| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Motor Torpedo Boat |
| Class | Vosper 70 feet-type |
| Pennant | MTB 31 |
| Built by | Vosper (Portchester, England, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 27 Sep 1939 |
| Laid down | |
| Launched | |
| Commissioned | 5 Jul 1940 |
| End service | |
| History | Reclassified as target towing vessel CT 22 in 1943 |
Commands listed for HMS MTB 31 (MTB 31)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt. Denis Jermain, RN | 5 Jul 1940 | 1 Jul 1941 |
| 2 | J Weeden, RNVR | 1 Jul 1941 | 3 Aug 1942 |
| 3 | A J H Rickards, RNVR | 3 Aug 1942 | 28 Jun 1943 |
| 4 | D G Gill, RNVR | 28 Jun 1943 | 3 Jan 1944 |
| 5 | P J Munro-Thomson, RNVR | 3 Jan 1944 | Sep 1944 |
| 6 | J R Doyland, RNVR | Sep 1944 | 15 Dec 1944 |
| 7 | S Cooper, RNVR | 15 Dec 1944 | mid 1946 |
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Notable events involving MTB 31 include:
31 Aug 1940
Operation CBX 5.
On 31 August 1940, a group of destroyers sailed from Immingham on a mine laying mission to the north-west of the Dutch island of Vlieland.
The minelaying destroyers were from the 20th Destroyer Flotilla, these were; HMS Express (Capt. J.G. Bickford, DSO, DSC, RN), HMS Esk (Lt.Cdr. R.J.H. Couch, DSC, RN), HMS Icarus (Cdr. C.D. Maud, DSC, RN), HMS Intrepid (Cdr. R.C. Gordon, RN) and HMS Ivanhoe (Cdr. P.H. Hadow, RN). The minelayers were escorted by three destroyers of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla, these were; HMS Jupiter (Cdr. D.B. Wyburd, RN, with Capt. L.F.A.V.N. Mountbatten, GCVO, RN = Capt.(D.5) on board), HMS Kelvin (Cdr. J.H. Allison, DSO, RN) and HMS Vortigern (Lt.Cdr. R.S. Howlett, RN).
The mines were to be laid within an area enclosed by lines joining positions; A) 53°25.0'N, 04°45.0'E. B) 53°22.6'N, 04°52.2'E. C) 53°25.2'N, 04°54.4'E. D) 53°27.6'N, 04°47.0'E.
At 2250A/31, aerial reconnaissance reported a large number of German ships to the north of the Dutch island of Terschelling proceeding westwards. The destroyers of the 20th Destroyer Flotilla were ordered to jettison their mines and intercept, believing wrongly that the German ships were part of an invasion force.
At 2307A/31, HMS Express struck a mine in position 53°25'N, 03°48'E. She was badly damaged but did not sink. HMS Esk went to her assistance and hit mine at 2325A/31, she sank immediately. HMS Ivanhoe also went to her assistance and hit a mine at 0051A/1. She was badly damaged, but she was able to proceed for a while.
HMS Jupiter, HMS Kelvin and HMS Vortiger were behind the minelaying destroyers providing cover for the operation. HMS Jupiter and HMS Kelvin went to the aid of the damaged destroyers while HMS Vortigern remained behind to mark the gap in the minefield for their return.
The escort destroyers, HMS Garth (Lt.Cdr. E.H. Dyke, RN) and HMS Hambledon (Cdr. S.H. Carlill, RN), which were on patrol off the coast near Harwich were also ordered to assist.
The minesweepers HMS Leda (Lt.Cdr. H. Unwin, DSC, RN) and HMS Saltash (Lt.Cdr. T.R. Fowke, RN), motor torpedo boats HMS MTB 14, HMS MTB 15, HMS MTB 16, HMS MTB 17, HMS MTB 29, HMS MTB 30, HMS MTB 31 and the tugs HMS St. Cyrus, Irishman, Norman, Wheeldon were also ordered to go the assistance of the crippled ships.
Around 0800A/1, most of the crew of HMS Ivanhoe abandoned ship and boarded MTB 14, MTB 16, MTB 17. Thirty of the crew remained onboard trying to save the ship.
At 0941A/1, HMS Express was taken in tow by HMS Kelvin, but when the towing line fouled HMS Kelvin'spropeller the tow was taken over by HMS Jupiter until it was passed over to the tug HMS St. Cyrus. Close cover for the towing group was provided by HMS Vortigern and HMS Hambledon. HMS Jupiter and HMS Kelvin formed a strike group in case German warships would arrive on the scene. HMS Express was towed to Hull where she arrived on 2 September 1940 and was out of action for around a year.
At 1415A/1, the remaining crew of HMS Ivanhoe had to board MTB 15 as HMS Ivanhoe was rapidly sinking.
Later that afternoon a British aircraft reported that HMS Ivanhoe was still afloat. HMS Kelvin, HMS Garth and MTB 30 were ordered to search for her. At 1619A/1, HMS Garth spotted HMS Ivanhoe while it was being attacked by a German aircraft. HMS Kelvin also arrived on the scene and she sank the wreck of HMS Ivanhoe at 1700A/1 with a torpedo.
Meanwhile the light cruisers HMS Galatea (Capt. B.B. Schofield, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral A.T.B. Curteis, CB, RN), HMS Aurora (Capt. L.H.K. Hamilton, DSO, RN) and HMS Cardiff (Capt. P.K. Enright, RN) had departed the Humber around 0130/1, to make rendez-vous with HMS Jupiter, HMS Kelvin and HMS Vortigern after the minelaying mission. As the minelaying mission was cancelled the cruisers returned to Immingham and while doing so HMS Galatea struck a mine off the Cleaner Shoal Buoy near the Humber light vessel. Damage was however only minor. The cruisers arrived at Immingham around 0800A/1.