SS ''Alacrity'' was a tug built in Graville, France in 1893 as ''Jean Bart'' and was operated by the Dunkirk Chamber of Commerce. She was sold in 1902 to Howard Smith and renamed ''Alacrity'' for tug service in

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completel ...

, Australia. During the First World War, she was purchased by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

in 1917 for use as a patrol vessel, inspection vessel, and minesweeper based at Fremantle. She was never commissioned. After being sold in 1925, she was slated for breaking up and was moored in

Jervoise Bay, Western Australia Jervoise is a surname and given name. Notable people with these names include: Surname * George Purefoy-Jervoise (1770–1847), English landowner, MP for Salisbury and for Hampshire * Jervoise Clarke Jervoise (Yarmouth MP) (''c.''1743–1808), En ...

, until a fierce gale in

Cockburn Sound Cockburn Sound ( Nyungar Aboriginal Australian name: Derbal Nara) is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Western Australia. It extends from the south of the mouth of the Swan River at Fremantle for about 25 km to Point Peron n ...

wrecked her in 1931.

Notes

References

*Wilson, Michael; Royal Australian Navy 21st Century Warships, Naval auxiliaries 1911 to 1999 including Defence Maritime Services, Profile No. 4 – Revised Edition, Topmill Pty Ltd, Marrickville.

External links

Photo of Navy tug ''Alacrity''Photos of ''Alacrity'' wreck c.1945.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alacrity 1893 ships Ships built in France Auxiliary ships of the Royal Australian Navy Tugboats of Australia Shipwrecks of Western Australia Maritime incidents in 1931 1931 in Australia 1930s in Western Australia