Warner.
Any body know of any war films of this type. Love the old British war movies.
Try "The ship that died of shame". British MTBs & MGBS in action, a good story too. Early on is a scene of dozens of MTBs ready for scrapping or sale.
That is a horrible crime caper film, IMO.
If you watch these with the Closed Captioning on you'll die laughing. CC has a problem with a proper British accent.
Good old weymouth harbour , wish i could have seen in the day 😊😊
These training and propaganda films are priceless.One wonders of the originals exist, and if they could be transferred/scanned at a higher resolution??
Actor James Robertson justice narrating
I have a book printed on 1944 about Royal Navy light Coastal Force, There is a very great books about The Dog Boats. and a famous C. O MGB sqt
This period was the best for style. Men wore suits and hats with polished shoes and ties and the women were all slim and wore beautifully feminine dresses and "sensible" shoes and pretty hats. Now days men wear shit that looks like they are homeless or on the street and the women dress like over made up slapper street hookers and we are all fat slobs. Manners and good behavior in public are things of the past. EVERYONE is so selfish and self absorbed in their cell phones posting shit that would bore someone watching paint dry. And NOBODY knows how to park a car without taking two spaces because they can't think of anyone else. And I'm a junkie! I wonder why? A bit disappointed with life as we live it now I guess it's a cop out. Well why not. I'm sick of being the best dressed guy everywhere I go and making a spectacle of my self.
There are men these days who wear hats and suits with polished shoes.
And back then rationing was on so of course the ladies were thin.
Boy you speak utter clap trap
I haven't seen many and America wasn't rationed. Boy you speak utter clap trap! And not a word about the evil corporate junk food industry and the amount of SUGAR, SALT, FATS and so called energy drinks and alcohol and tobacco? I guess you don't think they play a part in the obesity that is going to ruin every health care system IN THE WORLD. Clap trap you say? Yes you did say it! Still, what did I expect on UT! An intelligent debate? More fool me. OK? You got me in the arse. Well done.
@Paul Zeigler take your incel winkie issues and shove 'em where the sun don't shine, bubbles. And if ever you'd spent a day in uniform, you'd realise the importance of prompt contact reporting. Twat.
I had a couple of uncles that served on the MBT,s out of the Tyne they covered a huge stretch of the North Sea from there
OOP,s typo MTB
Wow when I served with rn I was drafted aboard one myb to Denmark and back the exhaust glowed white hot
Was part of this this filmed in Weymouth, Dorset? From 9.20 to 9.30 it looks like the Nothe Fort in amongst and the trees and Stone Pier with the chalk hills and cliffs across other bay at Rinagstead.
Those "Canadians" had strong British accents
What sort of MTB was that representing. I thought that all active service UK MTB's had either 3 or 4 engines, mainly Packard or Isotta but that one only appeared to have 2 engines or was that just artistic licence by the film makers.
May have been swapped out from originals and only two used !!!
Wasn't there a serial in The Victor based on the exploits of an MTB commander?
I'll bet they were as good as PT-73, star of Mchale's Navy.
North 75 west. Look at a compass rose. North is obvious. 75 degrees is roughly ENE. West is west. I've never heard a more confusing bearing in my life. 34:33
That would be a course of 285 degrees in modern parlance. (360 minus75. ) The RN was a stickler for using terms that dated back hundreds of years
And now we can't (or won't?) stop a single rubber dinghy crossing the Channel! God help us!
7:48...Sid James.
Too many ads.