A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in British navy service. They were designed for harbour defense and submarine chasing or for armed high speed Air Sea Rescue.
The first Motor Launches entered service in the First World War. These were 550 80-foot long vessels built by the US Elco company for the Admiralty receiving the designations ML-1 to ML-550 They served between 1916 and the end of the war with the Royal Navy defending the coast from German submarines.
| Type | Length | Weight | Speed | Built | Total | Lost | Designed for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmile A motor launch | 110 ft | 57 tons | 25 knots | 12 | |||
| Fairmile B Motor Launch | 112 ft (34 m) | 85 tons | 20 knots (37 km/h) | 1940-45 | 1,284 | Submarine chasing. Later adapted for Air Sea Rescue | |
| Harbour Defence Motor Launch | 72 ft (22 m) | 54 tons | 12 knots (22 km/h) | 486 | 47 | Defending harbours | |
| RAF Type 2 Whaleback | 63 ft (19 m) | 21.5 tons | 36 knots (67 km/h) | 1940-42 | 70 | Rescuing downed aircrew, particularly in the English Channel |
Post war many motor launches were taken on as pleasure boats and a number of them are on the National Register of Historic Vessels.
References
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See also
- Motor Gun Boat
- Motor Torpedo Boat
- Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy
- R boat – German WWII equivalent
- Dark class fast patrol boat
- River class fast launch