Member Model: Roy’s Paddle Tug “Forceful”

Forceful was the last paddle tug in active service with the Royal Navy (or any other Navy in the world). When decommissioned she marked the end of almost 150 years of paddle tug use in the Royal Navy. Strictly speaking, she was operated by the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service, part of the marine services organisation which provided non-combatant support services to the warships. Forceful was one of the unique Director-class paddle tugs which came into use from 1957 onwards.  They were designed specifically to handle aircraft carriers, their masts being designed to fold down so that they could easily get under the overhanging flight decks of the carriers. At that time the RN had 23 fleet carriers. It was felt that paddles with independent drive would give the tugs greater manoeuvrability alongside the carriers. These paddle tugs were very labour intensive boats, with a crew of 26 on the Forceful. ​

The model is mostly scratch-built on a GRP hull. The paddle drives are independent using belt drives, but the two paddles can be clutched together. Several decks are planked with basswood, but the basic structure is all styrene. The deck fittings are a mixture of scratch-built and purchased. The radio controls the sound system, the forward fire monitor, and the towhook release, as well as the paddle drive.

Click Here for the Forceful “Build Log”