Photo source © IWM A 6312 taken by Lt. L C Priest. Colourised by Joshua Barrett from the UK.
Commander Lionel James Spencer Ede DSO RN, Commander of Minesweeping and Patrol, Dover, testing a rarely seen stripped Lewis Machine Gun probably on board HMS ML 297 1941. These guns usually have their water jackets wrapped around the barrel and forend. The dated armament was common on the launches.
ML297 was a Fairmile B-class motor launch, the 112-foot workhorse of the RN of which a staggering 650 were completed during the War.
Originally tasked as anti-invasion gunboats in the dark days of 1940, they were to slaughter German landing craft near shore with WWI surplus QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss (47mm / L40) cannon and similarly vintage machine guns.
Once Hitler called off Operation Sea Lion, the Brits found use for the launches as subchasers crammed full of depth charges, minesweepers with a few basic trawls, and then finally as rescue motor launches, beach control and ambulances during the subsequent Allied amphibious landings in Europe.
Hampton, J A (Lt) Royal Navy official photographer – Imperial War Museum Collections Search A 23877 Caption: “With the motor launch ML 303 in the foreground, a large number of landing craft approach the beaches during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Several other large ships can be seen in the distance.”
As for the good Lt. Cdr. Spencer, he retired from the RN 10 Oct 1953 at the end of 28 years service after holding several wartime commands including HMS Salamander, Blyth and Rhyl.
