medieval names THE BRITISH POWER BOAT COMPANY - 'The Boatyard Legacy' by Stan - World War Two - Hythe, Southampton

They were known as the 'Spitfires of the sea' and formed a crucial part of the Allied war effort. (Mail Reporter, 9 February 2010)

Now two of the last remaining fully operational World War II motor boats have been saved thanks to a £580,000 grant.

The high-speed boats, which were the fastest of their type, proved vital to Britain's wartime sea campaign.
HSL 102 and MGB 81

One, a MGB 81, is an example of the vessel which was active during the U.S. landing at Omaha beach during D-Day.

MGBs - Motor Gun Boats - were small in size and their high speed made them difficult targets for German E-boats. They were used extensively in the Mediterranean to sink German and Italian ships.

The other boat, a HSL 102, is the only surviving example of the 100 class high-speed launch which was used at RAF Calshot, near Southampton, to retrieve shot-down airmen from the sea.

During the war, the HSL vessels saved a total of 10,000 airmen of various nationalities.

The saved HSL 102 also featured in the film Enigma with Kate Winslet in 2001.

Now the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has provided the money to enable the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust (PNBPT) to purchase the two boats.
MGB 81

The MGB 81 is an example of the vessel which was active during the U.S. landing at Omaha beach during D-Day

Despite an original life expectancy of 20 years, they have both been restored and are on display at Gunwharf Quays Marina in Portsmouth.

It is hoped that one of the boats will be available for charter to enable the public to experience their power.

Peter Goodship, chief executive of the PNBPT, said: 'These unique craft are a legacy to the heroism of those who crewed them during World War Two.

'Both boats made significant contributions to the war effort and saved the lives of many sailors and airmen.

'The Trust is grateful to all those who contributed, especially the National Heritage Memorial Fund, without which this would not have been possible.'

Crewing the boats, which were built at Hythe, near Southampton, was said to be like riding on a massive petrol bomb, as they held 3,000 gallons of fuel and would simply explode if they were shot.
MGB 81

Lieutenant James Shadbolt, a veteran of Royal Navy's 8th Motor Gunboat Flotilla, said: 'I'm delighted these two motorboats will now be safeguarded.

'Organisations like the National Heritage Memorial Fund and other generous donors play such a vital role in protecting our precious heritage and those of us who particularly cherish these boats are very grateful.

'It's wonderful to know that future generations will be able to experience first-hand these extremely exciting machines, just as we did as young men during the war.'

Bob Bewley, director of operations at NHMF, said: 'The purchase of these boats is an important part of a continuing success story and just what the NHMF was set up to do - to defend the most outstanding parts of our national heritage at risk as a memorial to those who have died for the UK.

'These gunboats are so integral to our rich seafaring history.

'They can now join other great British naval achievements, such as Nelson's HMS Victory and the Mary Rose, which have been saved thanks to the unique ability of the NHMF to act quickly as the "fund of last resort" over the past 30 years.'

The boats were designed and built by the British Powerboat Company, which later went on to build the famous Supermarine Spitfire.

The company's founder, aviation and powerboat pioneer Hubert Scott-Paine, along with T.E. Shaw, known as Lawrence of Arabia, pioneered these fast manoeuvrable craft for British military use. Shaw undertook the testing of the HSL prototype.

After the war, the saved MGB 81 was disposed of by the Royal Navy. In late 1945, it was sold to a private owner, achieving notoriety for being 'arrested' as part of a smuggling operation in 1958, and was then sold for scrap.

Later, it became an accommodation barge for a sailing school and spent some years as a houseboat before restoration in 1988.

During a two-month period, the HSL 102 is recorded as saving 38 men from the North Sea, including the crews of two German bombers.

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medieval names THE BRITISH POWER BOAT COMPANY - 'The Boatyard Legacy' by Stan - World War Two - Hythe, Southampton
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