The IIMS Certifying Authority subsequently certificated her to CAT 4 which allows her to be used commercially for those interested in experiencing a working piece of wartime history. This is somewhat safer than when she first came into service when you consider that in common with land based tank crews these amazing guys operated next to screaming hot engines, with huge tanks full of petrol and explosive ordinance while firing guns and being on the receiving end of enemy fire.
ST 1502
Vessels Details: Type:
Service: Builders: Year Built:
Number Built: Displacement: Length: Beam:
Draught: Hull:
Engines: Max Speed:
41½ ft Seaplane Tender RAF
British Power Boat Co. 1942 87
5.0 Tons 41½ ft 11¾ ft 2¼ ft
Mahogany
2 x Perkins 56M 130hp diesels 23 knots
Designed by George Selman (the same designer as MGB 81), this craft was built in Hythe by British Power Boats in 1942. During the early part of the war, 1502 and a few others of this type were armed and fitted out for Air Sea Rescue duties.
ST 1502, Yard No. 1888, was the third craft of the third batch of this type to have been built by BPB at their yard in Hythe. The craft was taken on charge by the RAF on 24th March 1942 and immediately despatched to be used by 51 Air Sea Rescue Unit (AS RU) under control of Coastal Command at Penrhos and Pwllheli in Wales. The tender remained based at the unit for virtually all of her WWII service before being transferred in July 1945 to No 56 ASRU based at Portaferry. In October 1945 she was moved to Invergordon/Alness in Scotland. After the war she was given a roll change to Range Safety Launch. In 1950 1502 was upgraded to Mk 1A specification at Calshot and returned to Invergordon/Alness until she became surplus at the end of 1955. She was subsequently offered for disposal as lying at the RAF base at Calshot and sold into private ownership in 1956. She fell into disrepair and was donated to the BMPT by her then owner Dave Wright and was brought by low loader to Marchwood arriving at the site on 24th September 1999, which is where I first became involved with her. Here she was virtually re-built by ex RAF sailors from the Air Sea Rescue & Marine Craft Sections Club, (Hants & Dorset Branch). In 2009 she was moved to her new home at Portsmouth Naval Base.
Between 2014 and 2016 I surveyed her and eventually coded her to Cat 5 on behalf of the IIMS.
57 | The Report • September 2022 • Issue 101
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