TSS (RMS) ''Tynwald'' No. 165281 was a passenger vessel which served with the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * ...

from 1937 until she was requisitioned for war service at the end of 1940. She was the fourth ship in the line's history to bear the name. ''Tynwald'' was sunk in November 1942 off the coast of

French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. ...

Design and construction

''Tynwald'' and her identical twin ''Fenella'' were built by

Vickers Armstrong Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 202 ...

and launched on the same day, 16 December 1936. ''Tynwald'' had a gross registered tonnage of 2376t, a beam of 46', a length of 314'6", a draught of 18' and a design speed of 21 knots. Both ''Tynwald'' and ''Fenella'', had crew accommodation for 68, and a capacity for 1968 passengers. Whilst the twins were identical in almost every facet, there were two subtle differences incorporated into their external appearance so as to be able to differentiate between the two. The ''Fenella'' had a

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0 ...

running out from her

foremast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ligh ...

which had been installed specifically so as she could be identified from a distance. The

strake On a vessel's hull, a strake is a longitudinal course of planking or plating which runs from the boat's stempost (at the bows) to the sternpost or transom (at the rear). The garboard strakes are the two immediately adjacent to the keel on e ...

, or

gunwale The gunwale () is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally the structure was the "gun wale" on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firing ar ...

, around the main deck was black on the ''Fenella'' whilst it was white on the ''Tynwald.'' The bows on both ships bore not only their names but the Three Legs of Man symbol. There were also some quite distinctive differences in the interal decor of the twins. In the first class dining saloon of the ''Tynwald'' the woodwork was

Queensland walnut ''Endiandra palmerstonii'', popularly known as Queensland walnut or black walnut, is a rainforest tree of northern Queensland. It was named after the Australian prospector Christie Palmerston. Queensland walnut has been used as a furniture timbe ...

, whilst on the ''Fenella'' it consisted of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...

. In the first class lounge of the ''Tynwald,'' figured chestnut provided the setting for a colour scheme in green and gold whereas the ''Fenalla's'' first class lounge was panalled in Australian walnut, the general colour scheme being in blue and fawn. The smoke room panelling was

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

in the ''Tynwald'' and walnut in the ''Fenella.'' In addition the third class ladies lounge the walls were panalled with white

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * '' Acer pseudoplat ...

in the ''Tynwald'' and weathered sycamore in the ''Fenella.''

Steam Packet Company service

Like her sister ship ''Fenella'', ''Tynwald'' was intended primarily to be used on the winter service between

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

. They were virtually identical apart from slight decorative differences, the noticeable external difference being ''Tynwald'' had her upper

painted white, whereas on ''Fenella'' it was black. Spacious lounges were a feature of both ships which were furnished to a high standard. On 1 October 1937, the ''Tynwald'' conveyed the newly appointed

Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man The Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man ( gv, Fo-chiannoort Vannin or ''Lhiass-chiannoort Vannin'') is the Lord of Mann's official personal representative in the Isle of Man. He has the power to grant royal assent and is styled "His Excellen ...

, Vice Admiral Leveson-Gower from

.Peel City Guardian; Date:9 Oct 1937 The ''Tynwald'' was decorated with bunting and flew the Governor's flag from the foremast. She arrived into Douglas at 14:45hrs, signalling her arrival by the blowing of her ship's whistle, which in turn was greeted by rockets being fired from

Douglas Head Douglas Head (Manx: ''Kione Ghoolish'') is a rocky point on the Isle of Man overlooking Douglas Bay and harbour. Views extend to include Snaefell Mountain and Laxey. General Until 1870, the headland was owned by The Nunnery Estate when Sir ...

and the sounding of the

fog horn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. Wh ...

on the Victoria Pier. On 17 November 1937, during a storm with associated south-easterly gales, ''Tynwald'' sustained damage whilst attempting to berth at Douglas. Earlier that day, her sister ''Fenella'' had fouled a mooring rope whilst also attempting to berth at Douglas, which prior to the construction of the Princess Alexandra Pier in 1984, was a notoriously hazardous port due to its exposure during periods of strong easterly wind. Taking that morning's sailing from Liverpool to Douglas, ''Tynwald'' experienced great difficulty trying to berth at the King Edward VIII Pier, and suffered damage to the belting on her

starboard side Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

, over a distance of approximately five metres, as well as suffering damage to her plating.Peel City Guardian; Date:20 Nov 1937; Section:Front page; Page Number:1 Finally she secured alongside and having discharged her passengers and mail, ''Tynwald'' departed for Liverpool at 15:50hrs taking the passengers and mail which should have left on ''Fenella''s morning sailing, which had been cancelled due to her incident with the mooring rope.

War service

Along with ''Fenella'', ''Tynwald'' was requisitioned as a personnel vessel in the first week of the war. Her log was largely uneventful until with the German onslaught on Belgium and France during the spring of 1940, the plight of the British Expeditionary Force became apparent, and she was dispatched to assist with the evacuation of troops from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. During the course of

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-Ma ...

, ''Tynwald'', initially under the command of Captain J H Whiteway, and then under Captain W A Qualtrough, had the distinction of embarking more troops that any other company vessel. She made her first mission to the shattered port on 28 May, and was one of ten personnel ships that lifted a total of 14,760 troops from the eastern

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

the following day. The same day, her sister ''Fenella'' was lost. In the late evening of 30 May, she was one of four personnel vessels back at the mole and withdrew 1,153 troops. On 2 June, she made her third trip and embarked 1,200 troops, leaving for

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in the early morning of 3 June. The last day of the operation was 4 June; shortly after 14:00hrs, 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 ...

announced that Operation Dynamo was over. By then ''Tynwald'' had already left the eastern mole after her fourth trip. She was the last ship to leave, landing 3,000 French troops in England later that day. Her total in the operation is officially given as 8,953 troops.

Royal Navy service - HMS ''Tynwald''

At the end of 1940, she was compulsorily acquired, fitted out as an auxiliary anti-aircraft ship and commissioned as HMS ''Tynwald'' on 1 October 1941. Armed with 6 4-inch AA guns (3x2), and eight 2-pdr (40mm) AA guns (2x4). After a year on convoy escort duties around Britain she was assigned to Operation Torch, the Allied landing in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

, and was involved in the attack on Algiers on 8 November 1942. Three days later the ship was part of a task force sent to capture an airfield near Bougie (modern

Béjaïa Béjaïa (; ; ar, بجاية‎, Latn, ar, Bijāya, ; kab, Bgayet, Vgayet), formerly Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean port city and commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Béjaïa is ...

) 100 miles east of Algiers. At the centre of the force were infantry landing craft, and the covering force included the cruiser , the

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

, ''Tynwald'' and fourteen other supporting vessels. The first landing met with little or no opposition, and the Bougie harbour was occupied. However, it proved impossible to capture the airfield from the sea owing to adverse weather conditions. Instead, the attacking force that was still at sea came under heavy enemy air attack in the Battle of Béjaïa.

Fate

On 12 November 1942, ''Tynwald'' was hit by a torpedo fired by the Italian submarine . She had been standing by the monitor ''Roberts'', which was on fire and badly damaged. ''Tynwald'' went down in of water, her wreck position is given as LAT:36°51'N LON:005°04'E. Survivors were rescued by ''Roberts'' and the corvette HMS ''Samphire''. Three officers and seven ratings were listed as casualties.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tynwald (1936) Ferries of the Isle of Man Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Ships sunk by Italian submarines World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea 1936 ships Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Steamships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in November 1942 Auxiliary anti-aircraft ships of the Royal Navy