Motor Launch ML-286 is a First World War

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...

built by

Elco Elco or ELCO may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Elco, Illinois * Elco, Pennsylvania Schools * El Camino College * Eastern Lebanon County High School, a school in Myerstown, Pennsylvania * El Camino High School (South San Francisco) Businesses * Elc ...

, that saw action with Royal Navy. It is also listed as one of the Little Ships that were in the 1940,

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

. It is in a very poor condition and lies on the banks of the River Thames at

Isleworth Ait Isleworth Ait is a London Wildlife Trust nature reserve, and is a teardrop-shaped island in the River Thames in England, between and . The long ait is on the Tideway facing Old Isleworth and the towpath alongside the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Cl ...

. ML-286 is the last surviving Royal Naval

Motor Launch Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat ...

of the more than 550 that served in the First World War.

World War I service

The first motor launches entered service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. These were 580 vessels built by the US

company for the Admiralty, receiving the designations ML–1 to ML–580. They served between 1916 and the end of the war with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

defending the British coast from German submarines. Her first commander was the

War artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

, Lieutenant Geoffrey Allfree (1889–1918)

Dunkirk and post-war

After the War ML286 was sold off by the Ministry and was given the name ''Cordon Rouge'' and then later, in 1930 she became ''Eothen'' which was her name at Dunkirk. She returned to Ramsgate and was towed to Teddington. She was requisitioned for service as an auxiliary patrol vessel in the Thames but found to be unsuitable and later was returned to her owners in August 1940.

Current condition

''Eothen'' (ML-286) lies in a very poor condition on the banks of the River Thames. It is being monitored and recorded by volunteer members of the

Thames Discovery Programme The Thames Discovery Programme is a community archaeology project, focusing on the archaeology of the River Thames on the Tideway. The Thames Discovery Programme (TDP) was launched in October 2008 and until September 2011, the project was suppor ...

(TDP) based at

Museum of London Archaeology MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) is an archaeology and built heritage practice and independent charitable company registered with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA). It provides a wide range of professional archaeological se ...

(MOLA).

References

External links

"The Movies" – The Ships and Men of the Royal Navy Motor Launch Patrol, 1914–1919

* ttps://forgottenwrecks.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/uploads/images/Articles/Motor%20Launches%20by%20Andrew%20Daw%20V1.pdf Forgotten Wrecks of the First War {{DEFAULTSORT:ML-286 1916 ships Little Ships of Dunkirk Isleworth Transport on the River Thames Ships built in Bayonne, New Jersey Shipwrecks of the River Thames Thames Estuary Patrol vessels of the United Kingdom

World War I service

Dunkirk and post-war

Current condition

See also

References

Further reading

External links