MAS 15 was the only motor torpedo boat in history to sink a battleship, the Austro-Hungarian vessel Szent István in 1918. In the Second World War, Britain fielded a variety of MTBs, which were operated by Coastal Forces. A similar size boat with a different role in the Second World War was the BPB high-speed launch used by the RAF for air-sea rescue operations. Diesel-powered MTBs entered the Royal Navy with the patrol boat in 1954. The last MTBs in the Royal Navy were the two s of 1958, which were capable of . Specifications Many boats were designated MTBs. A variety of designs were adopted and built. For instance, a type, capable of , was shown in 1930. British MTBs The following is an incomplete list of British motor torpedo boats: Vosper "private venture boat" Commander Peter Du Cane CBE, the managing director of Vosper Ltd, designed a motor torpedo boat as a private venture in 1936. She was completed and launched in 1937. The vessel was bought by the Admiralty and taken into service with the Royal Navy as MTB 102. Length: Beam: Draft: , The installed powerplant of three Isotta Fraschini Asso V-18 57-litre petrol engines delivered which gave her a speed of light and when carrying a full load. Crew: 2 officers, 10 men. Armament was two torpedo tubes; depth charges, machine guns and 20mm Oerlikon were trialled on her.MTB 102 was the fastest wartime British naval vessel in service. She was at Dunkirk in 1940 for the evacuation of British and French troops, where she served as Rear-Admiral Frederic Wake-Walker's flagship after the destroyer HMS Keith was sunk. She carried Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower when they reviewed the fleet before the Invasion of Normandy in 1944. British Power Boat 60 ft MTB They were based on the British Power Boat Company Type Two 63 ft HSL (high-speed launch) originally designed for the Royal Air Force for air-sea rescue but reduced to in length. They could carry two torpedoes and achieve a maximum speed of . The Royal Navy ordered their first (of a total of 18) in 1936. These entered service as MTB numbers 1 to 12 and 14 to 19. In the early days of the war, they were painted with different numbers and photos distributed to the press to give the impression the Royal Navy had more than they actually did. One