''Shepperton Ferry'' was a

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...

built for the Southern Railway in 1934. Requisitioned 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 ...

during

World War II 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 opposing ...

, she served as the

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing control ...

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

and

heavy lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to be floated o ...

HMS ''Shepperton''. She was returned to the Southern Railway post-war and saw service with them and their successor British Railways until 1972, when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was long with a beam of and a depth of . Her draught was . Assessed at , , she was propelled by four Parsons Turbines of 948

nhp Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

driving twin screw propellers through single reduction gearing. These could propel the ship at .

History

''Shepperton Ferry'' was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Low Walker,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

as Yard Number 1450 for the Southern Railway. Launched on 23 October 1934, she was completed in March 1935 and entered service on the Dover - Dunkerque route. ''Shepperton Ferry'' was allocated the Official Number 163583. Her port of registry was

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and she was allocated the Code Letters GYJJ. The ship could carry 12 sleeping cars or 40 railway wagons. She also had space for 25 motor cars and 500 passengers. On 21 December 1938, ''Shepperton Ferry'' was involved in a collision with a Dutch

coaster Coaster (stylized as COASTER) is a commuter rail service in the central and northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States operated by the North County Transit District (NCTD). The commuter rail line features eight s ...

off the '' Dyke Lightship''. In 1939, ''Shepperton Ferry'' was requisitioned by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

and converted to a

for the

under the name HMS ''Shepperton''. Her pennant number was M83. She was armed with a 4" anti-aircraft gun and two .303 machine guns and carried 270 mines. She operated in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. She remained in Royal Naval service until 5 May 1941 when she was declared a

Constructive Total Loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

after an air raid at Belfast. Other sources state that in 1940, she was transferred to 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 ...

and regained her original name. She was converted to a

and used on the Stranraer -

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

route. In 1944, ''Shepperton Ferry'' was converted to a

. She was fitted with a

gantry crane A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, us ...

which enabled her to lift steam locomotives. Following the cessation of hostilities, ''Shepperton Ferry'' was converted back to a train ferry and returned to the Southern Railway. She returned to the Dover - Dunkerque route. Ownership passed to the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...

upon the nationalisation of the railways in 1948. In 1950, ''Shepperton Ferry'' was fitted with additional flooring on her train deck, which gave her a capacity of 100 motor cars. On 29 November, she struck the submerged wreck of a Royal Navy motor torpedo boat at Dunkerque in a gale. She was freed by five tugs. Following the loss of on 31 January 1953, alterations were made to ''Shepperton Ferry'' to strengthen her as a result of recommendations made by the court of inquiry into that disaster. In each of the years between 1962 and 1965, ''Shepperton Ferry'' spent up to a month on the Stranraer - Larne route. With the introduction of

IMO Number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term covering two distinct meanings. The IMO ship identification number, is a type of hull number used as a unique ship identifier, and the IMO company and registered owne ...

s in the late 1960s, she was allocated the IMO Number 5322544. was withdrawn from service on 26 August 1972 and laid up at Dover before being sold to Hierro Ardes SA,

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Spain for scrapping. ''Shepperton Ferry'' arrived at Bilbao for scrapping on 17 September 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepperton Ferry 1934 ships Ships built by Swan Hunter Train ferries Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Minelayers of the Royal Navy Ministry of War Transport ships Troop ships Heavy lift ships Maritime incidents in 1950 Ships of the Southern Railway (UK) Ships of British Rail