The Fairmile Type-B motor launch was a type of motor launch (often referred to as MLs) built by British boatbuilder

Fairmile Marine Fairmile Marine was a British boat building company founded in 1939 by the car manufacturer Noel Macklin. Macklin used the garage at his home at Cobham Fairmile in Surrey for manufacturing assembly which is why the boats he designed came to b ...

and others during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

for coastal operations.

Design

While the Type A had been designed entirely by Fairmile, the Type B design had come from Bill Holt of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

based on the lines of a destroyer hull and the detailed design and production was taken on by Fairmile. Like all their designs it was based on total

prefabrication Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is ...

so individual components could be contracted out to small factories for production and these arranged as kits that would be delivered to various boatyards for assembly and fitting out. Altogether approximately 650 boats were built between 1940 and 1945. Like the A Type, the B Type were initially intended as

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War I ...

s, so the boats were fitted with ASDIC (

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

) as standard. Their main armament initially reflected their anti-submarine focus, with 12

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...

s, a single QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss gun aft, and one set of twin 0.303-in machine guns. The specifications given are for the original 1940 British version. As the war moved on, the vessels were adapted to other roles and the armament was modified and upgraded such as the replacement of the 3-pounder with one or more

20 mm Oerlikon cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...

and removal of the ASDIC dome for more clearance as minesweepers. Some boats were configured as motor torpedo boats.

Service

The first Fairmile B motor launch was completed in September 1940, with a further 38 from the first two production batches entering service before the end of the year. All boats were essentially the same, although they could be adapted to serve in several roles by the expedient of having pre-drilled rails on their decks spaced to allow the fitting of various types of armaments. Although their armament initially reflected their main anti-submarine mission, nine of them were fitted with

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s taken from ex-US

Town-class destroyer The Town-class destroyers were a group of 50 destroyers of the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy that were in service during the Second World War. They were transferred from the United States Navy in exchange for military bases in the Bri ...

s; they formed the 2nd ML Flotilla tasked with anti-invasion duty, until the threat had passed. During the Siege of Malta, they were used to sweep a narrow channel ahead of heavier minesweepers which widened the channel. The heavier minesweepers were initially the remnants of the Malta trawler force, then fleet minesweepers that arrived with a convoy from Gibraltar. The launches were able to pass over the mines whereas many trawler losses had been caused by the leading ship hitting a mine. A number served in the

St Nazaire Raid The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy (RN) a ...

as assault transports, but their light construction meant that they suffered heavily; 12 B motor launches were lost in the action, out of 16 deployed. During the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

a number of MLs were designated as navigation launches. These motor launches guided the landing craft onto the correct beaches. For this task the craft were fitted with splinter mats at the front for added protection. The main armament - the

3-pounder gun 3-pounder gun, 3-pounder, 3-pdr or QF 3-pdr is an abbreviation typically referring to a gun which fired a projectile weighing approximately 3 pounds. It may refer to : *The Grasshopper cannon : of the 18th century *QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss : Hotchkiss ...

- was moved to the bow, an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon was fitted amidships and a

Bofors 40 mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

was installed at the stern. Smoke canister apparatus was installed at the rear of the craft and the number of

s was reduced. See main picture above of ''ML303'' in this configuration. Many were built as rescue motor launches with small sickbays aft of the engine room coaming, and classified as RML (rescue motor launch). These were numbered in the series RML492 to RML500, and RML511 to RML553. Several more were converted to use as

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

ambulance launches with larger sickbays. File:HMC ML Q050.jpg, HMC ''ML Q055'' 1941. Large black flag indicates ASDIC contact. File:Fairmail B ML303.jpg, British ''ML303'' during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day File:HMC ML Q055.jpg, HMC ''ML Q055'' 1941

British Colonial or Commonwealth-built Fairmile B motor launches

Canadian built Fairmiles Originally designed for the Royal Navy (RN) by W.J. Holt of the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of i ...

and built by British boatbuilder

, during the Second World War 88 Fairmile B motor launches, with slight modifications for Canadian climatic and operational conditions, were built in Canada for service with the RCN in home waters. The first thirty-six Canadian Fairmile B type were designated and painted up as CML 01-36 (coastal motor launch). Eight Canadian Fairmiles (Q 392-Q 399) were built by Le Blanc for the RN and were transferred under

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

to the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The US Navy used the Canadian-built Fairmiles as submarine chasers (SC1466-1473). Other British Colonial or Commonwealth built Fairmiles At least two were built in the

British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

, home to the dockyard and Admiralty house of the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...

, by what was to become ''Burland, Conyers & Marirea, Ltd''. New Zealand built 12 boats. These were used in New Zealand waters and around the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

, and included HMNZS ''Maori'' and ''Kahu''. In Australia 35 boats entered service from October 1942. They were employed on routine patrols, convoy escorts, running special forces in and out of Japanese-held areas, in Papua New Guinea, boom defence patrols in harbours at home and abroad, courier operations, survey work, and raiding Japanese-held coasts. Of note the surrender of Japanese forces in the South West Pacific. On 10 September 1945, Rear-Admiral S. Sato, commanding officer of Kairiru and Muschu Islands, New Guinea, surrendered the Japanese forces on the islands to Major-General H. C. H. Robertson, commander of 6th Division on board the ML 805. At least six boats (ML380-383,829 and 846) were built by South Africa and commissioned during November 1942. These were sent as the 49th Fairmile Flotilla (SANF) to Burma and deployed along the Arakan coast. The boats saw much action in support of ground forces and disrupting Japanese supply lines. The Imperial Japanese Navy salvaged two that had been sunk and placed them in service. A number of boats were built in Egypt by

Thomas Cook & Son Thomas Cook & Son, originally simply Thomas Cook, was a company founded by Thomas Cook, a cabinet-maker, in 1841 to carry temperance supporters by railway between the cities of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham. In 1851, Cook arrange ...

, who had a Cairo shipyard for constructing Nile tourist craft. Armament was fitted in Port Said. The first three to enter service in 1942 were MLs 355, 353 and 348.Searle, G. W. ''At Sea Level'' Book Guild 1994 pp47-8 Post war they were often taken on as pleasure boats and a number of Fairmile Bs are on the

National Register of Historic Vessels National Historic Ships UK is a government-funded independent organisation that advises UK governments and others on matters relating to historic ships.

. Fourteen Fairmile B were operated by the Italian

Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...

naval service, between 1947 and the 1980s.

Surviving examples

Four currently survive in the United Kingdom, two of which are in excellent condition. One is RML497. Many others of the type are known to survive around the world, some still in commercial service as tour boats. File:MV Western Lady (34940266270).jpg, File:HMNZS Kahu I P-3571.JPG, File:MV The Fairmile at her mooring in Brixham in 2009.jpg, Surviving Fairmile B, RML497 at

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fis ...

in England, prior to restoration to her wartime appearance

Notes

References

* ''Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume I : Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers'' - by

John Lambert John Lambert may refer to: * John Lambert (martyr) (died 1538), English Protestant martyred during the reign of Henry VIII *John Lambert (general) (1619–1684), Parliamentary general in the English Civil War * John Lambert of Creg Clare (''fl.'' c ...

and Al Ross - 1990, * ''War at Sea - South African Maritime Operations during World War II'' : CJ Harris - 1991 *
Fairmile 'B' Class Launches Accessed 28 November 2007
* https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/14515.html ML347 built by Risdon Beazley Ltd NR Southampton became Eastern Princess at Great Yarmouth after the war and last heard of as a ferry in Skiathos.

External links

Canadian Fairmile Q105 presently under restoration

Fairmile Type B Motor Launch

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070821043933/http://www.nzshipmarine.com/pubs/detail.aspx?id=15 Book on New-Zealand built Fairmiles used in New Zealand and the Solomons
The Fairmiles, Canada's Little Ships by Spud Roscoe

* ttp://www.webshots.com/search?query=fairmile Pictures of Fairmile models
List of books at PT-boats.com

{{WWIICoastalForces Gunboat classes Gunboats of the Royal Navy Military boats Patrol boat classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy Submarine chaser classes Torpedo boat classes