Fairmile ShipsPrint Page
Fairmile motor launches were small, fast, highly manoeuvrable, lightly armed ships designed in the United Kingdom. They were originally intended to be used for coastal anti-submarine and convoy protection duties but soon proved to be vessels capable of much broader operational tasking.
In April 1941 the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) recognised the need for a vessel which could be built locally and used in the littoral waters of Australia, New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies and their surrounding islands. On 5 January 1942 the War Cabinet gave approval to construct Fairmiles in Australia, and between November 1942 and April 1944, 35 vessels were commissioned into RAN service.
Location
Address: | 412 Stanley Street, Queensland Maritime Museum, South Brisbane, 4101 |
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State: | QLD |
Area: | AUS |
GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -27.481788 Long: 153.026286 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
Monument Type: | Plaque |
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Monument Theme: | Conflict |
Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
Actual Event Start Date: | 03-September-1939 |
Actual Event End Date: | 15-August-1945 |
Dedication
1939 - 1945
Fairmile ships of the Royal Australian Navy
In honour of all who served in Fairmiles, Harbour Defence Motor Launches, and other small vessels during the Second World War in Australian waters and the South-West Pacific area.
ML816 was built in Brisbane by Norman Wright and Sons.
These ships were known by their numbers, not names.
Dedicated by Fairmile Association