Dark Aggressor

Dark Aggressor

Dark Adventurer

Fairmile D (617)

Dark Aggressor

Dark Adventurer

Fairmile D (617)

Britain

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

Motor torpedo boat

Boat

Research:18 000

Purchase:47 000

Show in game

Description

The Dark-class, Dark Aggressor (FPB 1102) is a rank III British motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 2.3 (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

Dark Adventurer has the following armour layout:

• Hull: 40 mm, wood
• Superstructure: 15 mm, wood

Dark Adventurer has no armour at all, lacking even a gunshield for the main cannon. Right beneath the gun are also two large ammunition racks. These cannot be removed unless all ammo for the main gun is emptied. Altogether, with a crew complement of only 15, Dark Aggressor's survivability is low.

On top of this, being a small boat, she can be hull-broken by any gun with a diameter above 4 inches (102 mm). At Dark Aggressor's battle rating, there are three guns capable of hull-break: the 8cwt QF Mk I (114 mm) (found on Dark Adventurer), the 10.5 cm SK C/32 (found on AF D3), and the 120 mm/45 Type 3 (found on Syonan). Luckily for Dark Agressor though, the first two are quite rare to see and are mounted on vehicles that are easily knocked out themselves, and the third is a rather bad cannon that most players don't even use. This makes hull-breaks fairly rare.

All things considered, aside from the ammunition racks in the bow, Dark Aggressor's survivability is more or less average. Low survivability and the ability to be hull-broken are the norms for most boats at this battle rating and really shouldn't be looked at as a disadvantage on the part of Dark Aggressor.

Mobility

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	73	27	~26.18	~43.98
	Upgraded	100	37	~17.38	~27.66
RB/SB	Stock	64	24	~29.02	~50.04
	Upgraded	74	27	~23.83	~40.03

Dark Adventurer's maximum speeds, mobility, acceleration, and stopping are all average, not too much better or worse than any of the other fast motor torpedo boats or motor gun boats around her battle rating.

Armament

Primary armament

In its primary armament group, Dark Agressor has a single 40 mm QF Mark VII mounted just in front of the bridge. The gun has a magazine size of 4 rounds and has 1500 rounds of ammunition available for it. It can traverse horizontally at a rate of 40°/s and vertically at a rate of 34°/s. With a stock crew, the gun can be reloaded in 0.49 seconds; with an aced crew, it can be reloaded in 0.38 seconds. Firing for too long will cause the gun to jam.

Guidance for the Secondary Gun Turret
Horizontal	Vertical
±180°	-10°/+89°

There are three ammunition options available:

• Universal: AP-T/HEFI-T
• 40 mm HE clips: HEFI-T/HEFI-T/HEFI-T/AP-T
• 40 mm AP clips: AP-T/AP-T/AP-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	_	_	_	_	_	_
AP-T	80	77	66	57	50	45

Torpedo armament

Dark Aggressor has four torpedo tubes, two on each side, and can carry a total of four 533 mm Mk.VIII torpedoes. The torpedo tubes are pointed forwards but are angled outwards on each side. They 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

Dark Adventurer can carry two Mk.VII depth charges mounted on the aft, one facing each broadside. The depth charges can be dropped one at a time, with the one on the starboard side always dropping before the one on the port side. Before spawning, the detonation time delay can be set anywhere between 3 seconds and 10 seconds.

Mass (kg)	Explosive Type	Explosive Mass (kg)	TNT Equivalent (kg)
196	TNT	130	130

Usage in battles

With the Dark Aggressor class, the tactics are in the name. Use the ship's high mobility to reach capture points quickly, subduing any targets on the way with the Bofors 40 mm, and then continue to advance either into their spawn, cargo ship area (on encounter mode) or into channels where Destroyers will enter the small boat areas. Torpedo and depth charge these ships from the safety of cover to secure victory. Pushing into open water is possible, however not recommended due to the accuracy of secondary armament gunners and the poor survivability to high calibre HE fire.

Modules

Tier	Seakeeping	Unsinkability		Firepower
I	Dry-Docking	Tool Set		40 mm HE clips
II	Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	40 mm AP clips
III	Propeller Replacement			Improved Rangefinder	Primary Armament Targeting	Depth Charges
IV	Engine Maintenance	New Pumps		Artillery Support	Torpedo Mode

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 40 mm QF Mark VII: large explosive mass, high armour penetration, very quick reload, can out-range most enemies

Cons:

• 40 mm QF Mark VII cannot fire directed rearwards
• Two large ammo racks below the forward gun, cannot be removed

History

The Dark class fast patrol boats, also known as the Admiralty Type "A" Fast Patrol Boat (FPB), were 18 patrol boats used by the Royal Navy, with another 8 built for export. The class was originally ordered in the late 1940s, calling for a new diesel-powered FPB, with Saunders-Roe eventually winning the design contract in early 1952. The Dark class was built between 1954 and 1958 primarily by Saunders-Roe alongside several other British shipbuilding companies. The Dark class had interchangeable armaments and could be configured as motor torpedo boats, as motor gun boats, or as minelayers. These armaments included:

• 4x 21-inch torpedoes
• 1x 40 mm Bofors gun (forward), 2x 21-inch torpedoes
• 1x 40 mm Bofors gun (aft), 1x 4.5-inch cannon (forward)
• 16x mines

The Dark class boats had a length of 71 ft. 8 in., a beam of 19 ft. 5 in., a draught of 6 ft. 1 in, and a standard displacement of 50 long tons and were the first of their kind in Royal Navy service to use diesel engines. Each boat was powered by two 18 cylinder Napier Deltic diesel engines, each producing 2,500 bhp and driving a single shaft, with an exhaust port on the port side hull. The first few Dark class boats were painted entirely in the standard grey. However, the port side of the hulls would quickly become stained by the diesel exhaust fumes, even after only a short period of use. Initially, an experimental paint scheme was tried on HMS Dark Biter (P1104) around March 1956 that had the rear hull painted in black with the front hull still in grey. This, too, was found to be unsatisfactory, and eventually, it was decided that the entire hull of the Dark class boats should be painted in black.

Eighteen Dark class boats served with the Royal Navy. All of these were built with wooden hulls and aluminium decks on aluminium hull frames with the exception of the final boat, the unique HMS Dark Scout (P1116), which had an all-aluminium welded construction, a redesigned bridge, and transom exhaust ports. In addition to these, eight more Dark class boats were also built for export, all built by Saunders-Roe: two standard boats for Finland; five riveted, all-aluminium boats with an additional electric drive system for Burma; and one standard boat for Japan. A further nine Dark class boats were planned to be built as well for Royal Navy service, but these were all cancelled in 1955. During the 1960s and 1970s, of the 18 Dark class boats in Royal Navy service, two were used as target practice with one being sunk. The surviving 17 were sold to various places, including several to Italian law enforcement in the late 1960s.

HMS Dark Aggressor, pennant number P1102, was the second of the Dark-class boats. She was built by Saunders-Roe in Beaumaris and was completed on 9th December 1954. She was sold on 3rd October 1961.

Media

See also

• Dark Adventurer
• Brave Borderer

External links

• Coastal Forces Veterans Forum - The British "Dark" Class
• British Military Powerboat Team - Dark Class Boats
• mprints.co.uk - SARO Dark Class MTBs
• Wikipedia - Dark-class patrol boat