Motor Launch

Motor Launch
For other types of "Launch" see Launch (boat)

A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in British navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high speed air-sea rescue.

Although small by Naval standards, it was larger than the preceding Coastal Motor Boats of 40 and 55 ft length. The first Motor Launches entered service in the First World War. These were 550 80-foot-long (24 m) 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 British coast from German submarines.

Contents

Types

Type Length Weight Speed Built Total Lost Designed for
Fairmile A motor launch 110 ft 57 tons 25 knots (46 km/h) 1939 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) 1940-45 486 47 Defending harbours; anti-submarine
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, a number of them are on the National Register of Historic Vessels.

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • motor launch — kateris statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Nedidelis motorinis laivas su stacionariu varikliu. kilmė angl. atitikmenys: angl. cutter; motor launch vok. Motorboot, n rus. катер …   Sporto terminų žodynas

  • motor launch — kateris statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Nedidelis sportinis motorlaivis. kilmė angl. atitikmenys: angl. cutter; motor launch vok. Motorboot, n rus. катер …   Sporto terminų žodynas

  • motor-launch — moˈtorbicycle, moˈtorbike, moˈtorboat, motor bus, motor car, moˈtorcoach, moˈtorcycle, moˈtor launch, motor lorry, moˈtor ship, etc noun A bicycle, etc driven by a motor • • • Main Entry: ↑m …   Useful english dictionary

  • motor launch — noun : a launch propelled by an internal combustion engine …   Useful english dictionary

  • Fairmile B motor launch — The Fairmile B motor launch was a type of Motor Launch built by Fairmile Marine during the Second World War for the Royal Navy for coastal operations. DesignWhile the Type A had been designed entirely by Fairmile, the Type B design had come from… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmile A motor launch — The Fairmile A motor launch was a type of Motor Launch designed by Fairmile Marine for the Royal Navy.Shortly before the Second World War the British industrialist Noel Macklin submitted to the British Admiralty an innovative plan for the series… …   Wikipedia

  • Harbour Defence Motor Launch — The Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HDML) was a British small motor vessel of the Second World War.The HDML was designed by W J Holt at the Admiralty in early 1939. During World War II 486 HDMLs were built, mainly by yacht builders, in the United… …   Wikipedia

  • Paluma class survey motor launch — The Paluma class survey motor launch is a class of four hydrographic survey launches operated by the Royal Australian Navy. The four ships were built by Eglo Engineering, Adelaide and entered service between February 1989 and March 1990. All four …   Wikipedia

  • Launch — may refer to:In boating: *Launch (boat), a large motor boat *Motor Launch (ML), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy *Ship naming and launching, when a ship or boat is dispatched from a slipway, prior to fitting out and commissioningIn… …   Wikipedia

  • Motor Torpedo Boat — MTBs returning from an anti E boat patrol, June 1944 Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy. The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy (RN) boats and… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”