Admiralty tug
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Admiralty tugs were
tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s built for and operated by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. These were vessels built to Admiralty specifications and in specific classes during the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
s. They were built to meet the Royal Navy's demand for auxiliary vessels and to supplement the civilian tugs requisitioned by the Admiralty for war service.


First World War

At the outbreak of the First World War the Royal Navy owned seven fleet tugs, mainly civilian vessels purchased as required, employed in normal tug duties at naval ports. When war commenced the Admiralty put in train plans to requisition civilian tugs to meet the need for vessels to work as patrol vessels,
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
s,
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
vessels and a host of routine duties. In all, over 100 civilian tugs were requisitioned in this way. There was an increased need for boats to act on the salvage and rescue of ships attacked and damaged on the high seas, for which the civilian fleet was not sufficient. To meet this need the Admiralty placed an order for 64 sea-going tugs to operate in this capacity. These were to a single design, based on a civilian type, and, as they were built by specialist shipyards, incorporated merchant rather than navy features. However it was specified they be armed and equipped with radio. The main class of Admiralty tug was the ''Saint'' class. Of 64 ordered, 46 were completed and commissioned before the end of hostilities. The second class was the ''Resolve'' (also called ''Rollicker'') class, 6 large ocean-going tugs for duty on the high seas, but these were incomplete at the war's end. Their names were ''Resolve'', ''Respond'', ''Retort'', ''Rollicker'', ''Roysterer'', and ''Rollcall''.Dittmar, College p. 282 In addition the Admiralty built several classes of small tugs, including 10 ''Robust''-class paddle tugs, and 6 ''West''-class harbour tugs, and several classes of tugs for special duties. 15 vessels were built to tugboat design for use as boarding vessels in the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
estuary and another 13 for use in the
Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
. They also built 24 tugs (the ''Concrete'' class) employed towing
ferro-concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...
barges between England and France.Dittmar, College p. 271


First World War tugs


Second World War

In World War II a similar situation arose; the Admiralty again requisitioned civilian tugs and placed orders for a range of Admiralty tugs. In all 117 harbour tugs were brought into service, including the ten ''Robust''- and six ''West''-class vessels (built in World War I and now in civilian service) and 101 others of various design. Just two harbour tugs were built for the Admiralty during World War II, the ''Alligator''-class. Prior to 1939 the Royal Navy had built four ''Brigand''-class rescue tugs for its own use; at the outbreak of World War II a further 74 civilian tugs were requisitioned, including 16 ''Saint'' and five ''Rollicker'' class of World War I vintage, and 53 others. At the same time orders were placed for 21 Admiralty tugs, the , the first being delivered in 1940. In 1942 a further 23 , and eight tugs were built, followed in 1944 by six tugs. A number of US Rescue Tugs were also supplied under the Lend-Lease programme. These long-range Rescue Tugs were ocean-going ships which often accompanied convoys and operated in all theatres of the war. They were largely crewed by experienced Merchant Seamen recruited into the Royal Navy under T124 articles and formed a specialist unit known as His Majesty's Rescue Tug Service (commanded from HMS Minona moored in Campbeltown in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
). These vessels were supplemented by a number of similar vessels owned by the
Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...
(MoWT) and operated on their behalf by private shipping companies (notably the United Towing Company based in Hull). Most of the RN and MoWT Rescue Tugs were disposed of at the war's end.)


Second World War tugs

The Royal Naval tugs and small auxiliaries were formed by the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service, manned by MoD employed civilian crews. However this was outsourced to a private company Serco-Denholm slightly prior to the year 2000. Initially the vessels were still MoD owned but the crews and manning were privatised. The remaining vessels were later sold to Serco-Denholm changing from the old black and buff colour scheme of the RMAS to black and white. All the vessels now carry the initials SD prior to their name.


Characteristics

Admiralty tugs were built to Navy specifications, and standardized where possible to a single design, though this was based on a civilian type. In this they followed the pattern of other auxiliary vessels, such as the Admiralty trawlers, and the s. They were built by shipyards specializing in tug construction, and thus incorporated merchant rather than navy features, such as an enclosed
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, and wooden superstructure. However, it was specified they be armed and equipped with radio. The First World War vessels had at least one gun, for self-defence, and smoke-generating gear. In World War II they also carried anti-aircraft guns for protection against air attack.


Construction list

One of the builders of these tugs was
Henry Robb Henry Robb, Limited, known colloquially as Robbs, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based at Leith Docks in Edinburgh. Robbs was notable for building small-to-medium sized vessels, particularly tugs and dredgers. History The company was fo ...
Ltd. Below is a list of ''Bustler''-class ocean rescue/salvage tugs built during World War II. These were powered by
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
s.


1941/42

Built and launched in 1941/42 were: * HMRT ''Bustler'' * HMRT ''Samsonia'' Post-war, Samsonia was leased by Foundation Maritime in
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
, and operated as ''Foundation Josephine''. She is featured prominently in Farley Mowat's book The Serpent's Coil. * HMRT ''Growler'' * HMRT ''Hesperia''


1944/45

Built in 1944/45 were: * HMRT ''Mediator'' * HMRT ''Reward'' * HMRT ''Turmoil'' * HMRT ''Warden''


See also

*
The Key (1958 film) ''The Key'' is a 1958 British-American war film set in 1941 during the Battle of the Atlantic. It was based on the 1951 novel ''Stella'' by Jan de Hartog (later republished as ''The Distant Shore'' and ''The Key'') and was directed by Sir Caro ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * {{cite book , title=Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I , orig-year=1919 , date=1990 , isbn=1-85170-378-0


External links


WWII Harbour tugs at uboat.net


Tugboats of the United Kingdom Ship types Tugboats of the Royal Navy Auxiliary tugboat classes