MS-53
| This page is about the Italian motor torpedo boat MS-53. For other versions, see MS (Family). |
Contents
Description
The CRDA 60t (2a), MS-53 is a rank II Italian motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".
General info
Survivability and armour
The MS-53 as armor have 40mm of wood in the hull and the structure 15mm of wood, this ship can be easily destroyed by HE belts, meanwhile for the survivability have a crew of 19 people this basically can be killed very easily by other ships, the problem of the MS-53 it’s more slower than his predecessor MS-15 and this cause that you can’t dodge shots.
Mobility
The MS-53 is powered by 3 Isotta Fraschini “ASSO” Engines that provides 50 km/h of speed (Upgraded 58 Km/h) but it's slower than its predecessor the MS-15 because it carries more Additional Armament.
Meanwhile the speed rotation and manoeuvrability are good for his BR, with this you can dodge shots. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="4" | Mobility Characteristics |- ! rowspan="2" | Game Mode ! rowspan="2" | Upgrade Status ! colspan="2" | Maximum Speed (km/h) ! rowspan="2" style="display:none;"| Turn Time (s) ! rowspan="2" style="display:none;"| Turn Radius (m) |- ! Forward ! Reverse |- | rowspan="2" | AB | style="display:none;"| Stock | style="display:none;"| ___ | style="display:none;"| ___ | style="display:none;"| | style="display:none;"| |- | Upgraded || 82 || 33 | style="display:none;"| | style="display:none;"| |- | rowspan="2" | RB/SB | style="display:none;"| Stock | style="display:none;"| ___ | style="display:none;"| ___ | style="display:none;"| | style="display:none;"| |- | Upgraded || 58 || 23 | style="display:none;"| | style="display:none;"| |- |}
Modifications and economy
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Armament
Primary armament
As main armament the MS-53 uses 2 cannons from 20 in specific 20/65 Breda cannon, as in the MAS and other Italian ships this cannon causes little damage, and is divided into magazines every 12 shots the cannon will reload, then at the end for the damage you cause depends a lot on the enemy targets.
Additional armament
As additional armament MS-53 can at best carry as additional armament:
- Two Torpedoes S.I.270
- Two Torpedoes W.200/450X5,75
- Twelve B TG
The Torpedoes S.I.270 have a maximum speed of 93 km/h (81 km/h with torpedo mode), 270kg of explosive and a range of 4 Km (8 Km with torpedo mode) meanwhile the torpedoes W.200/450X5,75 have a maximum speed of 81 km/h, 200kg of explosive and a range of 3 Km (with the torpedo mode or not).
And finally the depth charges B TG have 50 Kg of Explosive.
Usage in battles
The MS-53 is a slower version of the MS-15 but it got more additional armament that is 2 torpedoes so you have more possibility to destroy some enemies with the torpedoes the cannon are quite very bad because these 20mm cause too much little damage, and as previously with MS-15 as the best advice I can give you is not to attack frontally or go in the mouth of the enemy but to go around them and shoot them from the side, you will immediately notice the little damage it causes so I recommend using 2 belts one AP for tough targets and armored and the other HE for targets little armor.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Can carry 4 torpedoes with various degrees of spread.
- Adequate speed when spaded.
- Good reload speed for the main guns
- Good speed (58 km/h)
- Good rotation time
- Good torpedoes
Cons:
- Lacks armament (only 2 x 20 mm cannons)
- No armor
- The 20mm has small magazines and a slow rate of fire
- Terrible survivability (compared to other ships)
- No Anti-Aircraft
- Terrible rear cannon placement with terrible firing angles
History
MS CRDA (60t)
Motosiluranti = Torpedo Boat
The Italian Motosiluranti (MS) are medium sized ships, with good maneuverability and speed, and with the property of carrying torpedoes to destroy ships, particularly large ones.
The Italian designers and admirals tried to obtain the design plans of the Lürseen motor torpedo boats, that is S-38, S-38b and S-100 but they did not succeed, therefore they decided to use a sort of Reverse Engineering, but adapting to the new hulls some construction techniques already tested, but not only, 3 Isotta Fraschini "ASSO" engines were used, guaranteeing a speed of not more than 32.5 knots.
1st Group
In 1941 18 units of 62 Tons were ordered to CRDA of Monfalcone, armed with 2 torpedo launchers of 533mm, 2 cannons of 20mm and jet bombs, the boats were numbered MS-11 in groups of 6 and every 6 units was a squadron of torpedo motorboats delivered in 1942.
In the Section formed by MS-16 and MS-22, goes the honor of having sunk the British light cruiser Manchester, during the battle of Mid-August 1942
2nd Group
In 1942-1943 the 2nd Group was created with 18 new units, from MS-51 onwards, larger armed with 2 x 533mm and 2 x 450mm torpedo launchers, with more depth charges and 2 x 20mm guns.
After WW2, the surviving MSs in the years 1960-1962 were refitted with new armaments such as 40mm Bofors and other armaments, these being the MS-472, MS-473 and others.
They were retired from service in 1975 and eventually disbarred in 1979.
MS-53 History
Set up in the Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico of Monfalcone (construction number n°1391).
22 October 1942
Launched at the Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico in Monfalcone.
9 March 1943
Entered in service. Assigned to the Va Squadriglia Motosiluranti.
July 1943
Displaced in Sicily to operate in contrast to the Anglo-American naval forces engaged in the invasion of the island.
19 July 1943
The MS 53 and its twin MS 51 took part in a violent battle against Allied torpedo boats off the coast of Acireale.
21 July 1943
During the night of 21 July, MS 53, together with her sister ships MS 21, MS 51 and MS 66, attacked the British destroyer Quantock and the Greek destroyer Adrias, east of Cape Campolato. During the combat at close range the MS 66 was seriously damaged, on which the commander of the V Flottiglia Motosiluranti, Lieutenant Commander Curzio Castagnacci, died. While the destroyers Quantock and Adrias were slightly damaged and some members of the crew died after being hit by the guns of the Italian torpedo boats.
28-29 July 1943
The MS 53, together with the MS 21, MS 65 and MS 66, clashed against the American PT 203, PT 214 and PT 218 motor torpedo boats in a confused night skirmish. The American torpedo motorboats, returning to Palermo (already occupied by the Allies) after a fruitless night attack to attack the ships involved in the evacuation of the Axis troops through the Strait of Messina, detected the Italian MS on radar and launched a salvo of torpedoes against them, which however passed without exploding under the hulls of the Italian MS.
The PT 218 attacked the Italian MS with its machine-guns in a close encounter, it began a fight which at the end ended without winners or losers; the PT 218 was riddled with bullets and suffered very serious damages, with many losses among the crew.
30 July 1943
During the night of the 30th the MS 53, together with MS 21, MS 65 and MS 66 (flotilla leader, frigate captain Alessandro Michelagnoli), put to sea for an indirect protection cruise to an Italian convoy that had sailed from Messina and was heading north; During the night the four torpedo boats clashed with two similar American units, PT 204 and PT 217, giving life to a fight which lasted for over an hour and ended in a melee from which the Italian units came out substantially unharmed, believing - on their part - to have seriously damaged the enemy units. In reality, even the American torpedo boats did not suffer any serious damage; only the PT 204 was hit, without any losses among the crew.
Later the MS 53 was transferred to the IVth MAS Flotilla, with which it operated until the armistice.
8 September 1943
Upon the announcement of the armistice between Italy and the Allies, MS 53 is located in Crotone.
9 September 1943
At 2 AM the MS 53, together with the MS 65 and the MAS 547, left Crotone bound for Taranto, to avoid the risk of being captured by German troops moving in the area.
The three small units reached Taranto at 8.30 AM.
In the evening the MS 53 (Second Lieutenant Mario Manusardi), together with the corvette Flora (Lieutenant Giorgio Volpe), escorts the tug Tarantola and the motor raft MZ 758, which carry a company of the Battalion "San Vito" sent to reinforce the garrison of the coastal battery "Toscano", which reported that German troops are approaching its stronghold with unclear intentions.
The MS 53 remains based in Taranto until November.
28 October 1943
Transferred from Taranto to Brindisi, framed in the Ia Flottiglia MAS.
November-December 1943
The MS 53, together with the MS 54, 55, 56, 61, 65 and 73 (the MS 31, 33 and 74 had already moved there in October), was transferred to Termoli to be employed in special missions of transport and landing of British informers and commandos on the Adriatic coast of central and northern Italy occupied by German forces.
Sinking
The operational life of the MS 53 came to an abrupt end on the night between 31 December 1943 and 1 January 1944. That night a violent storm broke out in Termoli: so violent that the sea opened a breach in the pier, removing the mooring holds of the MS 53. The commander of the torpedo boat, Lieutenant Mario Manusardi, tried in vain to bring his unit to a sheltered corner of the port, but the engines did not respond, and the MS 53 ended up running out of water, causing several leaks.
On 22 January 1944 the MS 53 was towed to Manfredonia, with the escort of the MS 31.
Here it could only be ascertained that it was impossible to restore the torpedo boat to full efficiency: consequently, the MS 53 - declared out of service - was laid up in December 1944, and never returned to service.
After the 1947 peace treaty, the MS-53 was assigned to the Soviet Union; on 18 May 1949 the MS 53 was removed from the naval cadre and formally incorporated into the Soviet Navy under the new name of TK-971, but was refused by the Soviet Navy because of her poor condition (in 1948 she was reduced to the hull), which made her restoration not very convenient. Returned to the Italian Navy, the motor torpedo boat was again decommissioned on July 1st 1950 and subsequently demolished.
Media
See also
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Italy boats | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | MC-490 · Freccia P-493 · MAS 555 · MAS 561 · MAS 569 |
| MS-15 · MS-53 · MS-472 · Stefano Turr · VAS 201 · GIS 811 · MS 444 · MC 485 | |
| Motor gun boats | MAS 441 · MS-473 · MV-611 · Alano · Sparviero |
| Motor torpedo gun boats | Saetta P-494 |
| Gunboats | Albatros · Alcione |
