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 in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Fairmile B launches[]
Eighty Fairmile B launches were built in thirteen different Canadian boatyards. These were built to slightly different specifications and used as escort vessels. Eight of these (ML392-399) were built by Le Blanc for the Royal Navy. These eight boats were transferred under Lend-Lease to the US Navy, because US coastal protection had been depleted by transferring ships to the Royal Navy for convoy work. The US Navy used them as submarine chasers (SC1466-1473) until their forces could be built up.
| Type | Built | Lost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmile B motor launch Fairmile D motor torpedo boat BPB Motor Torpedo Boat |
80 [1] 10 [2] 11 [3] |
Surviving craft[]
| Vessel | Description | Built | Builder | In the care of | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
See also[]
- Canadian Power Boat Company
- Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy
- Coastal Forces of the Royal Australian Navy
- Coastal Forces of the Royal New Zealand Navy
References[]
Reading list[]
- Reynolds, L. C. (2002) Motor Gunboat 658: The Small Boat War in the Mediterranean. ISBN 978-0-304-36183-0
- Fairmile Bs of the Royal Canadian Navy - Bibliography
External links[]
- Canadian Nautical Research Society
- Fairmiles of the RCN
- The Fairmile Bs of the Royal Canadian Navy
- The Fairmiles - Canada's little ships
The original article can be found at Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy and the edit history here.