Harbour defence motor launch
British small motor vessel design of the Second World War / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the WWII British Royal Navy boats. For other boats, see patrol boat. For other harbour defence, see coastal defence ship.
The harbour defence motor launch (HDML) was a 72 ft (22 m) long British-designed motor vessel used for harbour defence during World War II. Nearly 500 were built by numerous Allied countries during the war.
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Quick Facts Class overview, General characteristics ...
ML 1322, a Royal Australian Navy HDML, in Brisbane in 1944 | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Harbour defence motor launch |
Completed | 486 |
Active | Until the early 1970s |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 54 tons (full load displacement) |
Length | 72 ft (22 m) |
Beam | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
Draught | 5 ft (1.5 m) |
Installed power | 152 bhp (113 kW) each engine[1] |
Propulsion | Twin handed Gardner 8L3 marine engines[1] |
Speed | 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) |
Range | 2,000 mi (1,700 nmi; 3,200 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)(1,650 gallons) |
Complement | 2 officers, 2 petty officers and 8 ratings |
Armament | Typically twin 20mm Oerlikons, twin Vickers K machine guns and six depth charges |
Close
The HDML was designed by W J Holt at the Admiralty in early 1939. During the war HDMLs were constructed, mainly by yacht builders, in the United Kingdom and a number of other Allied countries. In view of their later expanded combat roles in some Commonwealth navies some HDMLs were re-designated as "seaward defence motor launches" (SDML) or "seaward defence boats" (SDB).[2]