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

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

Armourfront / side / back

Hull40 mm (wood)

Superstructure15 mm (wood)

Number of section4

Displacement64 t

Crew15 people

Dark Aggressor has the following armour layout:

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

Dark Aggressor 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

Speedforward / back

AB104 / 38 km/h

RB74 / 27 km/h

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 Aggressor'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.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB925 → 1 151

RB1 267 → 1 577

Total cost of modifications19 500

31 900

Talisman cost980

Crew training13 000

Experts47 000

Aces400

Research Aces280 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 130 / 100 %

136 / 136 / 136 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 1 300 Cost: 2 100 150 Rudder Replacement Research: 1 100 Cost: 1 800 125 Propeller Replacement Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 000 135 Engine Maintenance Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 600 185	Damage Control Division Research: 1 300 Cost: 2 100 150 Fire Division Research: 1 100 Cost: 1 800 125 Smokescreen Research: 1 100 Cost: 1 800 125 New Pumps Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 600 185	40 mm HE clips Research: 1 300 Cost: 2 100 150 40 mm AP clips Research: 1 100 Cost: 1 800 125 Primary Armament Targeting Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 000 135 Improved Rangefinder Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 000 135 Depth Charges Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 000 135 Artillery Support Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 600 185 Torpedo Mode Research: 1 600 Cost: 2 600 185

Armament

Primary armament

Turret40 mm QF Mark VII gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity4 rounds

Fire rate160 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 89°

In her primary armament group, Dark Agressor has a single 40 mm QF Mark VII in a single mount just in front of the bridge. It 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. The gun has a magazine capacity of 4 rounds and has a rate of fire of 160 rounds/min. 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 the gun for too long will cause it to jam. Its maximum range against surface targets is roughly 3.25 km.

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
Universal	80	77	66	57	50	45
40 mm HE clips	80	77	66	57	50	45
40 mm AP clips	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 Aggressor can carry two Mk.VII depth charges mounted on the aft, one on each side facing outwards. The depth charges drop one-at-a-time in the following order (see the image):

1. Starboard side
2. Portside

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

Additional armament

Setup 14 x 533 mm Mk.VIII torpedo

Setup 22 x Mk.VII depth charge

Setup 34 x 533 mm Mk.VIII torpedo

2 x Mk.VII depth charge

Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes.

If there is no additional armament, remove this section.

Usage in battles

Ammunition Choices

The best ammunition choice is 40 mm HE clips because it has the highest ratio of HE rounds to AP rounds, which means it has the highest effectiveness against both aircraft and surface targets. The 40 mm HE clips should be the primary ammunition type used, but several 40 mm AP clips should also be taken into battle for use against certain armoured targets and against enemies sailing directly bow-in. In the latter case, HE rounds will detonate on a possibly already-destroyed bow compartment, leaving the rest of the vessel unharmed. AP rounds will pass through the bow compartment and deal damage to the rear of the vessel.

From arcade battle experience, AP rounds are more versatile in battle and are the better choice in most situations especially when engaging surface targets of similar size within tier 2 and always try to resolve direct fights as quickly as possible (either by winning or disengaging as quickly as possible). This boat is best used when outranging, flanking or ambushing the opposition given the facts it possess poor armour but the gun can sustain long periods continued fire therefore, strafing targets is encouraged.

Torpedoes

The 18-inch Mk.XII is fairly average in terms of maximum speed and range, but it has a very low TNT equivalence compared to other torpedoes at this tier. Still, a hit with the Mk.XII torpedo on any boat at this tier is more than enough to destroy it. Otherwise, this is torpedo is unnoteworthy.

The Torpedo Mode modification should always be installed. The higher maximum speed is much more valuable against the fast-moving boats of tier I and II, and the maps are small enough that the reduction to the maximum range doesn't really matter.

Depth Charges

Being anti-submarine weapons and with the present lack of submarines in the game, there is practically no reason to use them. While they can be used against surface targets, this is extremely situational. Sailing up right next to a slower target and dropping a depth charge can lead to some success, though again, this is very situational. If attempting this, remember the order in which the depth charges drop and that there is no reason to use any depth charge activation time setting above the minimum 3 seconds, since higher delay times means the depth charge will sink further, and thus away, from the target. Again, it should be reiterated that this is very situational.

There is no practical reason to take them into battle, since, if they're not dropped, they essentially become unarmoured ammo racks.

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: powerful HE rounds, very high-penetration AP rounds (80 mm)
• Very quick reload, practically continuous fire
• Can outrange most enemies

Cons:

• 40 mm QF Mark VII cannot fire directly backwards and takes a long time to cool
• Main armament easily knocked out
• No secondary or AA guns
• 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

Images

Dark Aggressor wallpaper, from [Event] Festive events!.

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