having been involved in the north african, sicilian and then normandy landings, he then moved to motor torpedo boats, joining mtb 476 of the 30th mtb flotilla as a first lieutenant. in the year that they were together, these nine mtbs sank six german vessels and damaged another 12 off the coasts of france, the netherlands and belgium. the high speed boats each had three super-charged merlin engines – the same as used in the spitfires, running on high octane fuel. mtbs attacked at close quarters at night, with double-skin mahogany hulls that did little to protect the people or the fuel from gunfire. the 30th flotilla was a close-knit group of men, many of whom stayed in touch until the end of their lives.