MTB Vosper(2)

MTB Vosper(2)

MTB Vosper

ML 1383

MTB Vosper(2)

MTB Vosper

ML 1383

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.7	1.7

Class:

Motor torpedo boat

Boat

Research:4 000

Purchase:2 100

Show in game

Description

The MTB Vosper 2 series is a rank I British motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea" as part of the British fleet closed beta test.

General info

Survivability and armour

Vosper 2 series has the following armour layout:

• 20 mm Oerlikon Mk.II gunshield: 12.7 mm hardened armour
• Hull: 24 mm, wood
• Superstructure: 15 mm, wood

Vosper 2 series internals (starboard side). Note the ammo storages below the bridge.

Any gun in the game will easily be able to penetrate anywhere on the boat, including the gunshield, at practically any range. Vosper 2 series can also be hull-broken by any gun larger than 4 inches (102 mm). At Vosper 2 series' battle rating, the only gun that can hull-break it is the 8cwt QF Mk I, found on Dark Adventurer. Although they may seem like disadvantages at first, the lack of armour and the ability to be hull-broken are traits that apply to the vast majority of boats in tier 1 and tier 2. In this aspect, Vosper 2 series isn't better or worse off compared to any other boat.

Vosper 2 series' hull is split into three compartments. The first compartment starts at the bow and ends just in front of the forward gun mounts. The second starts at the forward gun mounts and ends in front of the engines. The third starts at the engines and ends at the stern. Overall, with a crew complement of 12, survivability is average.

Of note are the ammo storages located just underneath the bridge. Destroying these will also destroy the rest of the boat. In practice, though, this almost never happens, since most guns at this battle rating are either machine guns or low-calibre autocannons which require many hits to destroy ammo storages. It's often both quicker and easier to target the hull compartments and knock out the crew.

Mobility

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	76	26	~23.68	~47.11
	Upgraded	104	35	~16.33	~31.04
RB/SB	Stock	64	22	~26.53	~53.95
	Upgraded	74	25	~21.99	~43.75

Armament

Primary armament

In her main armament group, Vosper 2 series has one 20 mm Oerlikon Mk.II in a single mount, mounted centerline in front of the bridge. It has 1,980 rounds of ammunition available. The mount can traverse horizontally at a rate of 75°/s and vertically at a rate of 75°/s. The gun has a belt capacity of 60 rounds and has a rate of fire of 450 rounds/min. With a stock crew, it can be reloaded in 5.2 seconds; with an aced crew, it can be reloaded in 4 seconds. Its maximum range against surface targets is roughly 2.1 km.

Guidance for the Main Gun Turret
Horizontal	Vertical
±180°	-10°/+60°

There are three choices of ammunition available:

• Universal: HEF-T/HEF-I/AP-T

• 20 mm HE: HEF-T/HEF-I/AP-T/HEF-I

• 20 mm AP: AP-T/AP-T/AP-T/HEF-I

Penetration Statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Universal	39	36	29	23	20	17
20 mm HE	39	36	29	23	20	17
20 mm AP	39	36	29	23	20	17

Secondary armament

In her secondary armament group, Vosper 2 series has two 12.7 mm Vickers Mk.V guns in a twin mount, mounted centerline behind the bridge. It has 5,200 rounds of ammunition available, 2,600 rounds per gun. The mount can traverse horizontally at a rate of 75°/s and vertically at a rate of 75°/s. Each gun has a belt capacity of 200 rounds, and they both have a stated rate of fire of 600 rounds/min, though, in actuality, the gun on the gunner's right side fires faster, around 700 rounds/min, firing all 200 of its rounds in the time it takes the left side gun to fire about 170 rounds. With a stock crew, the guns can be reloaded in 5.2 seconds; with an aced crew, they can be reloaded in 4 seconds. Their maximum range against surface targets is roughly 2 km.

Guidance for the Secondary Gun Turret
Horizontal	Vertical
±180°	-10°/+70°

There are three choices of ammunition available:

• Universal: T/AP/I

• 12.7 mm I: T/I/I/I/I

• 12.7 mm API: T/AP/I/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
Universal	27	26	23	20	18	16
12.7 mm I	22	21	18	16	14	12
12.7 mm API	27	26	23	20	18	16

Torpedo armament

Vosper 2 series has two torpedo tubes, one on each side of the bridge, and can carry two 533 mm Mk.VIII torpedoes. The torpedo tubes are pointed forwards, but they are angled outwards on each side and are fixed, requiring the boat to be turned in order to aim them.

Torpedo Characteristics
Torpedo Mode	Mass (kg)	Maximum speed in water (km/h)	Travel distance (km)	Depth stroke (m)	Arming distance (m)	Explosive type	Explosive mass (kg)	TNT equivalent (kg)
No	1566	84	4.57	1	50	TNT	327	327
Yes	1566	76	6.40	1	50	TNT	327	327

The Torpedo Mode modification is available as a tier IV modification. Installing it has the following changes:

Torpedo Mode Specification Changes
Max Distance (m)	Max Speed (m/s)
+1830	-1

Special armament

Mk.VII depth charges numbered 1-4 according to the order in which they're dropped (click to expand).

Vosper 2 series can carry four Mk.VII depth charges just behind the bridge, three on each side facing outwards. The depth charges are dropped one at a time and drop in this order:

1. Portside, foremost
2. Starboard side, foremost
3. Portside, aftmost
4. Starboard side, aftmost

Before spawning, the detonation time delay can be set anywhere between 3 seconds and 10 seconds.

Depth Charge Characteristics
Mass (kg)	Explosive Type	Explosive Mass (kg)	TNT Equivalent (kg)
196	TNT	130	130

Usage in battles

Vosper 2 series is the first boat in the British naval tech tree to be fitted with the 20 mm Oerlikon Mk.II cannon. The Oerlikon Mk.II is a very common gun found all throughout the US and British naval tech trees, and it's a fantastic one at that. With both a very good damage output and a maximum range of about 2.1 km, the Oerlikon Mk.II is a nice change in pace compared to the armament of previous boats. Although they may not be as hard-hitting as the 2 cm/65 C/38 (20 mm), another very common 20 mm gun, the Oerlikon Mk.II has a much larger belt size of 60 rounds, compared to the 40 rounds of the 2 cm/65 C/38. Even with a large capacity belt, it's still good practice to fire off any remaining ammunition after engagements to have the belt be at full capacity for the next engagement. With 1,980 rounds of ammunition, running out of ammunition shouldn't ever really be a concern.

As for her secondaries, Vosper 2 series has a twin 12.7 mm Vickers Mk.V mount. Though lacking the punch of the Oerlikon Mk.II individually, the Vickers Mk.V guns have a better rate of fire, and, together, the two guns have roughly the same damage output as the single 20 mm. Still, the single Oerlikon Mk.II is the better weapon for two reasons: 1) the HE rounds have HE filler, which means that they start fires much more often, even compared to the Vickers Mk.V's incendiary rounds; 2) it can fire directly forwards. This second point is particularly important because it means that it can be fired without exposing the rear and sides of the boat, which greatly increases survivability.

Aim to always keep the bow pointed directly towards the enemy, exposing as little of the sides as possible. This does mean that the rear gun mount won't be able to fire at all, but since it's controlled by the AI gunners, it generally isn't worth sacrificing survivability over. In most cases, it's better to just set the secondaries to target aircraft only and forget about them, relying only on the Oerlikon Mk.II and manually switching to the secondaries only if the Oerlikon Mk.II is knocked out or during reloads.

Both the Oerlikon Mk.II mount and Vickers Mk.V mount have very good firing arcs. The single Oerlikon Mk.II mount can fire in a roughly 157° arc to either side, centered directly forwards, and the twin Vickers Mk.V mount can also fire in a roughly 157° arc to either side, this time centered directly rearwards. Though both guns have a maximum range of approximately 2 km, firing at targets further than 1.75 km or so is impractical in most cases and only serves to waste ammunition and give away your own position.

Ammunition Choices

For the 20 mm Oerlikon Mk.II, the best ammunition choice is the 20 mm HE because it has the highest ratio of HE rounds to AP rounds, meaning that it will be the most effective against both aircraft and surface targets. The 20 mm HE belt should be the main ammunition choice, but a few of the 20 mm AP belt should also be taken into battle for use against armoured targets. The AP belt is also useful against enemies heading directly bow-in. In this situation, HE rounds will only damage the bow compartment and, if that compartment is already destroyed, will deal only minimal damage. AP rounds can pass through the bow compartment and deal damage to the rest of the vessel.

For the 12.7 mm Vickers Mk.V, the 12.7 mm I belt is slightly better against both aircraft and surface targets compared to the 12.7 mm API belt. Though the AP rounds penetrate 5 mm more armour at point-blank than the I rounds, with such a small difference, the AP rounds won't be able to penetrate any armour that the I rounds can't. That said, the damage output between the I and API belt is so little that it's largely down to preference which to use.

Torpedoes

The Mk.VIII torpedoes are a decent torpedo with above-average top speeds and warhead size. Its maximum range is more of less average compared to other torpedoes at this tier.

The Torpedo Mode modification should never be installed. The higher maximum speed is much more valuable against the fast-moving boats of tier I and II, and the 4.57 km maximum range with the Torpedo Mode modification installed is more than enough for the small maps.

Be aware though that, if the torpedo is unused, it can be shot at, and, if it's destroyed, there is a chance the entire boat can be destroyed along with it. For this reason, it's best to either use them early on or to not take them into battle at all.

Depth Charges

Being anti-submarine weapons and with the present lack of submarines in the game, there is practically no reason to use them. While they can be used against surface targets, this is extremely situational. Sailing up right next to a slower target and dropping a depth charge can lead to some success, though again, this is very situational. If attempting this, remember the order in which the depth charges drop and that there is no reason to use any depth charge activation time setting above the minimum 3 seconds, since higher delay times means the depth charge will sink further, and thus away, from the target. Again, it should be reiterated that this is very situational.

There is no practical reason to take them into battle, especially since, if they're not dropped, they essentially become unarmoured ammo racks.

Modules

Tier	Seakeeping	Unsinkability		Firepower
I	Dry-Docking	Tool Set		20 mm HE	12.7 mm I
II	Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	20 mm AP	12.7 mm API	Auxiliary Armament Targeting
III	Propeller Replacement				Depth Charges	Primary Armament Targeting
IV	Engine Maintenance	New Pumps		Artillery Support	Torpedo Mode

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 20 mm cannon, high belt capacity (60 rounds)
• Great firing arcs
• Good torpedoes, above-average maximum speed and explosive mass

Cons:

• Rear 12.7 mm twin gun mount cannot fire directly forwards

History

During the 1930s, the Admiralty tried to reestablish the coastal boat flotillas it once possessed during the first World War. British boatbuilding company Vosper & Company vied for the contract but lost both times in 1935 and 1936, the contract to build the first coastal boats since WWI going instead to the British Power Boat Company. Vospers continued in their effort to receive a contract from the Admiralty for their boats but to no avail. At the time, though, the Admiralty had unofficially suggested that future contracts would only be awarded for boats that were able to reach 40 knots and that were armed with two 21-inch torpedoes as well as light anti-aircraft guns. With these specifications, Vospers took the risk and preemptively began development on a new motor torpedo boat.

In 1937, Vospers completed their prototype. It was 69.5 feet long and had a hard chine hull design, like many boats at the time, which produced hydrodynamic lift at high speeds, lifting the hull out of the water to reduce drag. It was powered by three petrol engines from Italian manufacturer Isotta Fraschini, each driving a single shaft, together producing 3,600 bhp. The prototype displaced 33 tons, and, in internal trials, it reached 43.7 knots loaded and 47.8 knots unloaded. For its torpedo armament, many different arrangements were tried, but it was eventually decided that they should be mounted on either side of the bridge, pointed forwards and angled outwards. This torpedo placement was uncommon at the time but would become the standard placement on Allied motor torpedo boats during WWII. For its gun armament, Vospers experimented with various combinations of 0.303 calibre machine guns, 0.50 calibre machine guns, and a 20 mm autocannon. The prototype went on trials for the Admiralty in 1938, after which it was purchased and designated MTB 102. In 1939, MTB 102 went on trials against a competing design by British Power Boat Co. Vospers won, and, subsequently, its design was selected to be the newest line of Coastal Forces motor torpedo boats.

The boats built following MTB 102 all shared its design, although the hull was lengthened to 70 feet. In 1940, with the entrance of Italy into WWII, engines from Isotta Fraschini could no longer be obtained and subsequent boats had to be fitted with much weaker petrol engines (1,800 bhp total) from American manufacturer Hall Scott as a stopgap measure until they could be upgraded with more powerful petrol engines from Packard, though this wasn't until 1941. In total, 28 of the 32 planned 70 ft Vosper MTBs were completed:

• MTBs 20-23: Ordered 15th August 1938, all completed by December 1939. MTBs 20, 21, and 23 were sent to the Romanian Navy. MTB 22 was part of the 4th MTB Flotilla and survived to the end of the war.

• MTBs 29-30: Ordered on 8th September 1938, all completed by July 1940. Both were part of 4th MTB Flotilla. MTB 29 was lost in a collision with a German E-boat on 6th October 1942, and MTB 30 struck a mine on 18th December 1942.

• MTBs 31-40: Ordered on 27th September 1939, 6 completed by May 1941. MTBs 33, 37, 39, and 40 were bombed by German aircraft before completion between 1940 and 1941. The completed boats survived to the end of the war.

• MTBs 57-66: Ordered on 26th February 1940, all completed by April 1942. MTB 61 was stranded during an attack on 9th May 1943, and MTBs 63 and 64 were lost after collisions with friendly MTBs on 2nd April 1943. The remaining boats were sold in 1944.

• MTBs 69-70: Ordered in April 1940, both completed by June 1940. Both only received two engines. Both served with HMS Beehive at Felixstowe and survived to the end of the war.

• MTBs 218-221: Ordered on 7th December 1940, all completed by September 1941. MTBs 218 struck a mine on 18th August 1942, and MTB 220 was sunk by German E-boats on 13th May 1942. MTBs 219 and 221 survived to the end of the war. MTB 221 was sold in 1945.

Modifications to the original 70 ft Vosper MTB design would lead to the development of the 72 ft Vosper MTB and 73 ft Vosper MTB.

Media

See also

• MTB Vosper
• MTB-1(1)
• MTB-1(2)

External links

• ww2ships.com - 70' Vosper Motor Torpedo Boat
• unithistories.com - Royal Navy Coastal Forces 1940-1945
• naval-history.net - British vessels lost at sea in World War 2 - MGB, MTB, SGB, ML, etc - originally published in British Vessels Lost at Sea, 1935-45, His Majesty's Stationary Office, 1947
• harwichanddovercourt.co.uk - Torpedo Boats - World War 2
• uboat.net - Vosper 70 feet-type class