THE STORY OF THE FAIRMILE PATROL BOAT [Main Title]

A picture of the decentralised mass-production methods used to produce the largest possible quantity of Fairmile Patrol Boats from small shipyards around the British Isles (and the Empire) during the Second World War.

The film opens with a long statement to camera from Vice Admiral C V Usborne, who is described as having "fathered" the scheme which was the original idea of Captain A N C Macklin. The film shows the drawing office and mould loft, the cutting and shaping of timbers (largely by hand with adzes), and the manufacture of frames, bulkheads and engine bearers at a variety of factories. The assembly of a Fairmile at a boatyard is followed as stringers, planking and engine mountings are attached; the film then cross-cuts between factories and assembly as engines, fuel tanks, instrument panels, and deck furnishings are added. Free French officers visit the yard. The film shows some of the several yards used in the scheme. The Chief WRNS Officer for Scotland launches a completed boat. The Fairmile school in Cobham provides training for crew (engineers), and the finished boat is put through trials and acceptance tests. There are further views of the Cobham headquarters - with a statement from a man who may be Macklin himself, explaining over maps of the British Isles and the Empire where the boats are assembled. Warehouses store parts for the construction of further boats. The film concludes with a lengthy sequence of Fairmiles on patrol and convoy escort duty, including not very convincing recreations of successful anti-aircraft and anti-submarine actions.