View source for Fairmile B motor launch

{{short description|WWII Royal Navy motor boat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image   = ML-Q056.jpg
| Ship caption = The Canadian Fairmile B motor launch ML-Q056 in 1941
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name                  = Fairmile B motor launch
|Builders              =
|Operators             =
|Class before          = [[Fairmile A motor launch]]
|Class after           = [[Fairmile C motor gun boat]]
|Subclasses            =
|Cost                  =
|Built range           =
|In service range      =
|In commission range   =
|Total ships building  =
|Total ships planned   =
|Total ships completed = {{circa|650}}
|Total ships cancelled =
|Total ships active    =
|Total ships laid up   =
|Total ships lost      =
|Total ships retired   =
|Total ships preserved =
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header              =
| Header caption           =
| Ship class               =
| Ship type                =
| Ship tonnage             =
| Ship displacement        = 85 tons
| Ship length              = {{cvt|112|ft|m}}
| Ship beam                = *{{cvt|18|ft|3|in|m}}
*except Canadian built at {{cvt|17|ft}} or {{cvt|17|ft|10|in}}
| Ship height              =
| Ship draught             = {{cvt|4|ft|10|in|m}}
| Ship draft               =
| Ship depth               =
| Ship hold depth          =
| Ship decks               =
| Ship deck clearance      =
| Ship ramps               =
| Ship ice class           =
| Ship power               =
| Ship propulsion          = Two {{cvt|650|bhp|kW}} [[Hall-Scott]] Defender petrol engines
| Ship sail plan           =
| Ship speed               = {{convert|20|kn}}
| Ship range               = {{cvt|1,500|mi|nmi km}} at {{cvt|12|kn}}
| Ship endurance           =
| Ship test depth          =
| Ship boats               =
| Ship capacity            =
| Ship troops              =
| Ship complement          = 16 (later increased)
| Ship crew                =
| Ship time to activate    =
| Ship sensors             = [[sonar|ASDIC]]
| Ship EW                  =
| Ship armament            = *(for 1940 Sub Chaser)
*1 × [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss]]
*1 × twin [[0.303 British|0.303 in]] machine guns
*12 depth charges
*later(some vessels):
*1 × QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss
*2 × twin 0.303 in machine guns
*1 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]
*1 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm gun]]
| Ship armour              = Wheelhouse plated
| Ship armor               =
| Ship aircraft            =
| Ship aircraft facilities =
| Ship notes               =
}}
|}
The '''Fairmile B motor launch''' (often abbreviated to 'ML') was a very numerous class of [[Motor launch (naval)|motor launch]] produced in kit form by British [[boat building|boatbuilder]] [[Fairmile Marine]], and then assembled and fitted out by numerous boatyards during the [[Second World War]] to meet the [[Royal Navy]]'s coastal operation requirements.
==Design==
While the [[Fairmile A motor launch|Type A motor launch]] had been designed entirely for Fairmile by architect Norman Hart, the Type B design had come from Bill Holt, head of the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]]'s DNC Boat Section. The hard-chine hull of the Type A had exhibited seakeeping and handling limitations, but Holt's round-bilged design for the Type B was found to be a far more seaworthy form.
Like all Fairmile boats, production of the Type B was based on total [[prefabrication]] so individual components could be contracted out to small factories for production and these arranged as kits that would be delivered in stages to various boatyards for assembly & fitting out on a 'just-in-time' basis. Accordingly, the detailed design work for the Type B was taken on by Fairmile and modified to suit their kit fabrication principle - they then also handled production of component parts.
Altogether approximately 650 boats were built between 1940 and 1945. Like the Type As, the Type Bs were initially intended as [[submarine chaser]]s, so the boats were fitted with ASDIC ([[sonar]]) as standard.
Their main armament initially reflected their anti-submarine focus, with 12 [[depth charge]]s, a single [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss]] gun forward, and one set of twin 0.303-in [[Lewis gun|Lewis]] or [[Vickers K machine gun|GO]] machine guns (frequently increased in number by the crew); early boats often received a Holman projector amidships. A common upgrade to gun armament by 1942-43 in many early boats was to add an aft bandstand mounting for either a 2-pdr Rolls gun or a 20mm Oerlikon cannon. 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]] and removal of the ASDIC dome for more clearance as minesweepers. Some boats were configured as [[motor torpedo boats]].
==Boats==
The Fairmile B type superseded the original Fairmile A type, which had been designed by Norman Hart.
===First batch (September 1939 orders)===
An initial batch of 24 of these (''ML 101'' to ''ML 124'') was ordered by the Admiralty on 22 September 1939 from the [[Fairmile Marine]] company, of which the first eleven (plus the prototype ''ML 100'') were completed to the Hart design ([Fairmile A); the remaining thirteen (''ML 112'' to ''ML 124'') were completed to the new Fairmile B design. The first Fairmile B motor launch (actually ''ML 113'' from Tough Bros, [[Teddington]]) was completed and delivered on 12 August 1940, with a further eleven from this first production batch entering service before the end of the year (the last of the batch to be completed - ''ML 123'' - was delayed until 1941).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=VD6ImAlf7w0C&dq=Fairmile+B+motor+launch&pg=PA12 Angus Konstam, ''British Motor Gun Boat 1939–45'']{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Osprey Publishing Limited 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-84908-077-4}} (p.15)</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship Builder||Completed||Fate
|-
|''ML 112''||Woodnutt & Co., [[St Helens, Isle of Wight]]||22 September 1940||Sold on 27 February 1946.
|-
|''ML 113''||Tough Brothers, Teddington||12 August 1940||Sold in March 1946 as ''Pendennis''.
|-
|''ML 114''||Brooke Marine, Oulton Broad, near [[Lowestoft]]||24 August 1940||For disposal in 1946.
|-
|''ML 115''||Solent Shipyard, Sareisbury Green, Hants.||18 September 1940||Sold in October 1946.
|-
|''ML 116''||A. M. Dickie & Sons, [[Tarbert, Kintyre|Tarbert]], Argyllshire||14 September 1940||For disposal in April 1946.
|-
|''ML 117''||Lady Bee, [[Isleworth]]||26 October 1940||Sold in 1946, becoming yacht ''Savourna'' by 1959.
|-
|''ML 118''||Sussex Shipbuilding, [[Shoreham-by-Sea]], Sussex||7 October 1940||Sold in 1946 as ''Marandis''.
|-
|''ML 119''||Alexander Robertson, Sandbank.||12 September 1940||Lent to South African Navy 1945; for disposal later in 1945.
|-
|''ML 120''||Aldous Successors, The Shipyard, [[Brightlingsea]]||8 October 1940||Sold 1946 as ''Onetwenty''.
|-
|''ML 121''||James A. Silver, [[Rosneath]], [[Dumbartonshire]]||12 September 1940||Sold in Egypt ''ca.'' 1947.
|-
|''ML 122''||A. M. Dickie & Sons, Bangor, Gwynedd||16 October 1940||Lent to Royal Norwegian Navy from 13 December 1940 to 23 August 1941; <br>for disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 123''||Frank Curtis, [[Looe]], Cornwall||May 1941||To Free French Navy as ''St Ronan'' from May 1941 to July 1942; sold 1946.
|-
|''ML 124''||A. M. Dickie & Sons, Tarbert, Argyllshire||13 November 1940||To Ship Target Trials in 1946; for disposal in October 1947.
|}
===Second batch (January 1940 orders)===
The Admiralty placed a massive order for a second batch of Fairmile Bs - 120 vessels in total - on 8 January 1940. These were numbered ''ML 125'' to ''ML 244''. Of these, 37 were delivered by the end of 1940 and the other 83 during the first half of 1941.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship Builder||Completed||Fate
|-
|''ML 125''||J. S. Doig (Grimsby), Grimsby Docks||9 November 1940||Lent to [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] from 23 December 1940 to 23 August 1941; <br>for disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 126''||James N. Miller & Sons, East Shore, [[St Monance]], Fife||19 September 1940||Sunk 27 November 1943 after torpedo attack by U-boat.
|-
|''ML 127''||Brooke Marine, Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft||7 November 1940||Mined on 22 November 1940 in the Thames Estuary.
|-
|''ML 128''||P. K. Harris & Sons, New Quay Dry Docks, [[Appledore Shipbuilders|Appledore]], Devon||October 1940||Lent to [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] from 13 December 1940 to 23 August 1941; <br>for disposal in January 1946.
|-
|''ML 129''||Mashford Brothers, Cremyll Yard, Cremyll, [[Plymouth]], Devon||14 October 1940||Sunk by bombing on 22 March 1942 off Algeria.
|-
|''ML 130''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||9 October 1940||Sunk off Malta on 7 May 1942 by gunfire from [[E-boat]]s.
|-
|''ML 131''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||12 December 1941||Sold in March 1947.
|-
|''ML 132''||Itchenor Shipyard||9 November 1940||Became constructive total loss by bombing on 21 March 1942 at Bone ([[Annaba]]), Algeria, and interned on next day.
|-
|''ML 133''||Lady Bee, [[Isleworth]]||12 December 1940||Lost on 11 May 1943 by fire off west coast of Scotland.
|-
|''ML 134''||Solent Shipyard, Sarisbury Green||29 October 1940||For disposal in October 1946; became Egyptian ''Hamza''.
|-
|''ML 135''||Dorset Yacht, [[Hamworthy]] ||10 October 1940||Lent to South African Navy 1945; sold at Malta in November 1946.
|-
|''ML 136''||Alexander Robertson, Sandbank.||26 November 1940||Sold in Holland in March 1947, becoming ''Y861''.
|-
|''ML 137''||Boat Construction Company, [[Falmouth, Cornwall]].||26 November 1940||For disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 138''||Aldous Successors, The Shipyard, [[Brightlingsea]]||19 November 1940||Lent to Royal Netherlands Navy from 10 November 1945 until 1953, then sold.
|-
|''ML 139''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||17 December 1940||For disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 140''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||31 January 1941||For disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 141''||Mashford Brothers, Cremyll Yard, Cremyll, Plymouth, Devon||23 December 1940||For disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 142''||Brooke Marine, Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft||26 November 1940||Sold 1946, becoming ''Tregarth''.
|-
|''ML 143''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||13 February 1941||Lent to Royal Netherlands Navy from 10 November 1945 until 10 April 1946, then sold as ''Gay Tulip''.
|-
|''ML 144''|||Dorset Yacht, [[Hamworthy]]||12 November 1940||Sunk by mine on 22 September 1941 in the Channel.
|-
|''ML 145''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||25 March 1941||Became ''ML(A)1'' from July 1945, sold 1946.
|-
|''ML 146''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||1 March 1941||For disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 147''||Brooke Marine, Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft||December 1940||Constructive tptal loss on 3 November 1944 off Portsmouth; for disposal in April 1945.
|-
|''ML 148''||Sussex Shipbuilding, Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex||10 December 1940||Became ''ML(A)2'' from July 1945, sold 1946.
|-
|''ML 149''||[[Vosper & Company]], Portsmouth||20 February 1941||Became ''ML(A)3'' from July 1945, sold 1946.
|-
|''ML 150''||[[Sheerness Dockyard]]||6 March 1941||Sold March 1948.
|-
|''ML 151''||Sheerness Dockyard||25 February 1941||For disposal in October 1945.
|-
|''ML 152''||P. K. Harris & Sons, New Quay Dry Docks, Appledore||18 December 1940||Became ''ML(A)4'' from July 1945, <br>for disposal in June 1946.
|-
|''ML 153''||H. J. Percival, Horning, Norfolk||19 January 1941||For disposal in July 1946, becoming yacht ''Ginasal''.
|-
|''ML 154''||James A. Silver, Rosneath, Dumbartonshire||5 November 1940||Became ''ML2154'', then ''Squirrel'' in 1956, <br>taken to pieces in June 1958.
|-
|''ML 155''||Woodnutt, [[Bembridge]], Isle of Wight||11 December 1940||Became ''ML2155'', sold 1961.
|-
|''ML 156''||Wallasea Bay Yacht Yard, [[Rochford]], Essex||18 December 1940||Scuttled at [[St Nazaire]] on 28 March 1942, salved and became ''ML2156'', sold 1951.
|-
|''ML 157''||[[John I. Thorneycroft & Company]], [[Hampton, London]]||9 October 1940||Sold February 1946.
|-
|''ML 158''||John I. Thorneycroft & Company, Hampton||5 May 1941||Sold 27 February 1946.
|-
|''ML 159''||James N. Miller & Sons, East Shore, St Monance, Fife||23 November 1940||Sold February 1946.
|-
|''ML 160''||Alexander Robertson, Sandbank.||27 December 1940||Bombed on 6 May 1942 at Brixham.
|-
|''ML 161''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||10 April 1941||To Royal Netherlands Navy from 4 January 1945 to 28 August 1946; sold in 1946.
|-
|''ML 162''||A. M. Dickie & Sons, Tarbert, Argyllshire||3 December 1940||To Royal Netherlands Navy from 4 January 1945 to 10 April 1946; sold September 1946.
|-
|''ML 163''||Leo Robinson, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft||12 February 1941||Sold in 1947, becoming ''Armanda''.
|-
|''ML 164''||Boat Construction Company, Falmouth, Cornwall.||18 December 1940||To Royal Netherlands Navy from 4 January 1945 to 10 April 1946; sold September 1946.
|-
|''ML 165''||Kris Cruisers, Riverside Yard, [[Isleworth]], London.||10 December 1940||For disposal in October 1946.
|-
|''ML 166''||J. W. & A. Upham, Brixham||1 January 1941||To War Department as ''Hambledon'' in January 1945; for disposal in May 1947.
|-
|''ML 167''||J. W. & A. Upham, Brixham||January 1941||To War Department as ''Iffley'' in January 1945; for disposal in May 1947.
|-
|''ML 168''||William Weatherhead, [[Cockenzie]]||23 November 1940||For disposal in May 1946.
|-
|''ML 169''||William King, [[Burnham-on-Crouch]], Essex||27 November 1940||Lost by fire on 15 February 1942 at Gibraltar.
|-
|''ML 170''||Aldous Successors, The Shipyard, [[Brightlingsea]]||January 1941||For disposal in May 1946.
|-
|''ML 171''||Tough Brothers, Teddington||21 October 1940||To War Department as ''Richmond'' in June 1945; for disposal in May 1947.
|-
|''ML 172''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||16 March 1941||For disposal in May 1946.
|-
|''ML 173''||Frank Curtis, Looe, Cornwall||17 January 1941||For disposal in May 1946.
|-
|''ML 174''||William Osbourne, [[Littlehampton]]||December 1940||For disposal in May 1946.
|-
|''ML 175''||James A. Silver, Rosneath, Dumbartonshire||20 January 1941||For disposal in May 1946.
|-
|''ML 176''||Solent Shipyard, Sarisbury Green||December 1940||For disposal in May 1946.
|-
|''ML 177''||Wallasea Bay Yacht Yard, Rochford, Essex||December 1940||Lost at [[St Nazaire]] on 28 March 1942.
|}
===Third batch (May 1940 orders)===
An order for a third batch, this time of 65 boats, was placed on 21 May 1940; these were numbered ''ML 245'' to ''ML 309'', and were all delivered during 1941, as were two extra units (''ML 310'' and ''ML 311'') ordered on 28 June 1940 for Singapore to be assembled by the Singapore Harbour Board; this last pair were delivered to Singapore on 29 November 1941, only to be lost in February 1942 to the Japanese (who re-used ''ML 310'' under the name ''Suikei 12'').
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship Builder||Completed||Fate
|-
|''ML 245''||[[Sheerness Dockyard]]||14 July 1941||To [[Free French Navy]] as ''St Guenole'' from July 1941 to July 1942;<br> sold 11 June 1947 at Singapore.
|-
|''ML 246''||Sheerness Dockyard||21 July 1941||To Free French Navy as ''St Ives'' from July 1941 to July 1942;<br>to Burmese [[RNVR]] in November 1945; for disposal in January 1946.
|-
|''ML 247''||J. W. & A. Upham, [[Brixham]]||19 July 1941||To Free French Navy as ''St Alain'' from July 1941 to July 1942;<br>to Burmese [[RNVR]] in November 1945; for disposal in January 1946.
|}
===Fourth batch (August 1940 orders)===
The fourth batch of 24 boats was ordered on 28 July 1940 as ''ML 312'' to ''ML 335''. However, these were altered to be completed instead as Motor Gunboats, re-classed as '''[[Fairmile C motor gun boat]]s''', and the prefixes to their numbers changed from "ML" to "MGB", retaining the same numbers. In their place, a new batch of 50 Fairmile Bs was ordered on 21 August, and these became ''ML 336'' to ''ML 367'' (the last six of these for assembly by the Singapore Harbour Board) and ''ML 372'' to ''ML 389''.
Six days later another six were ordered, ''ML 368'' and ''ML 369'' to be built in Bermuda for the Royal Canadian Navy, ''ML 370'' and ''ML 371'' for assembly in Jamaica for Caribbean service, and ''ML 390'' and ''ML 391'' intended for assembly at Singapore, although this last pair was switched to Bombay Dockyard on 22 February 1942 following the fall of Singapore.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship Builder||Completed||Fate
|-
|''ML 336''||Boat Construction Company, [[Falmouth, Cornwall]]||12 September 1941||To [[Italian Navy]] on 3 December 1945.
|-
|''ML 337''||A. M. Dickie & Sons, Tarbert, Argyllshire||18 November 1941||Later renumbered ''ML 2337''; sold 25 September 1956.
|-
|''ML 338''||Risdon Beazley, Clausentum Yard, Northam Bridge, Southampton||28 September 1941||Later renumbered ''ML 2338''; sold 17 December 1955.
|}
===Later batches (1941 to 1942 orders)===
Further batches followed, producing ''ML 392'' onwards, many assembled in Overseas yards, with a final total of about 650 boats of this Type eventually assembly worldwide, including 60 in Canada.
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 {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s taken from ex-US [[Town-class destroyer]]s; they formed the 2nd ML Flotilla tasked with anti-invasion duty, until the threat had passed.
==Service==
During the [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|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.<ref>''A leaf upon the sea : a small ship in the Mediterranean, 1941-1943'', Gordon W. Stead, University of British Columbia Press Vancouver 1988, {{ISBN|9780774802994}}, p.114</ref>
A number served in the [[St Nazaire Raid]] as assault transports, but their light construction meant that they suffered heavily; 12 B motor launches were lost in the action,<ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/WW2BritishLossesbyDate2.htm Naval-History.net Royal Navy Vessels Lost at Sea, 1939-45 - by Date: January 1942 – December 1943 (Entry for 28 March)]</ref> out of 16 deployed.<ref>[http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_stnazaire1.html History of War - St. Nazaire, Raid on, (Operation ''Chariot''), Part One]</ref>
During the [[Normandy landings]] 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. An [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]] was fitted amidships and a [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm gun]] was installed at the stern. Smoke canister apparatus was installed at the rear of the craft and the number of depth charges was reduced.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8IeuCAAAQBAJ Malcolm George Wright, ''British and Commonwealth Warship Camouflage of WWII''] Seaforth Publishing 2014, {{ISBN|978-1848322530}} (p.137)</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lenton and Colledge|title=Warships of World War II|publisher=Ian Allan|pages=523–530}}</ref>  Several more were converted to use as [[War Department (United Kingdom)|War Office]] ambulance launches with larger sickbays.
<gallery mode=packed style=float:left heights=180>
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
</gallery>
{{clear}}
==British Colonial or Commonwealth-built Fairmile B motor launches==
===Canadian built Fairmiles===
{{main|Canadian Fairmile B motor launch}}
[[File:ML-Q054.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The Canadian Fairmile HMC ''ML Q054'' in 1942]]
Originally designed for the [[Royal Navy]] (RN) by W.J. Holt of the Admiralty and built by British boat builder Fairmile Marine, 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.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://readyayeready.com/crowsnest/1962/1962-02.pdf|title=The Little Ships|last=Heenan, RCNR (Ret)|first=Captain Joseph A.|date=1 February 1962|work=The Crowsnest|access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref> The first thirty-six Canadian Fairmile B type were designated and painted up as CML 01 to 36 (coastal motor launch).<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Allied Coastal Forces of World War II Vol 1: Fairmile designs and US submarine chasers|last=Lambert and Ross|first=John and Al|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|year=1990|isbn=0-85177-519-5|pages=77–78}}</ref> Eight Canadian Fairmiles (Q392 – Q399) were built by Le Blanc for the RN and were transferred under [[Lend-Lease]] to the [[US Navy]]. The US Navy used the Canadian-built Fairmiles as submarine chasers (SC1466–1473).<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ww2ships.com/britain/gb-sc-001-b.shtml|title=WW2Ships.com: Fairmile Type B Motor Launch|website=www.ww2ships.com|access-date=2020-01-02}}</ref>
===Other British Colonial or Commonwealth built Fairmiles===
At least two (ML 368 and ML 369) were built in the [[Imperial fortress]] [[British Overseas Territory|colony]] of [[Bermuda]], home to the base, [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|dockyard]] and [[Admiralty House, Bermuda|Admiralty house]] of the [[North America and West Indies Station|America and West Indies Station]], by what was to become ''Burland, Conyers & Marirea, Ltd''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/14536.html |title=HMCS ML 368 (ML 368) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=uboat.net |publisher=Guðmundur Helgason  |access-date=2024-01-09 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/14537.html |title=HMCS ML 369 (ML 369) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=uboat.net |publisher=Guðmundur Helgason  |access-date=2024-01-09 |quote=}}</ref>
New Zealand ordered [[Coastal Forces of the Royal New Zealand Navy#RNZN Fairmiles|twelve boats]] on 4 September 1941, for assembly from the Fairmile kits by four boat builders in [[Auckland]], of which the first two (''MTB 403'' and ''MTB 400'') were delivered in October and November 1942 respectively and the following ten (''MTB 401'', ''MTB 402'', and ''MTB 404'' to ''MTB 411'') during 1943. These [[Coastal Forces of the Royal New Zealand Navy|were used]] in New Zealand waters and around the [[Solomon Islands]], and included {{HMNZS|Maori|P3570|6}} and {{HMNZS|Kahu|P3571|6}} (Kahu (II). All were sold in 1947 except for ''MTB 411'' (which became ''Kahu [II]'').
In Australia 35 boats [[Coastal Forces of the Royal Australian Navy|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 the 6th Division on board ML 805.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Navy Contribution to Australian Maritime Operations: RAN Doctrine 2 - 2005 |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/Publication:Navy_Contribution_to_Australian_Maritime_Operations |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |isbn=978-0-642-29615-3 |chapter=Patrol boats |date=9 January 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926142319/http://www.navy.gov.au/Publication%3ANavy_Contribution_to_Australian_Maritime_Operations |archive-date=26 September 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
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 Campaign 1942-1943|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]], 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 ML 355, 353 and 348.<ref>Searle, G. W. ''At Sea Level''  Book Guild 1994 pp. 47–48  {{ISBN|0863328970}}</ref> Post war they were often taken on as pleasure boats and a number of Fairmile Bs are on the [[National Historic Ships Committee|National Register of Historic Vessels]].
Fourteen Fairmile B were operated by the Italian ''[[Guardia di Finanza]]'' 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 [[MV Western Lady III|RML497]]. Many others of the type are known to survive around the world, some still in commercial service as tour boats.
<gallery mode=packed style=float:left heights=180>
File:MV Western Lady (34940266270).jpg|{{center|Fairmile B boat ''ML535'' served with the 63rd ML Flotilla 1942-44. The picture shows her in 1962 after conversion to a ferry ''MV Western Lady''}}
File:HMNZS Kahu I P-3571.JPG|{{center|[[HMNZS Kahu (P3571)|HMNZS ''Kahu'']], FML411, was used post war ferrying passengers at [[Auckland]] in New Zealand}}
File:MV The Fairmile at her mooring in Brixham in 2009.jpg| Surviving Fairmile B, [[MV Western Lady III|RML497]] at [[Brixham]] in England, prior to restoration to her wartime appearance
</gallery>
{{clear}}
==See also==
*[[Fairmile A motor launch]]
* [[Fairmile C motor gun boat]]
* [[Fairmile D motor torpedo boat]]
* [[Fairmile H landing craft]]
* [[Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy]]
*[[Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy]]
* [[R boat]] – slightly larger German equivalent
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
* ''Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume I : Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers'' - by [[John Lambert (naval historian)|John Lambert]] and Al Ross - 1990, {{ISBN|978-0-85177-519-7}}
* ''War at Sea - South African Maritime Operations during World War II'' : CJ Harris - 1991
*{{cite journal |last1=Hudson |first1=G. M. |title=Question 52/00: US Army Fairmile "B" Molor Launches|journal=Warship International |date=2001 |volume=XXXVIII |issue=4 |page=335 |issn=0043-0374}}
*[http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Fairmile-B_Header.html 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==
{{Commons category|Fairmile B Motor Launches}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090619102804/http://www.fairmileq105.org./ Canadian Fairmile Q105 presently under restoration]
* [http://www.ww2ships.com/britain/gb-sc-001-b.shtml Fairmile Type B Motor Launch]
* [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/WH2Navy-fig-WH2Nav21b.html ''A Fairmile Submarine Chaser'' (photo of Fairmile B motor launch)]
* [https://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]
* [http://jproc.ca/rrp/fairmile2.html The Fairmiles, Canada's Little Ships by Spud Roscoe]
* [http://www.naval-history.net/WW2MemoirAndSo05.htm Stoker Harold Siddall Royal Navy, his service in ML.1030 and capture in Crete 1941 at naval-history.net]
* [http://www.webshots.com/search?query=fairmile Pictures of Fairmile models]
* [http://www.pt-boat.com/books/books.html List of books at PT-boats.com]
* [http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~lenshome/littleships.htm Little ships]
* [http://jproc.ca/rrp/fairmile.html Fairmile Radio Fit by Jerry Proc]
*[http://jproc.ca/rrp/fairmile2.html Canada's Little Ships by Spud Roscoe]
{{WWIICoastalForces}}
[[Category:Gunboat classes]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Military boats]]
[[Category:Patrol boat classes]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Submarine chaser classes]]
[[Category:Torpedo boat classes]]