Want a RN Coastal Forces ML from WWII?
The “Fair B’s” were rushed into production in 1940 using prefab components from shops large and small across the UK to churn out literally hundreds of these 112-foot boats. Armed with a Quick Firing 3-pounder (47mm) Hotchkiss popgun as a hood ornament and some machine guns aft, they carried enough depth charges to scratch the paint on interloping U-boats while patrolling the coastline.
They later proved invaluable during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, poking along the beaches and pulling off the wounded and drowning.
Motor Launch ML 188 dazzle painted and on patrol duty in fleet anchorage. (Photo: Imperial War Museum.)
After the war, most were quickly disposed of though a few (literally three) remain.
One of whom, ML 357, since renamed Jamaica Moon and turned into a houseboat, is moored in Essex at Clacton-on-Sea, in what is termed a very “picturesque area.”
Price? Just $39,000.