Victoria Chapter

Our Monthly Meeting at 1900 on Monday 24 March 2025

Guest Speaker

 Captain Andrew Mackinnon CSC RAN (Rtd)

   “Fairmile Motor Launches in the RAN”

Andrew Mackinnon is a former Anti-Submarine Warfare specialist officer.  He joined the RAN College in 1963 and spent 38 varied and rewarding years in uniform at sea and later ashore, including command of the patrol boat HMAS Wollongong and Navy’s shore establishments at HMAS Cairns and HMAS Coonawarra, before serving as Defence Adviser in Wellington, NZ in 1997-99.  In 2001 he joined the Australian Public Service and served a further 16 years in Navy Headquarters, as Director Navy Infrastructure Plans.

Andrew has an abiding interest in the history of the RAN and is currently the President of the Victoria Chapter of the Naval Historical Society of Australia.

His talk will address a lesser-known aspect of Australia’s naval history during World War II: the short-lived story of the Fairmile ‘B’ Motor Launches that served in the RAN from 1942-47.  While battles in the Pacific conjure images of massive warships, the nimble and versatile Fairmile ‘B’s played a key role in supporting operations around Australia’s vast and vulnerable northern coastline, often into enemy-held territory.

He will cover the rationale for acquiring these boats, where and how they were built and the capabilities they provided, manned largely by RAN Volunteer Reserves.  Training at a dedicated Fairmile School in Sydney preceded their deployment to separate flotillas located at key Australian ports, as well as in hostile locations close to the enemy in New Guinea.  The boats were small, and the crews often had to deal with mechanical failures and the constant threat of attack.  Living conditions onboard these cramped little ships were tough and maintaining morale would have been challenging, yet the crews displayed remarkable resilience and dedication.  Some first-hand accounts from those who served in these ships will add to the unusual Fairmile story.