BMPT Forum Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > Boats (In alphabetical order) > Dark Class
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Dark Identity
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Dark Identity

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123
Author
Message
johnk View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 25 March 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1355
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote johnk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 3:06pm
Hi there,

Yes, I do find all this very intresting, this post war "boom" in design and construction of these craft, have a collegue on the Paddle Steamer Medway Queen group, who did early aluminium repairs to....think it was the Darks must ask him, and the man who inspects on behalf of the lottery fund, designed them! so you can imagine the banter between them.... 50m is quite deep, and what state she would be in.....do have the Gay Archer about and some of these other post war desgins at least did exist ashore, saw photos on this forum, but how many left now.....

Johnk
Back to Top
mprints View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 29 October 2010
Location: Anglesey
Status: Offline
Points: 32
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mprints Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 November 2010 at 7:44am
Hi Christian,
A good photo of P1602 (539). I had no idea where it had ventured to. May I include your photo on my website please?
I have just tried to contact another diver who should have knowledge of its condition. Also made contact with John Lambert (ship plans) who is very intersted in the drawings. 
I hope to be seeing an official report on the cause of the loss of 539 soon.
I found an excellent GA drawing of the Dark Class (Dark Adventurer?) and a side elevation of a German S Boat (E Boat) together with original photos of the German Benz V20 diesel engines and gearbox. I remember an E Boat arriving at Menai Bridge when I was a kid and my father Victor Mills taking me to see it. I think Saunders Roe were interested in comparing notes on design and technical features with the German design.
These photos and drawings will also go on my website although it may be a while as my broadband is on a crawl.
D Mills
Dave Mills
Back to Top
Christian View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 17 June 2005
Location: Gibraltar
Status: Offline
Points: 775
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Christian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 November 2010 at 9:51am
Hi Dave
The postcard is available for purchase at www.delcampe.net search for LIEGE VEDETTE.
It is an auction, the price is 3.00 Euros with 2 days to go. If you click on the icon you see a larger image, and click again on the bottom right corner it enlarges again, and can be downloaded.
Regards, Christian.
 
Back to Top
mprints View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 29 October 2010
Location: Anglesey
Status: Offline
Points: 32
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mprints Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 November 2010 at 12:01pm
Many thanks Christian. I bid for it. I would never have seen it without you.
Regards, Dave
Dave Mills
Back to Top
mprints View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 29 October 2010
Location: Anglesey
Status: Offline
Points: 32
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mprints Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 December 2010 at 5:26pm
I bought the photo of 539 from Belgium and it's now on the website together with some more drawings and a fantastic technical illustration by my father of what two of the three the Packard engines of 539 would look like when built. The drawing was signed in Feb 1946, just a couple of months after he started working at the Saunders-Roe Anglesey factory. The drawing is purely conjectural as the final layout was a little different when compared with the photos of the engine room. 
The Daimler Benz E Boat engines are now also on the website.
Happy browsing
Dave Mills
Back to Top
mprints View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 29 October 2010
Location: Anglesey
Status: Offline
Points: 32
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mprints Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 December 2010 at 5:26pm
Here's the pencil drawing by my father Victor Mills of the MTB 539 engine room. It is an early sketch carried out while the boat design was still on the drawing board around 1945. I have now included it in my website page on MTB 539 (P1602). It shows two of the three Packard 4M-2500 V12 petrol engines. The view is looking forward towards the bulkhead behind the fuel tank compartment. The ROTOL vee gearboxes reversed the drive to the triple ROTOL variable pitch props that would be below the left of the illustration.
 
 
Dave Mills
Back to Top
mprints View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 29 October 2010
Location: Anglesey
Status: Offline
Points: 32
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mprints Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 February 2011 at 9:26pm
I've just given my first talk on MTB 539 (P1602) at Amlwch (nearest land to where she lies in the Irish Sea). Next talk in two weeks! I met the diver who last saw her about eighteen years ago and he is hoping to take another look at her this year. Hopefully he will get some photos and check out what condition she is in today. I've also been scanning the thousands of Saunders-Roe company negatives from the 1950's (nearly 2,000 done so far). Many negs are in very poor condition, but there are lots of the Dark Class, P1101, 1102, 1103 and various minesweepers. I'm also copying all the SARO Progress company magazines of the 1950's that I can borrow. If anyone has copies I would be pleased to make contact.
Dave Mills
Back to Top
mprints View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 29 October 2010
Location: Anglesey
Status: Offline
Points: 32
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mprints Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 September 2012 at 3:07pm
Dark%20Scout%20clearly%20showing%20her%20all%20welded%20aliuminium%20hull
Dark Scout clearly showing her all welded aluminium hull construction. I've added this photo to help identify if Scuba Doo could be the same boat. See
 


Edited by mprints - 24 September 2012 at 3:10pm
Dave Mills
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down