| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Motor Launch |
| Class | Fairmile B |
| Pennant | ML 281 |
| Built by | Brooke Marine Ltd. (Oulton Broad, England, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 21 May 1940 |
| Laid down | |
| Launched | |
| Commissioned | 19 Jul 1941 |
| End service | |
| History | For disposal in November 1945 |
We don't have any commands listed for HMS ML 281 (ML 281)
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Notable events involving ML 281 include:
8 Nov 1942
HMS ML-281 picks up 59 survivors from the US merchant ship West Humhaw that was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat U-161 about 60 nautical miles south-west of Takoradi.
29 Nov 1942
HMS P 614 (Lt. H.W. Wilkinson, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Freetown together with HMS Tamarisk (Lt. S. Ayles, RNR), HMS ML 277 and HMS ML 281. (1)
16 Mar 1943
HMS P 615 (Lt. C.W.St.C. Lambert, DSC and Bar, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Freetown with HMS Bridgewater (Cdr.(Retd.) N.W.H. Weekes, OBE, RN) and HMS ML 281 (T/Lt. P.S. Castle, RNVR). (2)
25 Mar 1943
Passage of floating dock AFD 24 from Trinidad to Freetown.
On 25 March 1943, the dock in tow of the tugs HMS Frisky and HMS Zwarte Zee departed Trinidad. Escort was provided by the sloop HMS Milford (Lt.Cdr. G. MacClelland, RN), corvettes HMS Tamarisk (Lt. S. Ayles, RNR), HMS Woodruff (A/Lt.Cdr. F.H. Gray, RNR) and the ASW trawlers HMS Morris Dance (T/Lt. S.A. MacKechnie, RNVR) and HMS Yestor (Lt. R.C. Holt, RNVR). A third tug was also present as stand by tug, this was HMS Oriana.
On 1 April 1943, the armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara (A/Capt.(retd.) J.D. Harvey, RN) and the corvette HMS Amaranthus (T/Lt. W.S. Thomson, RNR) departed Trinidad to overtake and join the 'convoy'. HMS Alcantara was to fuel the oil firing sloop and corvettes at sea during the passage to Freetown. The coal firing trawlers were to coal in Brazilian ports.
On 24 April 1943, the corvette HMS Snowdrop (Lt. P.A. Tinne, RNVR) and the motor launches HMS ML 296 (T/Lt. R.C. Breckenridge, RCNVR), HMS ML 289 (?), HMS ML 287 (T/Lt. J.B. Bramwell, RNVR), HMS ML 281 (T/Lt. P.S. Castle, RNVR), HMS ML 266 (T/Lt. D.R. Beverley, RCNVR) and HMS ML 209 (T/Lt. A.M.C. Scott, RNVR) departed freetown to make rendezvous with the convoy which did at 1130Z/26. ML 281 had however returned to Freetown on the 26th after having been detached due to a defective Asdic installation.
On 27 April 1943, the A/S yacht HMS Virginia (T/A/Lt.Cdr. J. Dobson, RNR) and corvettes HMS Armeria (Lt. M. Todd, RNR), HMS Cyclamen (Lt. A.G. Scott, RNR) and HMS Thyme (Lt. H. Roach, RNR) departed Freetown to join the convoy which they did early in the evening of the same day.
The dock and it's escorts arrived at Freetown on 28 April 1943.
19 May 1943
Le Centaure conducted A/S exercises off Freetown with Dumont d'Urville, HMS ML 209 (T/Lt. A.M.C. Scott, RNVR), ML 272 (T/Lt. J.A. Buchanan, RCNVR), HMS ML 281 (T/Lt. P.S. Castle, RNVR) and HMS ML 296 (T/Lt. R.C. Breckenridge, RCNVR). (2)
8 Sep 1943
HMS Wolverine (Cdr. J.M. Money, RN), HMS Wellington (Cdr. G.A. Thring, DSO, RN), HMS Aberdeen (Lt.Cdr. H. Day, RN), HMS Lowestoft (A/Cdr.(Retd.) L.H. Phillips, RN), HMS Gorleston (Cdr.(Retd.) R.W. Keymer, RN), HMS Fandango (T/Lt. A.G. Fisher, RNR) and HMS Rumba (T/Lt. E.C.F.D. Jacquier, RNVR) conducted night encounter exercises off Freetown with HMS ML 281 (T/Lt. P.S. Castle, RNVR) and HMS ML 289 (T/Lt. G.A.W. Lacey, RNVR). (2)
Sources
- ADM 173/17528
- ADM 199/635
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.