MS-472

This page is about the Italian motor torpedo boat MS-472. For other versions, see MS (Family).

MS-472

GIS 811

MC-490

MS-472

GIS 811

MC-490

Italy

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

Motor torpedo boat

Boat

Research:48 000

Purchase:180 000

Show in game

Description

The CRDA 60t Convertible, MS-472 is a rank III Italian motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull40 mm (wood)

Superstructure15 mm (wood)

Number of section3

Displacement63 t

Crew20 people

The MS-472 is entirely unarmoured apart from the 40mm of wood comprising the hull, making it fairly weak overall. It also has a relatively small crew count of 19 members, and this in tandem with the lack of armour will see this vessel knocked out fairly quickly if repeatedly hit. The vessel is also fairly long, making it quite easy to hit at ranges which also hurts its survivability. It's effectively vulnerable everywhere, so a less aggressive play-style will see it stay in the fight longer.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB86 / 33 km/h

RB61 / 23 km/h

This vessel is fairly fast but not so much manoeuvrable, it can reach a decent speed in a straight line but due to the length of the craft it struggles to complete a turn swiftly. It's also fairly unresponsive with accelerating and decelerating, which makes backing out of a dangerous situation very difficult, the poor reactive mobility tied with the lack of armour protection means you need to be bit more careful with choosing engagements when using this craft, it may be fast in a straight line but as it has no passive protection it can't constantly use that mobility to reliable effect.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	86	33
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	61	23

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 552 → 1 910

RB2 108 → 2 594

Total cost of modifications45 600

97 500

Talisman cost1 300

Crew training52 000

Experts180 000

Aces700

Research Aces390 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

110 / 180 / 100 %

154 / 154 / 154 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 3 000 Cost: 6 400 185 Rudder Replacement Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 600 160 Propeller Replacement Research: 3 800 Cost: 8 100 230 Engine Maintenance Research: 3 700 Cost: 7 900 230	Damage Control Division Research: 3 000 Cost: 6 400 185 Fire Division Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 600 160 Smokescreen Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 600 160 New Pumps Research: 3 700 Cost: 7 900 230	40 mm HE clips Research: 3 000 Cost: 6 400 185 40 mm AP clips Research: 2 600 Cost: 5 600 160 Primary Armament Targeting Research: 3 800 Cost: 8 100 230 Depth Charges Research: 3 800 Cost: 8 100 230 Artillery Support Research: 3 700 Cost: 7 900 230 Torpedo Mode Research: 3 700 Cost: 7 900 230

Armament

Primary armament

Turret40 mm Bofors L/60 Mark 3 gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity4 rounds

Fire rate160 shots/min

Vertical guidance-6° / 90°

This vessel is equipped with a single 40mm Bofors cannon, functionally the same variant used on many British and American light craft. Despite its relatively slow fire rate it deals a great amount of damage, and is also fairly easy to aim at range, allowing this vessel a lot of versatility in where you choose to engage. However, there is a large dead-zone towards the rear of the craft where the 40mm cannot cover, and as it's lacking any secondary weapons it becomes very vulnerable from the rear. This also means the primary cannon is the only defence against aircraft as well, a single well placed shot from the cannon will usually cripple an enemy aircraft, but the slow fire rate and dead-zone can make a manoeuvring aircraft quite hard to hit. The cannon comes with three belts-

• Default- 1-1 Armour piecing and high explosive, a good versatile mix of rounds.

• HE- Majority high explosive belt, does the most structural damage to unarmoured vessels and aircraft.

• AP- Majority AP belt, weaker structural damage but able to penetrate armoured craft, damage internal modules and set off ammo racks.

Overall, the HE majority belt will do the most damage against most of the common craft you'll be encountering around the battle rating, but it's recommended to carry some AP belts to combat armoured craft, as these rounds will easily be able to get through most armour. They are also very capable of setting off ammo racks, an accurate burst into the ammo will commonly destroy most enemy vessels, so if you encounter a large enemy with a lot of crew, it's recommended to load the AP and aim for the ammo racks.

Additional armament

Setup 12 x 450 mm steam turbined W.200/450X5,75 torpedo

Setup 28 x B TG 100 depth charge

Setup 32 x 450 mm steam turbined W.200/450X5,75 torpedo

8 x B TG 100 depth charge

The MS-472 carries two W.200/450X5,75 torpedoes, which contain an explosive mass of 200kg, which isn't quite as powerful as torpedoes used by other nations, however they will easily be able to take down the light patrol craft commonly encountered around the battle rating. They travel fairly fast but have a somewhat limited range of only 3km, meaning they can't be safely used to combat Destroyers at significant ranges, they're perfectly adequate for close range engagements with lighter craft however.

The MS-472 can also carry eight BTG 100 Depth Charges, which can be used to destroy trailing enemy vessels. They have quite limited use overall however, and can rarely be used to good effect as engagements in which they have an actual use is quite rare. They can easily knock out larger vessels if you're able to sneak up on them, but this is a rather inconsistent tactic, they're the most useful when being tailed by an enemy vessel, especially as the the MS-472 has no weaponry facing rearwards. If an enemy is in close proximity to the rear of the craft these charges can be dropped to sink them, however it requires very precise timing and overall isn't hugely reliable as a defensive weapon.

Usage in battles

The MS-472 engaging an enemy from cover

The MS-472 is a fairly niche vessel but it does fill that niche quite well, the frontally mounted 40mm cannon will do great at dealing with the bulk of enemies around the battle rating, but the lack of almost any defensive attributes mean that playing it more defensively is required to keep it in the fight longer. Arguably the most important aspect to mastering this vessel is where to position it, it's important to find a spot that offers both an active sight-line that will let you engage enemies, while also offering substantial cover for the vessel itself. As it is very weak and long, a good option for positioning yourself would be to stick the front portion of the boat out of cover, while leaving the middle and rearward sections in cover, as there is no weaponry present on these sections of the boat there's no real need to have them out of cover; as all this does is give your enemies more of you to shoot at. To have total combat effectiveness only the front of the boat needs to be able to engage targets, so this style of positioning is key.

It's important to be careful when traversing the map and leaving cover, this vessel isn't very quick to engage reverse, so if you sail out of cover and into the path of multiple enemy boats you'll likely take critical damage. This boat is weak to practically all types of weaponry, so tanking shots isn't really a viable option in any situation. If you're approaching the end of a stretch of cover make sure to slow down before you leave it, this way you can scout the area ahead for enemies and work out the best move. The majority HE belt will be best for engaging most of the enemies you'll fight, as they're overall unarmoured and HE will do the most structural damage. If you encounter a Russian river boat or a large gunboat however it's recommended to switch to AP to take them out, large gunboats like the Syonan, MPK, and the British Isles and Flower class vessels are too large to safely take out quickly with just using the HE belt, but they do have large, weak ammo racks under the guns, and a good burst of AP rounds into these racks will generally blow these vessels up, this is a much faster way to engage and dispatch these large craft. Alternatively you could make use of the torpedoes against these vessels as they do have a high speed, making it hard for large ships to avoid them.

This boat leads itself to a much more defensive play-style, staying in cover and waiting for enemy vessels to come to you, this ship has no defensive fallbacks and can therefore only rely on the firepower, which can be best made use of when positioned partially in cover. The 40mm cannon is able to knock out targets at a few kilometres range quite easily due to the high velocity, meaning that it isn't necessary to get very close to enemies most of the time. In close quarters engagements this vessel does struggle due to the dead-zone, lack of reactive mobility and armour, so you'll want to avoid getting too close most of the time. All-in-all, try not to be too aggressive, and stay around some form of hard cover, and if you start to take fire simply back off, repair and re-engage.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Effective primary weapon
• Versatile ammo options
• Decent top speed

Cons:

• No secondary weapons
• Large rearward dead-zone
• Large turning radius
• Comparatively weak and vulnerable

History

MS-472

The MS-472 is a CRDA 60t (MS) motor torpedo boat. It received this designation after World War II, and is one of the 8 (out of 14 surviving) MS ships the Italian navy was allowed to keep after the war. The terms of the 1947 Paris peace treaty also required the removal of torpedo launchers, which were added back after Italy's entry to NATO. The two surving MS boats of the first series (which did not have the tail-mounted MAS-style torpedo tubes) were upgraded to the second-series spec.

The MS 472, 473, 474 and 481 received modernization work in 1956, creating the CRDA 60t Convertible with the goal of serving as a flexible unit able to function as a torpedo boat (1 forward 40mm gun and 2 torpedo tubes), gun boat (2 40mm guns), or a fast mine layer (1 forward 40mm gun and minelayer). The ships received a new 3×1,500 hp pulpusion system, radio, radar, and a deck rearrangement and served in the 42nd torpedo squadron, mostly in the Adriatic. The MS-472 in game reperesents the torpedo boat configuration; the MS-473 represents the gun boat.

The MS-472 and MS-473 were put out of service in the late 1970s. MS-472 is on exhibit as a monument in Ravenna, while the MS-473 remains in storage at the Naval History Museum of Venice.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the MS-472 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

• 110 ft SC-497
• Fairmile C (312)
• Type K-3 / No.1 Class