TSS ''Normannia'' was a passenger vessel built for the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

in 1911.

History

The ship was built by the Fairfield Govan and launched on 9 November 1911. With her sister ship they were put on the service between Southampton and Le Havre. They were the first cross-channel steamers to be fitted with single-reduction geared

Parsons turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Pars ...

s, which gave the vessels a speed of over 20 knots but also cut down on the vibration experienced by cross-Channel passengers. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1914 and operated as a troopship during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she also brought home Elsie Cameron Corbett and others freed from captivity. She was acquired by the Southern Railway in 1923. On 30 May 1940 she was bombed and severely damaged during

Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

off Dunkerque by

Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, wit ...

aircraft of the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. She was beached and abandoned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Normannia 1911 ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of the Southern Railway (UK) Ships of the London and South Western Railway Maritime incidents in May 1940 Shipwrecks of France Ships sunk by German aircraft