Dark Class Fast Attack Craft
A total of 27 Dark Class Fast Attack Craft were ordered between December 1951 and January 1952 , but only 18 were completed, the remainder being cancelled in 1955.
Fitted with 2 shaft Napier Deltic 16 cylinder diesels, the Dark Class were the first diesel engined fast patrol boats- the earlier Gay Class Fast Patrol Boats had been the Navy's last petrol powered warships - and could achieve speeds of forty knots.
The Dark Class had a standard displacement of 50 tons and a deep load displacement of 64 tons. They measured 71ft 8" in length, 19ft 5" in beam and 6ft 1" in draught and had a complement of 15. The hull was a wooden skin built around an alloy framework, except for Dark Scout which was all aluminium. They were frequently painted all back because the exhaust was found to be dirty.
They could be configured either as MTBs or MGBs: as torpedo boats they were armed with a single 40mm gun and four 21-inch torpedoes whilst as gun boats they carried a single 4.5-inch gun and one 40mm gun.
Class Details
| Craft | Pennant | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned |
| Dark Adventurer | P1101 | Saunders-Roe (Beaumaris) | October 28th 1954 | ||
| Dark Aggressor | P1102 | Saunders-Roe (Beaumaris) | December 9th 1954 | ||
| Dark Antagonist | P1103 | Saunders-Roe (Beaumaris) | December 11th 1954 | ||
| Dark Avenger | P1105 | Saunders-Roe (Beaumaris) | September 6th 1955 | ||
| Dark Biter | P1104 | Saunders-Roe (Beaumaris) | June 23rd 1955 | ||
| Dark Buccaneer | P1108 | Vosper (Porchester) | September 30th 1954 | ||
| Dark Clipper | P1109 | Vosper (Porchester) | February 9th 1955 | ||
| Dark Fighter | P1113 | Taylor (Chertsey) | October 4th 1955 | ||
| Dark Gladiator | P1114 | Taylor (Chertsey) | December 5th 1956 | ||
| Dark Hero | P1115 | McGruer (Clynder) | March 16th 1957 | ||
| Dark Highwayman | P1110 | Vosper (Porchester) | March 29th 1955 | ||
| Dark Hunter | P1116 | Miller (St. Monance) | March 18th 1954 | ||
| Dark Hussar | P1112 | Thorneycroft (Hampton) | May 16th 1957 | ||
| Dark Intruder | P1118 | Morgan Giles (Teignmouth) | July 6th 1955 | ||
| Dark Invader | P1119 | Morgan Giles (Teignmouth) | September 5th 1955 | ||
| Dark Killer | P1111 | Thorneycroft (Hampton) | September 26th 1956 | ||
| Dark Rover | P1107 | Vosper (Porchester) | August 30th 1954 | ||
| Dark Scout | P1120 | Saunders-Roe (Beaumaris) | March 20th 1958 | ||
| Cancelled 1955 | |||||
| Vospers | Dark Chaser, Cark Chieftan, Dark Crusader | ||||
| Saunders-Roe | Dark Attacker, Dark Battler, Dark Bowman | ||||
| Thorneycroft | Dark Defender, Dark Explorer | ||||
| McGruer | Dark Horseman | ||||
Craft Histories
| Craft | History |
| Dark Scout | Dark Scout was the only Dark Class vessel with an aluminium hull, as opposed to a wooden skin on a an alloy framework. |
| Dark Gladiator | Towards the end of her service year Dark Gladiator was based at Portland with Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST). She was sometimes employed as a Search and Rescue night boat for HMS Osprey and was occasionally used as a trials ship for the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment. Sunk off Dorset in 56 metres of water. |
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© Written and researched by Jeremy Olver. First uploaded February 19th 2001. Updated February 25th 2001. Disclaimer.