''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 Southern Railway or Southern Railroad may refer to:
Argentina
* Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, Argentina
* Southern Fuegian Railway, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Australia
* Main Southern railway line, New South Wales, Australia
* Southern r ...
in 1934. Requisitioned by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, 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 contro ...
,
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 Turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbi ...
s 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
Low or LOW or lows, may refer to:
People
* Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low
Places
* Low, Quebec, Canada
* Low, Utah, United States
* Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station
* Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LOW ...
, Northumberland
Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, 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 Ab ...
as Yard Number 1450 for the Southern Railway Southern Railway or Southern Railroad may refer to:
Argentina
* Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, Argentina
* Southern Fuegian Railway, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Australia
* Main Southern railway line, New South Wales, Australia
* Southern r ...
. 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
Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...
GYJJ. The ship could carry 12 sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car.
The first such cars s ...
s 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
Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to:
General uses
* Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian"
* Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment
* Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice
* Dikes, ...
''.
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, Tra ...
and converted to a 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 contro ...
for the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
under the name HMS ''Shepperton''.[ Her ]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 ...
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 Kan ...
.[ 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 Transpor ...
and regained her original name. She was converted to a 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 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 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 ...
. 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, use ...
which enabled her to lift steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
s.[
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
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
.
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