Morgan Giles

The Morgan Giles Register HDML's

During the Second World War Morgan Giles was given an order to build four Harbour Defence Motor launches.  These were 72ft Launches intended for inshore work but were so successful that they were used in all operational areas during the war.

Those built by Morgan Giles were ML 1039, ML 1051, ML 1052 and ML 1053.  1039 was ordered on 20^th Feb. 1940 and launched on 26^th Nov. 1940.  The other three were ordered later in the year between June and November and were launched on 15^th Jan. 1941, 3^rd April 1941 and 12^th May 1941 respectively.

All the boats were round bilged to provide lift designed to throw the bow wave clear and keep the decks clear of water.  They were powered by two Gardner 8L3 engines and had a range of 1,700 Nautical Miles.  On trials they achieved 12 knots.

ML 1039 was based initially in Plymouth on training duties then joined the 102^nd ML Flotilla at Alexandria, Egypt on 1^st Jan 1942.  She was captured by German Forces on 20^th June 1942 when her Commanding Officer Lt Robert Morton RNVR and 10 of her crew were killed in action during the evacuation of Tobruk.

ML 1051 also joined the 102^nd ML Flotilla at the same time as ML 1039 and served in the Mediterranean theatre throughout the war.  On 4^th September 1945 she was loaned to the Greek Navy and sold in Greece in 1961.  Possibly named Rodos and based in Estapona and later in 2004 based in Almaria.

ML 1052 joined the 104^th Flotilla and spent the war in Sierra Leone and was put up for disposal in Freetown in January 1946.

ML 1053 joined the 103^rd ML Flotilla on 1^st July 1941 and was based in Falmouth, spending most of her time in Falmouth and Plymouth.  In 1944 she was fitted with echo sounders and allocated to Hydrographic Survey duties.  After the war she was used as a Survey Motor launch and eventually sold on 20^th April 1959.

Two HDML’s were captured by the Germans in 1942, as noted above ML 1039 was one of these and the other was ML 1069.  One of these Launches is shown in the photo on 8^th May 1945 when the Commander of the German Forces, Major General Wagner and two of his staff officers went aboard HMS Kimberly to surrender the German forces in the Dodecanese.  This could well be ML 1039.

HL 1039 from HMS Kimberly