It was one of a large series of small, fast, shallow draught Coastal Motor Boats used during the First World War.

Power was a 275 bhp (205 kW) Thornycroft V-12 petrol engine driving a single propeller and achieved a top speed of 24.8 knots (45.9 km/h).

The boat was armed with one 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo and two single .303 in (7.62 km) Lewis machine guns for the attack on Oleg.

Beckett was in command of a Divisional CMB attack on German destroyers at Zeebrugge on 7 April 1917; as a result one was sunk and one very seriously damaged.

[3] In July 2019 the boat was moved to Boathouse 4 in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where she is being displayed above a full-size, working replica being constructed by volunteers.