Motor Launch ML-286

Last updated

Hoisting a Motor Launch Art.IWMART791.jpg
Motor Launch of the same type drawn by Lieutenant Geoffrey Allfree
Class overview
Builders Elco
OperatorsNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Completed580
General characteristics ML.1-50 series
Type Motor Launch
Displacement37 tons
Length80 ft (24 m)
Draft4 ft (1.2 m)
Propulsion2× 220hp 4cyl petrol engine
Speed19  kn (35 km/h)
Complement8
Sensors and
processing systems		 Hydrophone
Armament

Motor Launch ML-286 is a First World War submarine chaser built by Elco, that saw action with Royal Navy. It is also listed as one of the Little Ships that were used in the 1940, Dunkirk evacuation. It is currently in a very poor condition and lies on the banks of the River Thames at Isleworth Ait. ML-286 is the last surviving Royal Naval 'Motor Launch' of the more than 550 that served in the First World War. [1]

Contents

World War I service

The first motor launches entered service in the First World War. These were 580 80-foot-long (24 m) vessels built by the US Elco company for the Admiralty, receiving the designations ML-1 to ML-580. They served between 1916 and the end of the war with the Royal Navy defending the British coast from German submarines. Her first commander was the War artist, Lieutenant Geoffrey Allfree (1889–1918) [2]

Dunkirk and post-war conversion to a house boat

After the War ML286 was sold off by the Ministry and was given the name Cordon Rouge and then later, in 1930 she became Eothen which was her name at Dunkirk. [3] She returned to Ramsgate and towed to Teddington. She was requisitioned for service as an auxiliary patrol vessel in the Thames but found to be unsuitable, and later was returned to her owners in August 1940. [4]

Current condition

Currently, Eothen (ML-286) lies in a very poor condition on the banks of the River Thames. It is being monitored and recorded by volunteer members of the Thames Discovery Programme (TDP) based at Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for more than 100 years. The company's main facilities are a shipyard in Groton, Connecticut, a hull-fabrication and outfitting facility in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and a design and engineering facility in New London, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submarine chaser</span> Anti-submarine warfare ship type

A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II.

<i>MTB 102</i>

MTB 102 is one of few surviving motor torpedo boats that served with the Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy in the Second World War. She was built as a prototype, but was purchased and taken into service by the Admiralty.

Motor launch (naval) Type of small Royal Navy vessel used by British Coastal Forces

A motor launch (ML) is a small military vessel in Royal Navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing. Similar vessels were used by the Royal Air Force for armed high-speed air-sea rescue. Some vessels for water police service are also known as motor launches. Motor launches were slower than motor torpedo boats and motor gun boats

Fairmile B motor launch WWII Royal Navy motor boat

The Fairmile B motor launch was a very numerous class of motor launch produced in kit form by British 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.

Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy established during World War II. It consisted of small coastal defence craft which the Navy designated with names such as: Motor Launch, High Speed Launch, air-sea rescue, Motor Gun Boat and Motor Torpedo Boat. It did not include landing craft, trawlers or purpose-built minesweepers. Other Navies operated equivalent boats, but classified and named them somewhat differently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy</span> British Royal Navy unit

Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy initially established during World War I, and then again in World War II under the command of Rear-Admiral, Coastal Forces. It remained active until the last minesweepers to wear the "HM Coastal Forces" cap tally were taken out of reserve in 1968. The division received more gallantry awards than any other branch of the Royal Navy during that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric Launch Company</span> US boat building and electric motor company

The Electric Launch Company, later renamed Elco Motor Yachts ("Elco"), is an American boat building and electric motor company that has operated from 1893 to 1949 and from 1987 to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy</span> Military unit

The Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was a specialized naval force of well-armed, small and fast motor launch (ML) and motor torpedo boat (MTB) flotillas, primarily manned by members of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR). Tasked with escort, coastal defence, anti-submarine, minesweeping and search and rescue duties, the Coastal Forces of the RCN contributed to securing Allied sea lines of communication off the coasts of Canada and Britain during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal Forces of the Royal Australian Navy</span>

Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy established during World War II. It consisted of small coastal defence craft such as motor launches, submarine chasers, air-sea rescue launches, motor gun boats and motor torpedo boats. It did not include minesweepers, trawlers or landing craft. This article is about the equivalent boats used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Hula</span> Operation to transfer US Navy vessels to the Soviet Union during WWII

Project Hula was a program during World War II in which the United States transferred naval vessels to the Soviet Union in anticipation of the Soviets eventually joining the war against Japan, specifically in preparation for planned Soviet invasions of southern Sakhalin and the Kuril islands. Based at Cold Bay in the Territory of Alaska, the project was active during the spring and summer of 1945. It was the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II.

HMC <i>ML Q050</i> First of a series of 80 Type B Fairmiles built for the RCN delivered on 18 November 1941

HMC ML Q050 was the first of a series of wooden Canadian-built Fairmile B motor launch (ML) boats delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 18 November 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War 80 Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

HMC <i>ML Q051</i> Canadian wooden upgunned submarine chaser

HMC ML Q051 was a wooden Canadian-built Fairmile B motor launch (M.L.) upgunned submarine chaser delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 24 November 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War eighty Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

HMC <i>ML Q052</i> Canadian wooden upgunned submarine chaser

HMC MLQ052 was a wooden Fairmile B motor launch (ML) upgunned submarine chaser delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 31 October 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War eighty Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

HMC <i>ML Q053</i> Canadian wooden upgunned submarine chaser

HMC MLQ053 was a wooden Fairmile B motor launch (ML) upgunned submarine chaser delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 17 November 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War eighty Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

HMC <i>ML Q054</i> Canadian wooden upgunned submarine chaser

HMC ML Q054 was a wooden Canadian-built Fairmile B motor launch (ML) upgunned submarine chaser delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 17 October 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War eighty Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

HMC <i>ML Q055</i> Canadian wooden upgunned submarine chaser

HMC ML Q055 was a wooden Canadian-built Fairmile B motor launch (ML) upgunned submarine chaser delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 6 November 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War eighty Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

Canadian Fairmile B motor launch Type of boat built by Canadian boatbuilders during the Second World War

The Canadian Fairmile B was a motor launch built during the Second World War for the Royal Canadian Navy. They were adaptations of the British Fairmile B motor launch design incorporating slight modifications for Canadian climatic and operational conditions. Eighty-eight were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy in home waters, of which eight were supplied to the United States Navy.

HMC <i>ML Q056</i> Canadian ship

HMC MLQ056 was a wooden Canadian-built Fairmile B motor launch (ML) upgunned submarine chaser delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 23 November 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War eighty Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

HMC <i>ML Q057</i> Canadian wooden upgunned submarine chaser

HMC MLQ057 was a wooden Canadian-built Fairmile B motor launch (ML) upgunned submarine chaser delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on 28 October 1941. Originally designed for the Royal Navy by W.J. Holt of the British Admiralty and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War eighty Fairmile B motor launches were built in Canada for service with the Coastal Forces of the RCN.

References

  1. ↑ "Isleworth Ait submarine chaser: The Eothen". MOLA.org. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  2. ↑ "Geoffrey Allfree 1889–1918". thamesdiscovery.org. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Brann, Christian (1 November 1989). The Little Ships of Dunkirk. Collectors Books. ISBN   0946604029.
  4. ↑ "Eothen". Association of Dunkirk Little Ships Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  5. ↑ Firth, Antony. "ML 286 – A Little Ship with a Big History". fjordr.com. Retrieved 8 January 2020.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.