Fairmile A (ML100)

Fairmile A (ML100)

MTB-1(1)

MGB-61

Fairmile A (ML100)

MTB-1(1)

MGB-61

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Motor gun boat

Boat

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Show in game

Description

The Fairmile A (ML100) is a rank I British motor gun boat with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea" along with the British fleet.

General info

Survivability and armour

Fairmile A (ML100) has the following armour layout:

• Hull: 28 mm, wood
• Superstructure: 15 mm, wood

Fairmile A (ML100) internals (starboard side).

Any gun in the game will easily be able to penetrate anywhere on the boat at practically any range.

Fairmile A (ML100) can be hull-broken by any gun with a diameter greater than 4 inches (102 mm). Hull-break triggers when a capable gun destroys any hull compartment or the bridge, resulting in instant destruction of the rest of the boat. Fairmile A (ML100)'s battle rating, the only gun capable of hull-breaking her is the 8cwt QF Mk I, found on Dark Adventurer. The ability to be hull-broken by guns larger than 4 inches is a trait that applies to the vast majority of boats in tier 1 and 2, so in that respect, Fairmile A (ML100) isn't better or worse than most other boats.

Fairmile A (ML100)'s hull is split into three compartments. The first compartment starts at the bow and ends just in the middle of the bridge, just in front of the pumps. The second starts at the pumps and ends between the radio station and the engines, around the area of the funnel. The third starts at the engines and ends at the fuel tanks, just in front of the aft 47 mm 3 pdr QF Hotchkiss mount. The fourth starts at the fuel tanks and ends at the stern. Overall, with a crew complement of 14, survivability is above-average.

Fairmile A (ML100) has two ammunition storages. One is located in the bow, below and a bit in front of the fore twin 7.72 mm Lewis machinegun 1916 mount; it is emptied when the only ammunition left for that twin mount are in the guns themselves (the ammunition count for the other 7.72 mm machinegun mounts doesn't matter). The other ammunition storage is located in the aft behind the fuel tanks on the port side; it is emptied when there is only one round of ammunition left for the aft 47 mm gun. Destroying either ammunition storage will instantly destroy the rest of the boat.

Mobility

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	_	_	~_	~_
	Upgraded	_	_	~_	~_
RB/SB	Stock	_	_	~_	~_
	Upgraded	_	_	~_	~_

Fairmile A (ML100) has a displacement of 57 tons.

Armament

Primary armament

In her primary armament group, Fairmile A (ML100) has one 47 mm 3 pdr QF Hotchkiss cannon in a single mount, mounted centerline on the aft. It has 300 rounds of ammunition available for it. The mount can traverse horizontally at a rate of 40°/s and vertically at a rate of 25°/s. The gun is single-shot and has a nominal rate of fire of 30 rounds/min. With a stock crew, it can be reloaded in 2.6 seconds; with an aced crew, they can be reloaded in 2 seconds.

Guidance for the Primary Gun Turret
Horizontal	Vertical
±180°	-5°/+25°

There is only one choice of ammunition available:

• 3 pdr Mk.2 HE

Penetration Statistics
Ammunition	Type	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		100 m	1,000	2,000 m	3,000 m	4,000 m	5,000 m
3 pdr Mk.2 HE	HE	6	6	6	6	6	6

Shell Details
Ammunition	Type	Projectile Mass (kg)	Velocity (m/s)	Explosive Type	Explosive Mass (kg)	TNT Equivalent (kg)	Fuse Delay (m)	Fuse Sensitivity (mm)	Ricochet
									0%	50%	100%
3 pdr Mk.2 HE	HE	1.5	517	TNT	0.217	0.217	0.15	N/A	79°	80°	81°

Secondary armament

In her secondary armament group, Fairmile A (ML100) has six 7.72 mm Lewis machinegun 1916's in three twin mounts, one in front of the bridge and one on either side amidships. For each mount, there are 3,880 rounds of ammunition available, 1,940 rounds per gun, for a total of 11,640 rounds. They can traverse horizontally at a rate of 75°/s and vertically at a rate of 75°/s. Each gun has a magazine capacity of 97 rounds and has a rate of fire of 550 rounds/min. With a stock crew, the guns can be reloaded in 14 seconds; with an aced crew, they can be reloaded in 7 seconds. Their maximum range against surface targets is roughly 1.6 km.

Turrets are named sequentially, clockwise, starting at the bow

Guidance for the Secondary Gun Turrets
No.1 Turret		No.2 Turret		No.3 Turret
Horizontal	Vertical	Horizontal	Vertical	Horizontal	Vertical
±180°	-5°/+70°	±80°	-5°/+70°	±80°	-5°/+70°

There are three choices of ammunition available:

• Universal: AP/T/AP/T

• 7.7 mm AP belt: AP/AP/AP/T

• 7.7 mm API belt: IT/IT/IT/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	20	19	16	13	11	10
7.7 mm AP belt	20	19	16	13	11	10
7.7 mm API belt	20	19	16	13	11	10

Special armament

Mk.VII depth charges numbered 1-2 according to their drop order (click to expand).

Fairmile A (ML100) can carry 12 Mk.VII depth charges mounted amidships, 6 on each side facing outwards. The depth charges are dropped one at a time in this order (see the image):

1. Port side, foremost
2. Starboard side, foremost
3. Port side, 2nd foremost
4. Starboard side, 2nd foremost
5. Port side, 3rd foremost
6. Starboard side, 3rd foremost
7. Port side, 3rd aftmost
8. Starboard side, 3rd aftmost
9. Port side, 2nd aftmost
10. Starboard side, 2nd aftmost
11. Port side, aftmost
12. 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 the battles

Ammunition Choices

For the 7.72 mm Lewis machinegun 1916, the best ammunition choice is the 7.7 mm AP belt since it has the highest ratio of AP to T rounds. While the 7.7 mm API belt may look tempting because of the incendiary tracer rounds, the IT rounds are actually stopped by most wooden hulls more often than not and rarely start fires, if ever. This belt is technically the best to use against aircraft, though with such a long reload to switch to it and with such a minuscule difference in damage anyway, there isn't much of a point in using it for that role either.

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		7.7 mm AP belt
II	Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	7.7 mm API belt	Auxiliary Armament Targeting
III	Propeller Replacement			Depth Charges	Primary Armament Targeting	Improved Rangefinder
IV	Engine Maintenance	New Pumps		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Primary armament: can rotate 360°, good firing arcs
• Large amount of depth charges

Cons:

• Underwhelming firepower
• Unable to deal with armoured targets
• Primary armament: relatively low muzzle velocity, low damage output, low muzzle velocity
• Secondary armament: can only bring 4 guns on target at once, very low damage output
• Poor top speed and manoeuvrability

History

The Fairmile A was a series of 12 ships designed prior to the start of WWII, with the British Admiralty purchasing all 12 at the start of hostilities. Intended to serve as a light coastal patrol craft the had a unique modular design that could be manufactured by light industry prior to final assembly at a second line port, such as the ones that fabricated pleasure craft.

The ships were originally intended for coastal escort duties, being rigged with sonar and depth charges. However, as the war progressed and due to the lightweight design of the Fairmile A, the ships would see selective service restricted to British coastal waters much more so than the later variations of the same vessel.

Media

See also

• Fairmile B (ML345)
• MGB-61

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the ship;
• other literature.