Postby RogerFentem » Wed Aug 12, 2020 4:20 pm
Sincere appolgies, 650 did become a long range rescue craft for the RAF, but LRRC 020 not 004 which was the fate of MTB5006 (another of my grandfather's Dog boats). The older boats of the 55th Flotilla were either paid off or recommissionedafter the pounding they had taken protecting the Eastern flank from E-boats. MTB650 was recommissioned and in the guise of LRRC020 sailed with the 101 ASRMCU sporting the Blue Ensign along with LRRC006, 007, 008, 011, 017, and 021. They were intended for Burma, fortunately hostilities ended and so the unit was stopped in the Med. They went on to Suez and were converted into houseboats for the RAF personnel serving at Fanara post war. There are a couple of pictres in Geoffrey Pilborough's "History of the Royal Air Force Marine Craft" vol 3. It is rather a forelorn hope of mine that something might remain of these houseboats but ...I do not know what names the houseboat conversions were given - if any.