The “Fair B’s” were rushed into production in 1940 using prefab components from shops large and small across the UK to churn out literally hundreds of these 112-foot boats. Armed with a Quick Firing 3-pounder (47mm) Hotchkiss popgun as a hood ornament and some machine guns aft, they carried enough depth charges to scratch the paint on interloping U-boats while patrolling the coastline.
They later proved invaluable during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, poking along the beaches and pulling off the wounded and drowning.
Motor Launch ML 188 dazzle painted and on patrol duty in fleet anchorage. (Photo: Imperial War Museum.)
After the war, most were quickly disposed of though a few (literally three) remain.
One of whom, ML 357, since renamed Jamaica Moon and turned into a houseboat, is moored in Essex at Clacton-on-Sea, in what is termed a very “picturesque area.”
Price? Just $39,000.
