Like many empty spaces, the building adopted by The National Museum of the Royal Navy to serve as the Coastal Forces Museum looked more than big enough when empty. But – into it had to go MTB 71 (60 feet), a classic WWII motor torpedo boat, built for Norway but taken up by us in 1939, eventually crewed by the free Royal Norwegian Navy; and CMB – Coastal Motor Boat 331 (55 feet), a takeover of a WWI type being constructed for the Philippines as war began. Measurements had been quadruple-checked, but space was soon swallowed up when the two warships took pride of place. Like all ships, when close up and out of the water they look bigger than their measurements suggest – but make an imposing sight in their new home, telling a story by their very presence.
TIGHT FIT
15 May 2022
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About Rob
Rob is a TV producer, reporter and camera operator with 30 years’ experience at the BBC, Channel 4 and ITN, in news, factual and documentary production. He is a four times award winner, whose awards include a coveted Royal Television Society award for his work on Channel 4 News. His association with The Maritime Foundation goes back to 1995, when he won the first Desmond Wettern Maritime Media Award for a series of reports that led to a major documentary on the loss of the bulk carrier Derbyshire.