Fairmile D (697)
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Contents
Description
The Fairmile D (697) is a rank IV British motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 2.7 (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
All around, the Fairmile D (697) has the same survivability as the other Fairmiles. The boat is protected with thin wooden structure and all HE shells 40 mm calibre upwards will wipe out the Fairmile D with ease. If you see even a small burst of shells heading to your way, you know the bottom awaits at that point.
Crew size of 30 doesn't help much either, as most of them tend to get wiped from the first hits to the boat's wooden structure.
Mobility
Mobility is comparable to other Fairmiles. For such a streamlined build, the Fairmile D (697) is rather slow and tends to be the last on the cap if compared to other similar boats such as the S-boats or PTs.
Like the other Fairmiles, the Fairmile D (697) is somewhat responsive when switching between reverse and forward. There is a delay, like with all boats, so getting accustomed to this is recommended. Long build of the boat and sluggishness affects the turning with unfavourable results, and it is recommended to not end up in tight or narrow spaces.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 75 | 29 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 54 | 21 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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As the Fairmile D (697) sits at rank V, its RP cost for most of the modules is between 9,000 to 16,000 research points.
RP boosters, premium account or talisman won't make spading the vehicle any easier than gaining any points in match with this ship is really hard to due to the boat's awful survivability and subpar armament.
Armament
Primary armament
The Fairmile D (697) is armed with two 6pdr 7cwt QF Mk IIA (57 mm) guns, one on the front and one on the rear. These guns pose a mediocre fire rate with mediocre shell velocity and are far inferior to 40 mm Bofors for example. 57 mm guns are only capable of firing HE so dealing with armoured targets is out of its league, but can reliably hit larger vessels up to a 3.5 kilometres away.
Focus on lightly armoured and small wooden vessels with these guns.
Secondary armament
Positioned awkwardly in the middle of the boat, the dual 20 mm Oerlikon is made to fend off small boats which might get too close for the 57 mm guns to be effective. Although, this requires some maneuvering and thinking your positioning. The 20 mm can also work as extra AA armament.
Anti-aircraft armament
Marginally bad 7.7 mm Vickers AA guns have terrible horizontal traverse, so you can forget them as an anti-aircraft guns, and also the damage dealt to enemy ships with them is quite minimal.
12.7 mm Vickers Mk.V heavy machine guns are excellent weapons for anti-aircraft purpose for planes that are in proximity, but keep in mind that if the plane is already close, it means you are probably dead in few seconds. Fire rate and damage is decent enough to deal with smaller non-armoured boats with lower battle rating. Boats such as LS-3s and Pr.123s are still common sight, so taking control of your AA weaponry is recommended in naval CQB.
Additional armament
Like some Fairmiles, the Fairmile D is armed with the common British Four 18" Mark XV torpedoes. These torpedoes have slow speed of 54 km/h and range of only 5 km with the torpedo mode modification installed.
Mk.VII depth charge is a depth charge. You'll might get a kill with them in one game out of a hundred if someone is foolish enough to sail too close of you, but due to the survivability of the Fairmile D, sailing close to the enemy and using the depth charges with purpose is not recommended.
Usage in battles
Try to find cover or a small island. Use your reverse and forward speed to peek. Unload a burst of 57 mm HE shells from range and reverse back to cover. Keep your eyes open for possible targets and avoid heavily armoured Russian patrol boats like the MBKs at all cost. Look for weak or half-dead opponents, as they are the only prey you can feast upon with the Fairmile D's underwhelming armament.
If taking cover is not possible in the map: stay on the move and try to avoid fire and enemies, as the Fairmile D tends to lose against everything due to its awful survivability. Try to hit enemies on the move with the 57 mm guns. Overall, avoid sharp turns and combat against multiple enemies in the same time.
Only engage in combat with Fairmile D (697) when you know that you have a sure shot, upper hand, or you are facing a weaker opponent.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 12.7 mm Vickers are decent against planes and smaller boats
Cons:
- Wooden structure and no reliable armour means that your survivability in all sorts of engagements is abysmal
- Armament is subpar when compared to other Fairmiles armed with 40 mm Bofors
- QF 57 mm are capable of firing only HE and can't deal with boats with armour
- 105 mm or larger HE shells will knock out the Fairmile D (697) instantly
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
- Skins
See also
- Fairmile D (601) - Sister ship that is slightly faster with 57 mm armaments replaced with automatic 40 mm cannons and no torpedoes.
- Fairmile D (617) - Sister ship that is slightly faster with Mk.VIII torpedoes.
- Fairmile D (5001) - Sister ship available as a pack, armed with a pair of Mk.VIII and Mk XV torpedoes.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Fairmile Marine Company | |
|---|---|
| Motor Launch (ML) | |
| Fairmile A | Fairmile A (ML100) |
| Fairmile B | Fairmile B (ML345) |
| Motor Torpedo/Gun Boat (MTB/MGB) | |
| Fairmile C | Fairmile C (312) · Fairmile C (332) |
| Fairmile D | Fairmile D (601) · Fairmile D (617) · Fairmile D (697) · Fairmile D (5001) |
| Landing Craft Support (LCS) | |
| Fairmile H | Fairmile H LCS(L)(2) |
| Britain boats | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | Brave Borderer · Dark Aggressor · Dark Aggressor TD · Fairmile D (617) · Fairmile D (697) · Fairmile D (5001) · HMS Gay Archer |
| MTB-1(1) · MTB-1(2) · MTB Vosper · MTB Vosper(2) · MTB-422 | |
| Motor gun boats | Dark Adventurer · Fairmile A (ML100) · Fairmile B (ML345) · Fairmile C (312) · Fairmile C (332) · Fairmile D (601) · Fairmile H LCS(L)(2) |
| HMAS Arrow · HMAS Fremantle · MGB-61 · MGB-75 · ML 1383 · SGB Grey Fox · SGB Grey Goose | |
| Gunboats | HMS Spey |
