Fairmile H Landing Craft (1/300)

I had never heard of the British Fairmile H until I ran across it in Allied Coastal Forces of WWII. Naturally I had to give them a go...

The Fairmile H series of landing craft were apparently envisioned as "giant raiding craft". The original requirements called for the ability to land 200 fully equipped troops, but this required American help.

The Americans produced the LCI (L), but the British scaled back their requirements and got the Fairmile H LCI (S), which could carry 6 officers and 96 men below decks. They also carried 18 bicycles on the deck for the use of the soldiers, but I'm afraid I haven't modeled those.

They also sported armour plates on the side of the boat, but not at the front or the back.

10 of the boats were modified during construction to become LCS (L)s, providing supporting fire to the troops but not expected to land any troops themselves. Early versions sported a two pounder gun in a tank turret, but I have modeled the later version (officially version 2) with a 6 pounder gun in a Valentine turret because that's what I could find photos of.

The Fairmile Hs seem to have seen service from 1943 on, though I haven't been able to find many specifics about exactly where.They do seem to have been used in the amphibious landings during in the Battle of the Scheldt in the Netherlands, as some of the LCS (L)s were lost there.

Apparently, in addition to landing and supporting troops, Fairmile Hs were used for supply carrying, casualty evacuation, and to lay smoke screens.

I have included the following models:

Fairmile H LCI (S) - the landing craft version, with weapons printed separately. The flat, rectangular structures on the forward deck are wooden planks that could be used for rapid disembarkation. The three piles of rod-like things on the rear deck are wooden poles.

Fairmile H LCI (S) Armed - as above, but with the 2 20mm Oerlikons they originally sported. Apparently more were often added.

Fairmile H LCS (L) - the fire support version, weapons printed separately. This model may well have more mistakes than usual because, while I had plans for the LCI (S), I could only find photos and descriptions of the LCS (L) version.

Fairmile H LCS (L) Armed - as above, but with a 6 pounder in a Valentine turret, a 4" Stokes mortar (which seems to have been for smoke), 2 20mm Oerlikons and a powered turret with 2 50 cal Vickers HMGs.

20mm Oerlikon Mk VIIA Mount Tilted - 20mm guns used for fire support and defence against air attack. Two were mounted on each version of the boat, with the LCI(S) version often sporting more. (These ones are tilted somewhat upwards, both because I like the look, and to make sure they fit in the right place - weapon scaling is a challenge in 1:300, as accurately scaled weapons are too small to actually print.)

4 Inch Stokes Mortar for Fairmile H - for the LCS(L), goes in the pit on the forward deck. This model is very much educated guesswork, as this weapon proved hard to find details of (and seems to have had a different mounting here than the version used on land).

Valentine Turret - for the LCS(L) version. Goes on the raised mounting on the forward deck.

Fairmile H 50 Cal Turret - for the LCS(L) version. This looks to me like a standard turret that has been modified, but again I couldn't find much about it. Goes on the raised rectangle at the rear, where I have cunningly left a hole for it to fit into.

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