A Second World War Royal Navy torpedo boat which sank two German destroyers is on the way to being restored to her former glory after spending half a century as a houseboat.

Engineer Paul Childs has spent a year working on the 73ft boat, which is moored at Bridgwater Docks in Somerset and is said to be the only known example of her kind.

The Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) 219 was built in Portsmouth in 1941 to defend Britain from the threat of a German invasion. She has now been floated as part of the next stage of her restoration.

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Now moored in Bridgwater: Engineer Paul Childs has spent a year working on the 73ft Motor Torpedo Boat

London life: The torpedo boat was previously used as a houseboat on the River Thames, based in Chelsea

Repairs: The renovation of the torpedo boat - which was built in 1941 - is seen getting underway in Bridgwater

Here she comes: The boat arriving in Bridgwater ahead of stage two of the renovation project by Mr Childs

The torpedo boat - from a fleet which protected home waters and famously earned the nickname ‘iron men in wooden boats’ - was used as a houseboat for 50 years in Chelsea, south-west London.

Mr Childs said the project had cost him £30,000 so far and he needed to raise another £30,000 to finish it, adding that ‘stage one’ of the refurbishment at Tilbury Docks in Essex had been finished.

Mr Childs said: ‘We towed it under Tower Bridge from Chelsea. This is stage two. Then we go to stage three and hopefully, when she’s finished, she’s going to join another vessel that we’ve got.’

The MTB 219 was involved in attempts to intercept the Scharnhorst, Gneisneau and Prinz Eugen, known as the Channel Dash, in 1942.

She also rescued a number of aircrew from downed Fairey Swordfish bomber aircraft and helped sink two German destroyers.

Pricey: Mr Childs said the project had cost £30,000 so far and he needed to raise another £30,000 to finish it

Torpedo boat: The MTB 219 was involved in attempts to intercept the Scharnhorst, Gneisneau and Prinz Eugen, known as the Channel Dash, in 1942. She is pictured above in action

Forties heyday: The MTB 219's engine operating manual (left) and the crew photographed in 1941 (right)

The men: Another image of the boat's crew in 1941. She rescued a number of aircrew from downed Fairey Swordfish bomber aircraft and helped sink two German destroyers

MTB 219 and other Coastal Forces ships sunk German destroyer Seeadler (above) in the Dover Strait in 1942

Hit: MTB 219 was also involved in the sinking of the Kreigsmarinewerft Iltis (pictured) in the same year, 1942

Mr Childs said the vessel's hull was condemned in 2012 and her owner gifted the boat to Mr Childs in August 2013.

LAST OF HER KIND: THE MTB 219 Built : Portsmouth, Hampshire

Class : Vosper 70 feet-type

Maximum speed : 27.5 knots (31.6mph)

Ordered : December 1940

Commissioned : July 1941

Decommissioned : December 1943

Length : 73ft

Breath : 17ft

Armaments : Two 21in torpedo tubes, two quadruple 0.303in machine-guns and two single 0.303in machine-guns Advertisement

He added: ‘We’re going to put a wreath on the front, which has been donated, just to commemorate the guys that actually died on this vessel whilst in service, and the hundreds that died elsewhere in the campaign.’

Mr Childs said stage two of the restoration in Bridgwater was likely to take a year, but the vessel could stay in the town for longer.

During that time he hopes to host opens days and encourage volunteers to help out with painting and maintenance.

In addition to MTB 219, there are believed to be two other surviving MTB boats - 102 and 331 - although these are both of different classes to 219, leaving this as the only one in her category.

There were 577 Motor Torpedo Boats commissioned for the Royal Navy and 637 for the US Navy - totalling 1,214. Some 173 of these were lost during the Second World War.