The Type Two HSL was a 63 ft
high-speed launch
A high-speed launch (HSL) is a type of military boat typically used for air-sea rescue operations. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) and others used HSLs especially during World War II.
The 64 ft. high-speed, air/sea rescue launch built by ...
craft made by
British Power Boat Company
The British Power Boat Company was a British manufacturer of motor boats, particularly racing boats and later military patrol boats.
History
The company was formed on 30 September 1927 when Hubert Scott-Paine bought and renamed the Hythe Shipy ...
(BPBC). The craft were used 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 opposin ...
for
air-sea rescue
Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...
operations to save
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
aircrew from the sea. The Type Two superseded the
64 ft HSL, and was itself replaced by the
Type Three 68 ft "Hants and Dorset" also built by the BPBC. The Type Two (aka Type 2) was nicknamed the "Whaleback" due to the distinctive curve to its deck and humped cabin.
History
![RAF HSL 130 rescueing Halifax crew c1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/RAF_HSL_130_rescueing_Halifax_crew_c1942.jpg)
The Type Two was designed in 1937 by George Selman, Chief Designer and Naval Architect of the
British Power Boat Company
The British Power Boat Company was a British manufacturer of motor boats, particularly racing boats and later military patrol boats.
History
The company was formed on 30 September 1927 when Hubert Scott-Paine bought and renamed the Hythe Shipy ...
, which was founded by
Hubert Scott-Paine
Hubert Scott-Paine (11 March 1891 – 14 April 1954) was a British aircraft and boat designer, record-breaking power boat racer, entrepreneur, inventor, and sponsor of the winning entry in the 1922 Schneider Trophy.
Early life
Hubert Paine was ...
at
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
. Scott-Paine had previously owned the
Supermarine Aviation Company, later builders of the
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
and several
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
types.
A low-set cabin contained the wheel-house, chart room and a sickbay. For defence against enemy aircraft, on top of the cabin were two aircraft-style turrets made by
Armstrong-Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...
initially with a single .303 in
Vickers K gun or
Lewis gun (later improved to paired guns of the same calibre). The mahogany
hull was of the
hard chine,
planing type.
Usage
During the Second World War, the retrieval of pilots and aircrew who had been shot down over, or who had had to ditch in, the sea around the British Isles was the responsibility of the
Royal Air Force Marine Branch
The Marine Branch (1918-1986) was a branch of the Royal Air Force (RAF) which operated watercraft in support of RAF operations. Just days after the creation of the RAF itself, the Marine Craft Section (MCS) was created with the transfer of Roya ...
, (motto: "The sea shall not have them"). Rescue of downed aircrew was coordinated using RAF aircraft, aircraft operated by
Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
and 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 F ...
and rescue launches operated by the RAF Marine Branch and the Royal Navy.
The Type Two was supplied to RAF marine craft units from the middle of 1940. In total 69 craft were manufactured between 1940 and 1942.
After World War II, a number of the Type Two craft were transferred to the Royal Navy and a small number were given to the Italian Air Force. The vast majority of the Type Two craft belonging to the Admiralty were subsequently stored and later sold off as houseboats. None are currently owned by any museum or trusts.
Variants
Following their performance during the
Dieppe raid
Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment o ...
in August 1942, the Type Two was modified. Extra armament was fitted – paired .303 in machine guns mounted either side of the wheel-house and a single
20 mm Oerlikon
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 emplo ...
on the (strengthened) rear deck. Protection was improved by adding anti-shrapnel padding around the forward cabin area.
See also
*
Crash boats of World War 2
Crash boats, at the time known as "aircraft rescue boats" or "air-sea rescue boats", were wooden speedboats built to rescue the crew of downed United States and other Allies aircraft during World War II. US boats came from the observation of B ...
*
Crash rescue boat
Crash Rescue Boat is a name used in the United States to describe military high-speed offshore rescue boats, similar in size and performance to motor torpedo boats, used to rescue pilots and aircrews of crashed aircraft. During World War II th ...
*
''For Those in Peril'' – 1944 British propaganda film that is based on the RAF air-sea rescue service featuring Type Two craft.
*
Motor launch
A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in Royal Navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high-speed air-sea rescue. Some vessels for water police service are also known as motor launches.
...
* ''
The Sea Shall Not Have Them
''The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, about a North Sea rescue during the Second Wo ...
''
*
Wooden boats of World War 2
Splinter fleet or Splinter navy was a nickname given to the United States wooden boats used in World War II. The boats served in many different roles during the war. These boats were built in small boatyards on the West coast and East coast, ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, British Power Boat Company Type Two 63 ft HSL
Comprehensive list of RAF boatsA photograph of high-speed launch HSL ''164'' at speed
Royal Air Force Marine Branch
Boat types
High-speed craft
World War II military equipment of the United Kingdom
Military boats