HMS Mimi and HMS Toutou
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | HMS Mimi / HMS Toutou |
| Builder: | John I. Thornycroft & Company |
| Launched: | 1915 |
| Commissioned: | 1915 |
| Fate: | Unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Motor Launch |
| Length: | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × 100 hp (75 kW) petrol engines, twin screws |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Armament: |
|
HMS Mimi and HMS Toutou were motor launches of the Royal Navy. After undergoing an unusual journey from Britain to Lake Tanganyika in the interior of Africa, the ships played an important role in the African naval struggle between Britain and Germany during World War I. The names mean Meow and Fido in Parisian slang. They had originally been named Dog and Cat by their erstwhile commander, Geoffrey Spicer-Simson, only to have the names rejected by an apparently scandalized Admiralty.
The ships eventually named the Mimi and Toutou were being built at the Thornycroft Yards on the Thames at the beginning of the war. Originally commissioned for the Greek Air Force, the ships were requisitioned by the Admiralty to meet the needs of a scheme to create an African inland navy. Both Mimi and her sister ship HMS Toutou had a length of 40 feet (12 m) and could travel at up to 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) by virtue of two 100 horsepower (75 kW) petrol engines attached to twin screws. This would make the ships the fastest on Lake Tanganyika when they eventually arrived. The British armed them with a 3-pounder in the fore and a Maxim gun aft. Although it was discovered that the frames of the boats could not endure the 3-pounder's recoil when not fired straight ahead, it was hoped that the boat's impressive manoeuvrability would offset this limitation.
The launches underwent trials on 8 June 1915, and by the middle of the month were packed aboard a liner destined for Cape Town, South Africa. The vessels were the nucleus of an expedition whose goal was to achieve naval superiority in the strategically important Lake Tanganyika. The expedition's leader was the colourful naval officer Spicer-Simson. At the beginning of July they arrived in South Africa, where the ships were loaded onto a train bound for Elisabethville in the Belgian Congo, and finally the village of Fungurume, where the line ended. By 6 August, the ships and equipment were offloaded and the expedition prepared to drive into the bush.
...
Wikipedia