PS ''Portsdown'' was a passenger vessel built for the Southern Railway in 1928. She was one of the civilian ships that participated in the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

in 1940 and was sunk by a

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

a year later.

History

The ship was built by Caledon Shipbuilding of Dundee and launched on 24 March 1928. ''Portsdown'' was retained on the Portsmouth to Ryde run during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

along with her sister ship . However, on 1 June 1940, she was employed as a naval transport ship and went unarmed to

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, where she used her own boats to load men from the beach, later putting her bow into the shore to rescue others. She returned to

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

with 618 men. ''Portsdown'' hit a mine on 20 September 1941 at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

and sank with the loss of 23 lives

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portsdown 1928 ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships built in Dundee Ships of the Southern Railway (UK) Maritime incidents in September 1941