PS ''Sandown'' was a passenger vessel built for the Southern Railway in 1934 and later served with distinction in the

Royal Navy during the Second World War The Royal Navy was an important component of the Allied forces during the Second World War and made a significant contribution to the victory over the Axis powers. Its main tasks included the protection of merchant ships in the Atlantic against ...

History

The ship was built by

William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scotland, Scottish shipbuilder, shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships a ...

in Dumbarton and launched on 1 May 1934 by Mrs E.J. Missenden, wife of the manager for the Southern Railway Company Docks at Southampton. Costing £39,850, she was one of two ships placed by the railway company, the other being . She was deployed on the Portsmouth to Ryde ferry service. HMS Sandown FL18662

At the outbreak of the Second World War, she 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, Tra ...

and converted to a

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 ...

with the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

J.20, initially serving with the 10th Flotilla in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

as the senior officer's vessel. On 27 May 1940, ''Sandown'' led the flotilla to 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 ...

, returning with them on the following day and then operating independently. On 1 June, she rescued 250 men from a grounded drifter. The total number of men rescued by ''Sandown'' during the operation was 1,861. In 1942, she was reequipped as an anti-aircraft ship, later supporting the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

and the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations to open up the Scheldt river between Antwerp and the North Sea for shipping, so that Antwerp's port could be used to supply the Allies in north-west Europe. The oper ...

. She was returned to her owners in 1945. She was acquired by

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

in 1948. On 30 June 1954, she went to the rescue of her sister ship which had mechanical difficulties. The ''Sandown'' managed to secure a tow line and tow her to Portsmouth Harbour. She was scrapped in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandown 1934 ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of the Southern Railway (UK) Ships of British Rail