Fairmile B (ML345)
Contents
Description
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The Fairmile B (ML345) is a rank II British motor gunboat
with a battle rating of 2.0 (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
The Fairmile B (ML345) has very little armour with similar construction to the previous gunboats in the family, the Fairmile A (ML100). The engines, fuel tanks and ammunition racks are easy targets, as they are located in the front, rear and centre of the hull, making fires a considerable risk.
The Fairmile B (ML345) has a crew of 18, making it comparable with other gunboats such as the Soviet Pr.1124 (1940) and the American Elco 77 ft PT-59. It is advisable to keep some distance from smaller ships as flanks from faster vessels can result in the defenceless hull sides being compromised.
Mobility
The Fairmile B (ML345) has a top cruising speed of around 37 kp/h. The turn rate is similar to other vessels of similar size but takes over 10 seconds to complete turns. The reverse speed is up to 14 kp/h.
Armament
Primary armament
The main firepower of the Fairmile B (ML345) is the 3 pounder QF Hotchkiss cannon. Lacking in fire rate, it does serious damage against smaller boats it may encounter with the large explosive power yet fails to do any significant damage to vessels similar to its own size or larger. It can carry High Explosive, Armour Piercing and Universal rounds, which make for reliable defence.
Secondary armament
In addition to the 3 pounder QF Hotchkiss cannon, the Fairmile B (ML345) has two auxiliary dual-mount 7.72mm Lewis 1916 machine guns located above the bridge. They are able to destroy lighter boats with persistent fire. The Fairmile B (ML345) also features two 20mm Oerlikon cannon turrets. One a Mark V and one a Mark II, with 4080 and 2040 rounds respectively.
Anti-aircraft armament
An important part of the ship’s armament responsible for air raid defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship’s anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets.
Special armament
Mk.VII Depth charges make little difference to the manoeuvrability of the vessel, but can be effective when used against larger ships such as destroyers and frigates.
Usage in battles
Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don’t get try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- The 3 pounder is better placed compared to Fairmile A's location
- Can equip a large number of depth charges
- 20 mm cannons are more powerful than the 7.7 mm machine guns on previous models
Cons:
- Lacks armour protection
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 big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
See also
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- reference to the series of the ship;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
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- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on ship;
- other literature.
| 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 |
