THE Brave Little ships of Dunkirk fame took a bow again when the British Military Powerboat Trust held its second Easter open weekend.

Last year more than 500 visitors found their way to the BMPT's huge boatsheds at Cracknore Hard near Marchwood, a total the trust was hoping to beat this year.

Among the stars on display was the Seaplane Tender 377 and Harbour Defence launch Medusa. There was also a representative from the Axis nations in the form of German E-boat S-130. The former torpedo boat is believed to be the last of her kind in existence, and is being loaned to the trust during restoration.

The opening ceremony was carried out on the 337, newly arrived from the River Hamble, and a blessing-the-boats service was led by Marchwood lay canon David Dale from the deck of Army launch Humber.

BMPT archivist Clive Frampton's favourite is the 1943 Queen Gull, which has been a giant jigsaw puzzle, an army target boat and a waterskiing launch in her time. Escaping the fate of her sister ships - sunk by apprentice marksmen - she's the only one left of more than 100.

Clive said: "Target boats were put together at Marchwood Park by women boat-building trainees during the war. Hundreds of pieces were spread out on the floor and if they could assemble and launch the boat in just over three hours, they passed their final exams. If it leaked, they went back for another week of training."