The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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| Tonnage | 75 tons standard displacement |
| Dimensions | 112' by 17'10" by 4'9" 34.1m by 5.4m by 1.4m |
| Maximum speed | 20 knots |
| Complement | 20 |
| Armament | 1 2pdr gun 1 20mm Oerlikon AA gun 2x2 Vickers 0.303 machine guns 1 "Y" depth charge projector Depth charge track (14 depth charges) |
| Machinery |
2-shaft gasoline engines (1300
hp) |
| Range | 840 nautical miles (1560 km) at 12 knots |
| Sensors |
Sonar |
| Modifications |
A number were completed as motor torpedo boats with
twin torpedo tubes. They could
also be modified to carry up to nine mines. |
Fairmile produced a large number of motor launches for the Royal Navy,
of which the Fairmile "B" were designed as submarine chasers. They were
designed for mass production and, to further speed production, they
were completed with two engines rather than the three originally
intended. The resulting loss of speed did not prove much of a hindrance
and the craft proved highly versatile, a number being completed as
minecraft or motor torpedo boats.
The Royal Australian Navy considered the design ideal for littoral warfare in Australasia and southeast Asia and assembled 53 of the craft starting in September 1942. A dozen were assembled in New Zealand and nine in South Africa, with some of the South African craft serving in the Arakan.
References
Royal Australian Navy (accessed 2010-4-4)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2010 by Kent G. Budge. Index
