06/06/2026
On this 82nd anniversary of D-Day, here is one one of the last surviving vessels that was actually there — MFV 119. Currently undergoing repair works in our Arctic Dry Dock.
Built in early 1944 by Morris of Gosport, this sturdy 65-foot wooden Admiralty type Class 1 Motor Fishing Vessel (MFV) was delivered to the US forces (US Special Services) in Southampton. She was sailed to Omaha Beach with an American crew, playing her part in the greatest amphibious invasion in history.
After supporting the Normandy landings, she continued running stores between Southampton and Le Havre until returning to the Royal Navy in 1945.
There are strong links to the 328th Harbour craft company, who operated the first boats into Cherbourg Harbour after liberation. Further investigations are underway.
Her later life was equally remarkable. In the late 1970s and 1980s she served as a dive support vessel for the Royal Navy Sub-Aqua Club, supporting major underwater archaeology projects — most notably the excavation of the wrecks of HMS Pomone (1811) and HMS Assurance (1753),ships closely associated with the Mary Rose project.
Now 82 years on, MFV 119 remains one of the very few D-Day veterans still with us — a tough little boat with an extraordinary story.
