The Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was a specialized naval force of well-armed, small and fast motor launch (ML) and motor torpedo boat (MTB) flotillas, primarily crewed by members of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR). Tasked with escort, coastal defence, anti-submarine, minesweeping and search and rescue duties, the Coastal Forces of the RCN contributed to securing Allied sea lines of communication off the coasts of Canada and Britain during the Second World War.
Origins With the outbreak of war in Europe, a number of Canadian naval reservists recruited by the Royal Navy (RN) crossed the Atlantic to join the Coastal Forces of the RN. With some sailors and officers spending the duration of the war as fully integrated members of the British MTB flotillas, others were assigned to form the nucleus of what would become the Canadian 29th and 65th MTB flotillas. Back home in Canada, the RCN emulated the British Coastal Forces concept by building and employing the British-designed Fairmile B motor launch for operations off the coast of Canada and in the Caribbean.
Home waters
RCN Fairmile flotillas (1941–1945) Affectionately known by their crews as The Little Ships, Little Fighting Ships, Q-Boats, MLs or Holy Rollers, due to their violent pitching and tossing, during the Second World War the Fairmile Bs of the RCN played a vital role in escorting shipping along the Saint Lawrence River, in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and between Newfoundland and the mainland of Canada. Regularly deployed in flotillas of six, The Little Ships relieved larger escort craft urgently needed elsewhere by carrying out anti-submarine patrols, port defence and rescue duties in home waters. Based out of shore establishments on the Saint Lawrence River, Halifax, Saint John, Shelburne, Sydney and on the British Columbia Coast; at sea the RCN Fairmile flotillas were accompanied by two "mother ships" and providing fresh water, fuel and medical services.
Canadian Fairmile B
Originally designed for the RN by W.J. Holt of the Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs and built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, during the Second World War, eighty-eight Fairmile B motor launches, with slight modifications for Canadian climatic and operational conditions, were built in Canada for service with the RCN in home waters. While they flew the White Ensign, the Canadian Fairmiles were not commissioned ships of the RCN, but rather listed as a tenders to the escort depot ship . As one former Q-Boat captain described them, "sheathed for operation in ice and displacing 100 tons, they were indeed veritable 'Little Fighting Ships'."
Originally designated and painted up as CML (coastal motor launch) 01–36, the Canadian Fairmile B was built of double mahogany wood with an oak keel. Based on a line of destroyer hulls, they arrived in prefabricated kits, ready to be assembled for the RCN by thirteen different boatyards. In contrast to the British built boats, the Canadian Fairmiles were narrower, had a greater draught, and were slightly more powerful giving the Canadian MLs a speed advantage over the British boats.
With a fuel capacity of of 87 octane gasoline, the early Fairmiles (Q050 to Q111) were powered by two 650 hp engines, could reach a top speed of (max), sea speed and a range of at . Later versions (Q112 to Q129) were fitted with larger 700 hp engines able to achieve a top speed to (max), with a range of at . Crewed by two or three officers and 14 sailors, accommodation on the Fairmiles was thought to be "cramped but comfortable".
Another unique design feature of the Fairmile B was that with forty-eight hours notice each boat could be reconfigured to serve in a different role. Fitted with steel strips and tapped holes to ease equipment swaps, weapons and specialist gear such as torpedo tubes, mines, depth charges, and guns could be quickly stripped and attached to the boat. In two days, a Fairmile could have its weapons and equipment reconfigured to serve as an escort, minesweeper, minelayer, navigation leader, coastal raider, patrol boat, ambulance or rescue launch. "Armament consisted of three 20 mm Oerlikon guns, mounted forward, aft and amidships; two .303 machine-guns; one 9 mm Sten gun; two .303 rifles; three .45 revolvers; and 20 depth-charges of each, including eight fitted for the "Y" gun. Each boat was equipped with sonar, radar and WIT."
Operations With rumours of vessels sunk by German U-boats inside Canadian waters, shipbuilders on the Great Lakes and inland waterways of Ontario urgently worked to churn out more MLs, with the first nine arriving in Halifax in the fall of 1941. Since the attention was focused on training and manning newly constructed corvettes and minesweepers for the protection of ocean convoys headed to England, little interest was paid to the newly arrived Fairmiles. Equipped with their unique gasoline engines, motor mechanics were particularly sought for and throughout the winter of 1941-42 extensive recruitment, training and preparation of the new boats and crews was undertaken.
Forming part of the escort force for convoys from Rimouski to Sydney and between St. John's to Sydney, thirty newly trained Fairmile crews and their mothership HMCS Preserver were declared operational in 1942. Six MLs were stationed at Gaspé, two at Rimouski, six at Sydney, eight at Halifax and eight at St. John's, Newfoundland. With the majority of the RCN fleet focused on the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942, RCN allocated a small force of two corvettes, five s and eight MLs for the protection of shipping in the Saint Lawrence. Meanwhile, in Newfoundland and Halifax, ML crews were relieved from convoy escort duty and placed on long and uninteresting anti-submarine patrols, where although contacts were made, no evidence of a “kill” were. By the end of the year, fifteen new MLs joined the RCN fleet and throughout the winter ML crews prepared to take on the U-boat challenge in the coming new year.
Down south, the United States Navy (USN) faced a shortage of escorts and crews with operational experience, so in 1942 twelve Canadian Fairmiles were called upon to provide escort and coastal defence services in Bermuda and the Caribbean Sea. Tasked with countering lurking German U-boats, the 72nd and 73rd ML Flotillas (each of six boats) left Halifax in mid-December for Trinidad via Boston and other east coast ports. Upon reaching Savannah, Georgia, the 72nd ML Flotilla was forced to return home due to the stress foul weather put on the boats and crews during the transit south. Despite the 72nd Flotilla returning home, the 73nd Flotilla continued their trip south and operated out of Miami and Key West under the command of (U.S.) Commander, Gulf Sea Frontier until the spring of 1943.
Back home, listed as part of the 71st Flotilla – Gaspé Force, on 8 June 1943 HMC ML 053 was credited with recovering an intact mine laid in the Halifax approaches by the . While following minesweeper HMS BYMS 2189, the crew of ML Q053 observed a floating mine cut loose by the sweeper and with a 90-yard tow line attached, moved the mine to Ketch Harbour. Not knowing if the mine was magnetic or time-fuzed to explode after surfacing, during the long tow to harbour, the crew of ML 053 were kept forward under cover. Once the mine was brought ashore, Lieutenant (Temp) George Rundle (RCNR) with the assistance of Leading Seaman Lancien, removed the access plate to the mine, cut the electrical wiring and extracted the detonator and primer. "For displaying gallantry, skill and coolness in carrying out hazardous duties" Lt George Rundle was awarded the George Medal and LS Lancien the British Empire Medal.
In February 1943, MLs 052, 062 and 063 were transferred to the Free French Forces and stationed at St. Pierre and Miquelon under the command of Flag Officer, Newfoundland. After the war, these "French Fairmiles" were returned to the RCN.
RCN Fairmile flotilla organisation in December 1944
+Atlantic Northwest Command, Commander-in-Chief, Canadian Northwest AtlanticGaspé Force (Administered by Naval Officer in Command, Gaspé)Sydney Force( Administered by Naval Officer in Command, Sydney)Newfoundland Force (Administered by Flag Officer Newfoundland Force St. John's)Halifax Local Defence Force(Administered by Captain M.L.s at Halifax)New Brunswick Force(Administered by Naval Officer in Command, Saint John) HMCS Fort Ramsey, GaspéUnassignedBase supply ship
HMCS Preserver, St. John'sBase supply ship HMCS Provider, BermudaHalifax M.L. Force HMCS Captor II, Saint John HMCS Stadacona, Halifax Free French ForcesQ-Boats with Free French Naval Forces were crewed and maintained by French Canadians HMCS Avalon, St. John's 71st M.L. Flotilla79th M.L. Flotilla72nd M.L. Flotilla82nd M.L. Flotilla76th M.L. Flotilla78th M.L. Flotilla70th M.L. Flotilla70th ML Flotilla was detached on duty with the RN operating from Bermuda under the operational control of Senior British Naval Officer Western Atlantic (S.B.N.O.W.A.T.)77th FlotillaMotor launch73rd M.L. FlotillaGaspéQuebecSydneySt. John'sSt. Pierre and MiquelonSydneyBermudaHalifaxSaint JohnQ.082*Q.116
+Pacific Coast CommandFlag of Commanding Officer Pacific Coast – Ashore at VancouverEsquimalt Force(Administered by Capt. (D), Esquimalt)Prince Rupert Force(Administered by Naval Officer in Command, Prince Rupert)Under orders of Commandant, North-Eastern Sea FrontierVancouver Force(Administered by Naval Officer in Command, Vancouver)HMCS Givenchy (III)75th M.L. FlotillaUnassignedEsquimaltPrince RupertEsquimaltVancouverVancouverQ.126
Overseas service In the opening months of the Second World War, the RN was permitted to actively recruit Canadians for the war effort in Europe and by 1943 more than one hundred RCN officers joined the British coastal forces. Skillfully commanding fast attack craft in the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea, the performance of the Canadian MTB officers and sailors led to a British proposal in 1943 that the RCN man two MTB flotillas in preparation for the invasion of Europe.
29th MTB Flotilla (1944–1945)
The 29th MTB flotilla had a short & distinguished history in the English Channel, including action during the landings at Normandy. Formed in March 1944 under the command of an experienced Lt Anthony Law (RCNVR) and equipped with eight British built 71 ft 6ins (Mk.VI) G-type MTBs, the 29th MTB flotilla conducted initial work up training at HMS Bee Coastal Forces base at Holyhead throughout the month of April 1944, moving to its first operational base HMS Fervent Coastal Forces base at Ramsgate in May 1944.
The first mission assigned to the 29th MTB Flotilla was given to MTBs 460,462,464 and 465. Tasked with escorting a clandestine mine gathering expedition to the German controlled Normandy coast, on 16 May 1944 the Canadian MTBs proceeded to the French coast along with two British MTBs, protecting them as volunteers were landed ashore by outboards to lift sample mines from the German beach defence. Managing to accomplish their mission undetected, the captured mines provided much needed intelligence prior to the Allied D-Day landings.
Between 20–22 May 1944, the 29th MTB Flotilla joined RCN Tribal-class destroyers and the 65th MTB Flotilla in intercepting enemy coastal convoys in the English Channel. Targeting German schnellboote (E-boats), escort ships, merchant vessels; the MTBs lured German destroyers within the gun range of accompanying heavier warships. Following this success, on 27 May 1944 the 29th MTB Flotilla moved to HMS Hornet Coastal Forces base at Gosport (Portsmouth), in preparation for Operation Neptune in June 1944.