Fairmile Marine is a British boat building company founded in 1939 by Noel Macklin, a former Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve officer. The boats were originally manufactured at his home at Cobham Fairmile in Surrey. The first designs were ordered for use by the Royal Navy. Macklin had insufficient capital to carry out the orders which led to Fairmile Marine becoming an agency of the Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs.​ There were 5 classes of Fairmile boat (as well as 1 experimental design). 

 

Fairmile A: The Admiralty originally rejected the concept so the prototype was a private venture. In 1939, two months before the outbreak of war, the Admiralty had a change of heart and awarded Macklin a contract to build eleven. The first vessel was completed May 1940. Their role was to be anti-submarine escorts in coastal waters, but after Fairmile B motor launches entered service, the Type A boats were converted to minelayers.

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Fairmile B: The first Fairmile B motor launch was completed in September 1940, with a further 38 from the first two production batches entering service before the end of the year. Primarily anti-submarine boats, 9 were fitted with 21" torpedo tubes forming the 2nd ML Flotilla. The Type B was used in the Siege of Malta, to sweep a narrow channel allowing the heavy minesweepers to widen the channel. They were also used in the Normandy landings, acting as navigational vessels to guide the landing craft to the correct beaches. Other boats were built as rescue motor lauches, with sickbays onboard.

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Fairmile C: The Type C reused the hull from the Type A boats but with optimised steering and deck layout. The class was mainly involved in close escort work with east coast convoys. One boat (MGB 314) took part in Operation Chariot, the raid on the St Nazaire docks.

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Fairmile D: Nicknamed 'Dog Boats'. the Type D was a motor torpedo boat designed to combat the German E-boat. They were larger but slower than previous designs, and were only ever produced in component form in Britain.

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Fairmile H: Designed for commando type raids from Britain as a way of probing enemy defenses and tying down additional troops. 10 out of 50 produced were converted into fire support vessels by adding extra weapons and a tank turret for anti-tank capability.