MAS 561

This page is about the Italian motor torpedo boat MAS 561. For other versions, see MAS 500 (Family).

MAS 561

RN Aviere

VAS 201

MAS 561

RN Aviere

VAS 201

Italy

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Motor torpedo boat

Boat

Research:Free

Purchase:Free

Show in game

Description

The MAS 561 was a motor torpedo boat (Motoscafo Armato Silurante) of the MAS 500 class whose purpose was to attack enemy ships, and anti-submarine and escort operations. Built in 1941 with the others of the 3rd Series, the MAS 561 in particular was captured during the 1943 armistice of Italy by the Italians of the RSI (Italian Socialist Republic) i.e. the allies of Germany before the end of the war, and modified to add two Breda-SAFAT (12.7 mm) single mount machine guns, to increase its effectiveness against enemy Allied boats and to be used as anti-aircraft against enemy aircraft. Eventually, it was taken by the Germans and sank with its entire crew on 23 April 1945.

Introduced in Update "Raining Fire", the MAS 561 replaced the old reserve boat (MAS 555). It is the first Italian coastal ship you will play, and thanks to its speed you will be able to approach enemy ships quickly and launch torpedoes or depth charges causing serious damage to the enemy ship or its direct destruction. The armament consists of two 12.7 mm and one 20 mm guns, giving you good firepower against coastal boats. However, it is very fragile to enemy hits having little armour and a small crew.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull40 mm (wood)

Superstructure15 mm (wood)

Number of section3

Displacement29 t

Crew15 people

This ship has the entire hull made of wood, more precisely 40 mm of wood for the hull and 15 mm for the superstructure. Against all expectations, this wood is much more effective than one might think, in fact as a reserve boat the MAS 561 is one of the most resistant to damage. It can withstand rounds up to 20 mm, although after 20 mm it will only take a few moments to sink. There are 15 sailors, which may seem few but are enough compared to the 6 members of the G-5 and 7 of the LS 3. The advantage of having a relatively small ship and many members is that it will not take long to repair and extinguish fires on the ship.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB112 / 45 km/h

RB80 / 32 km/h

The MAS 561 is propelled to a speed of 80 km/h thanks to 2 engines of 500 horsepower. The peculiarity of the MAS is that its 2 engines are civilian engines, not special engines for the armed forces. These two engines are also capable of going to -33 km/h.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	112	45
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	80	32

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

ABfree

RBfree

Total cost of modifications3 310

153

Talisman cost190

Crew trainingfree

Experts1 000

Aces10

Research Aces80 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

10 / 10 / 100 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 330 Cost: 15 45 Rudder Replacement Propeller Replacement Engine Maintenance	Damage Control Division Fire Division Smokescreen Research: 240 Cost: 11 30 New Pumps	20mm_it_breda_he_ammo_pack Research: 330 Cost: 15 45 12mm_breda_safat_incendiary_ammo_pack Research: 330 Cost: 15 45 Auxiliary Armament Targeting 20mm_it_breda_ap_ammo_pack Research: 240 Cost: 11 30 12mm_breda_safat_ap_ammo_pack Research: 240 Cost: 11 30 Primary Armament Targeting Depth Charges Research: 540 Cost: 25 70 Artillery Support Research: 530 Cost: 25 70 Torpedo Mode Research: 530 Cost: 25 70

Armament

Primary armament

Turret20 mm/65 Breda anti-aircraft gun

Ammunition1500 rounds

Belt capacity12 rounds

Fire rate240 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 90°

2 х Turret12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT heavy machine gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity50 rounds

Fire rate701 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 65°

The primary armament is composed of two 12.7 mm and a 20 mm, thanks to its 2 x 12.7 mm machine guns MAS 561 can cause serious damage in a short time to enemy ships, while the 20 mm causes little damage and has a very low rate of fire.

20mm/65 Breda

• Universal: API-T · HEFI-T*
• HE belt: HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · API-T
• AP belt: API-T · API-T · API-T · HEFI-T*

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEFI-T*	4	4	4	4	4	4
API-T	38	36	27	19	14	10

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEFI-T*	830	0.14	0	0.1	3	79°	80°	81°
API-T	832	0.14	0.001	1	1.7	47°	60°	65°

12.7mm Breda-SAFAT

• Universal: AP-T · AI · Ball · IAI
• Incendiary: I · API-T · I · IAI
• AP belt: AP-T · AP · API-T · AP

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
IAI	3	2	2	2	2	2
AP-T	21	20	17	13	10	8
Ball	19	18	14	11	8	6
AI	2	2	2	2	2	2
API-T	21	20	17	13	11	8
I	20	19	16	12	10	8
AP	21	20	17	13	10	8

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
IAI	760	0.04	0	0.1	0.4	47°	56°	65°
AP-T	760	0.04	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
Ball	760	0.03	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
AI	760	0.04	0	3	1.02	47°	56°	65°
API-T	760	0.04	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
I	760	0.03	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
AP	760	0.04	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°

Additional armament

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

Setup 22 x B TG depth charge

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

2 x B TG depth charge

The MAS 561 is equipped with two types of additional armament. The first one is the W.200 torpedo, a torpedo that can navigate up to 81 km/h for 3 km. With the torpedo mode modification, the torpedo will lose 7 km/h but in compensation it gains 1,000 m of range. These torpedoes are excellent for quick attacks on larger ships. With their good speed and 200 kg of explosive, it will be child's play to sink a ship.

The second additional armament of the MAS 561 is the B TG depth charge, two of these charges can be equipped and being positioned in the back of the ship will be easier to use. The B TGs with their 60 kg of explosive each are very effective to destroy ships that get a little too close, you can also flank the big ships and throw them at them.

Usage in battles

To engage other small ships, it is better to maximize your firepower shooting from the side so you can use the machine guns and the 20 mm cannon at the same time.

To engage strafing aircraft, move in the same direction as the aircraft, lock the target, go to the gun sight view and lead your fire to the engine of the plane or cockpit if its a twin-engine plane. Once you destroyed it, or if you are not able to hit it, change direction with a sharp turn to avoid their return fire, as the plane is usually not as manoeuvrable as the boat.

To engage larger ships, you should use islands as cover to hide from their fire. It is useful to think a route to your target or destination (capture point, ambush position, etc) right from the start having all the present cover of the map and allies into account. To attack, you must get as close as possible to the target without getting destroyed. To do this, you must make sure the large ship is engaged in a firefight with another ship. Hold your fire to remain undetected and sneak to your target at high speed. Once you are close enough to launch a torpedo, launch them and get back behind cover as fast as possible using a smoke screen or terrain to conceal your escape.

The MAS 561 is a rather odd ship, despite being the reserve ship equipped with the largest calibre armament, its rate of fire and small magazine, as well as its inability to fire directly forward, drastically limit its potential. However, it can still be a significant threat to other ships. The best strategy when using the cannon is not to sail forward, but to turn your back on the enemy. This way you can use the full operational area of the weapon while exposing little of the hull, which increases the ship's survivability by a few crucial seconds. The best way is to stay behind cover and only move backwards when engaging and then return to cover. One-on-one combat against almost any other reserve will not work in your favour, so the element of surprise is very important.

Pros and cons

Pro:

• Good top speed - 80 km/h in RB, 112 km/h in AB
• Good turn time (~20 seconds AB/RB)
• Good torpedoes (speed 74 km/h, range 4 km, explosive mass 200 kg)
• Good acceleration
• Good armament: two 12.7 mm machine guns and one 20 mm cannon
• Effective 12.7 mm machine gun

Cons:

• No armour
• 20 mm has small magazines and slow rate of fire (~3 seconds for reload after 12 rounds)
• Terrible survivability (compared to other ships)
• The 20 mm cannon is positioned at the back
• Angle of fire of the 20 mm cannon only 270°, the cannon can't shoot towards the front of the ship
• No anti-aircraft protection
• Aircraft can strafe the ship and knock it out with a few well placed shots.

History

After the armistice announced by Pietro Badoglio, 8 September 1943, the various military forces of the Kingdom of Italy were divided, and in 23 September 1943, Mussolini succeeded in founding the RSI (Italian Social Republic) and founded a new military corps to counter the Allies who continued to advance into Italy. In particular, the MNR (National Republican Navy), the fascist navy of the RSI, put into service former ships of the Regia Marina, one of which was the MAS 561. It was scheduled to be transferred to the Adriatic Sea, but was not carried out.

Later it was put into service, but before service in the MNR it was modified with the addition of two 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT.

Later the MAS 561 was renamed SA 16 for German purposes.

On 23 April 1945, the MAS 561 sank with its entire crew.

Media

Images

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See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Cantieri Navali Baglietto
Motor Torpedo Boats
MAS 500-class	MAS 561 · MAS 569
Submarine Chasers
MAS 438-class	MAS 441
VAS Type I	VAS 201