D-class lifeboat (RFD 320)

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Class overview
Name	D-class (RFD 320)
Builders	RFD
Operators	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Preceded by	D-class (RFD PB16)
Succeeded by	D-class (RFD PB16)
Built	1966–1967
In service	1966–1983
Completed	6
Retired	6
General characteristics
Class & type	RFD 320
Complement	2 or 3

The D-class (RFD 320) lifeboat is a class of inflatable boat operated between 1967 and 1983 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

They were manufactured by R.F.D. Co.Ltd of Gadalming, Surrey, a company founded by engineer Reginald Foster Dagnall. Over time, RFD became a synonym for "Rapid Flotation Devices".

For more than 60 years the D-class has served as the workhorse of the RNLI Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) fleet. The D-class is one of the few RNLI types not to feature a rigid hull. The D-class was specifically designed as a light and highly manoeuvrable rapid response craft, especially suited to close shore work.

There were only six D-class (RFD 320) boats in the RNLI Fleet, and all were utilised as Boarding Boats.