{{Short description|Military boat classification}} {{Use British English|date=March 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} [[File:HSL 164 with RAF Hurricane off Colombo c1943.jpg|thumb|''Whaleback'' HSL 164, a Type Two 63 ft HSL, off Colombo with a Hawker Hurricane overhead]]

A '''high-speed launch''' (HSL) is a type of military boat typically used for air-sea rescue operations. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) and others used HSLs especially during World War II.

The 64&nbsp;ft. high-speed, air/sea rescue launch built by British Power Boat Company (BPBC) was one of the earliest high-speed offshore rescue vessel used by the RAF. The prototype, numbered 100, gave its name to the class as the "100 class"; High Speed Launch 102 is the only surviving boat from that class.<ref name="HSL 102" >{{Cite web |title=High Speed Launch 102 |website=Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust |url=https://www.pnbpropertytrust.org/historic-boats/boatdetails/high-speed-launch-102/67/}}</ref> It was tested in 1936 and production boats were delivered in 1937.{{sfn|Canwell|Sutherland|2013|p=191}}

Later designs included the 1941 Type Two 63 ft HSL "Whaleback", an adaptation of a motor anti-submarine boat, the first HSL to include gun turrets. British Power Boat chief designer George Selman later designed the 68&nbsp;ft. "Hants & Dorset"{{sfn|Canwell|Sutherland|2013|pp=41, 191}}

By May 1944, The RAF had 130 HSLs.{{sfn|Pitchfork|2017|p=57}}

==References== {{reflist|20em}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |first1=Diane |last1= Canwell |first2= Jon |last2=Sutherland |title=RAF Air Sea Rescue 1918–1986 |date=2013 |publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation |isbn=978-1-84-884303-5}} * {{cite book |last1=Pitchfork |first1=Graham |title=Shot Down and in the Drink: True Stories of RAF and Commonwealth Aircrews Saved from the Sea in WWII |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-1-47-282725-8}} {{refend}}

Category:Boat types

Category:Royal Air Force Marine Branch

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