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The Fairmile A motor launch was a type of motor launch designed by
The first vessel (ML100) was not completed until May 1940 because of handling problems at low speeds, although the subsequent boats had all entered service by July. Their role was to be anti-submarine escorts in coastal waters, but, once the better
The origins of the FairmilesAllied Coastal Forces of World War II Fairmile A and C types
{{WWIICoastalForces Auxiliary search and rescue ship classes Gunboat classes Gunboats of the Royal Navy Military boats Patrol boat classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy Submarine chaser classes
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 ...
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 ...
.
Development
Shortly before theSecond 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 ...
the British industrialist Noel Macklin
Sir (Albert) Noel Campbell Macklin (28 October 1886 – 1946) was an innovative British car maker and boat designer. He founded Eric-Campbell in 1919, Silver Hawk in 1920, Invicta in 1925 and Railton in 1933. In 1939 he founded Fairmile Mari ...
submitted to 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 ...
an innovative plan for the series production of a motor launch (vessels for harbour defence and submarine chasing). The design used prefabricated parts, which allowed various small concerns, such as furniture and piano manufacturers, to produce the individual components. These components could then be assembled in separate shipyards. The hull was to be made of double diagonal mahogany
Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: U ...
planking with plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
frames divided into nine watertight compartments.
The Admiralty rejected the concept, and so the prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...
was built as a private venture. In July 1939, two months before the outbreak of war, the Admiralty had a change of heart and awarded Macklin a contract to build eleven further Type A Fairmiles.
Service
The first vessel (ML100) was not completed until May 1940 because of handling problems at low speeds, although the subsequent boats had all entered service by July. Their role was to be anti-submarine escorts in coastal waters, but, once the better Fairmile B motor launch
The Fairmile Type-B motor launch was a type of motor launch (often referred to as MLs) built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine and others during the Second World War for the Royal Navy for coastal operations.
Design
While the Type A had ...
es began to enter service in the autumn of 1940, the Type A boats were converted to minelayers.Konstam (p.15)
See also
*Fairmile B motor launch
The Fairmile Type-B motor launch was a type of motor launch (often referred to as MLs) built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine and others during the Second World War for the Royal Navy for coastal operations.
Design
While the Type A had ...
* Fairmile C motor gun boat
The Fairmile C motor gun boat was a type of motor gunboat designed by Norman Hart of Fairmile Marine for the Royal Navy. An intermediate design, twenty-four boats were built in 1941 receiving the designations MGB 312–335.
Design
The Fairmil ...
* Fairmile D motor torpedo boat
The Fairmile D motor torpedo boat was a type of British motor torpedo boat (MTB) and motor gunboat (MGB)Reynolds, Leonard C. ''Dog Boats at War: Royal Navy D Class MTBs and MGBs, 1939–1945.'' 2000. designed by Bill Holt and conceived by Fa ...
* Fairmile H landing craft
The Fairmile H Landing Craft were British landing craft of the Second World War. Initially designed for commando type raids from a base in Britain as a way of probing enemy defenses and tying down additional troops, some were converted into fi ...
* Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy
References
* ''Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume I : Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers'' - byJohn 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,
External links
The origins of the Fairmiles
{{WWIICoastalForces Auxiliary search and rescue ship classes Gunboat classes Gunboats of the Royal Navy Military boats Patrol boat classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy Submarine chaser classes