![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(December 2023) |
![]() Alvis underway | |
History | |
---|---|
![]() ![]() | |
Name | Peter Hall, Transport Union, Alvis (H52) |
Owner |
|
Builder | Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Ayr |
Yard number | 344 |
Launched | 6 November 1918 |
Identification | ON (UK) 143948 |
Fate | Requisitioned, 1940 |
![]() | |
Name | HM Trawler Alvis |
Acquired | 30 Apr 1940 |
Identification | Pennant number 4118 |
Fate | Released from Service, Mar 1945 |
![]() | |
Name | Alvis (H52, then FD46) |
Owner |
|
Acquired | Mar 1945 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1954 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Naval trawler |
Tonnage | 279 grt |
Length | 125 ft (38 m) o/a |
Beam | 23.5 ft (7.2 m) |
Draught | 12.8 ft (3.9 m) |
Propulsion | 480ihp T.3-cyl by Fawcett Preston & Co Ltd, Liverpool |
Armament | 1x12 pounder 76 mm (3.0 in) gun |
HM Trawler Alvis was a British trawler that was taken up from trade and used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was returned to the fishing industry at the end of hostilities in 1945.
On 6 November 1918, it was launched at the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company at Ayr, for the Admiralty as Peter Hall and registered by The Admiralty in the Registry of British Ships at London in 1919. On 24 August 1920 it was registered as a fishing vessel at London. In November 1924 it was to Société Anonyme Armement Ostendais, Ostend and on 29 November registered at Ostend as Transport Union. On 27 December 1935 Transport Union rescued crew of fourteen from the Dutch trawler Cornelia Maria (SCH135) which was sinking. In 1939 it was sold to Saint Andrew's Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Hull and registered on 1 May at Hull as Alvis (H52). Fishing from Fleetwood.
On the 18 September 1939, just after the start of the war, Alvis was fishing in the vicinity of St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides. At about 1.20pm a shot was heard and a large spout of water erupted close to the Alvis. The skipper and crew then spotted a German submarine. The skipper, Albert Thomason, was signalled from the U-boat and instructed to abandon his vessel. The small lifeboat was launched and the crew left the Alvis. The lifeboat pulled alongside the submarine, the U-35, and the commander, Werner Lott, asked for the captain of the Alvis. Thomason went aboard the submarine and, on the conning tower, Lott extended his hand in welcome. He then said, " I am sorry but I will have to sink your ship" and asked Skipper Thomason if there were anymore crew aboard the Alvis. The crew and Lott, all speaking very good English, handed cigarettes to the Alvis crew, and then ordered them back to their vessel. Lott sent a working party over to Alvis under the command of a Lieutenant. On their arrival, they threw the wireless overboard and then chopped away the fishing gear and smashed the dynamo in the engine room. The Lieutenant asked Thomason if he could take a lifebelt as a souvenir, which he did. However, Lott gave Thomason a bottle of gin in return with his compliments.
No provisions or the fish caught were taken from the Alvis by the Germans. The reason the U-boat commander did not sink the Alvis was that, in his opinion, the 13-man crew would never make it back to shore in their lifeboat. The Alvis returned unharmed to her homeport of Fleetwood, but that same day the U-Boat commander found three other Fleetwood vessels. They were the Arlita, the Lord Minto, and the Nancy Hague. After removing the crews from the Arlita and Lord Minto onto the Nancy Hague, the U-35 sank the two empty ships. The three crews returned to Fleetwood aboard the Nancy Hague. Alvis was subsequently requisitioned in 1940 by the Admiralty. Werner Lott was taken prisoner of war aboard HMS Kingston, with all of his crew, after he scuttled his U-boat on 29 November 1939.[ citation needed ]
The fishing trawler Alvis was the first British ship the German submarine U-35 encountered in the North Atlantic. She allowed Alvis to pass unharmed on 18 September 1939, after realising that the thirteen man crew could never have reached land in the available lifeboat. In return, the British captain warned U-35 that the Royal Navy aircraft carrier Ark Royal was in the general area.
U-35's war diary recorded:
"The steamer is of enemy origin. He should be destroyed, because confiscation is not possible. His operation area was far away from the coast and because of that he could not be considered a "coastal fishery vessel". The fish catching equipment and the radio were thrown overboard. The crew of 13 which had already embarked into the rescue boat was advised to get back onto the ship, because the freeboard of it was already very narrow and was not considered seaworthy. The steamer was dismissed. There were no attempts to escape or other resistance."[ citation needed ]
Alvis was requisitioned for war service as an anti-submarine trawler on 30 April 1940. She was given the pennant number 4118 and the Admiralty paid a hire rate of £84 per month. Alvis was given one QF 12-pdr 12 cwt gun as her main armament and assigned to the Royal Naval Patrol Service.
Alvis was fitted out as a minesweeper in May 1941, and from January 1942 she was based at Hartlepool with M/S Group 148. She took part in the minesweeping operations that were vital to the success and safety of the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944:
'To the minesweepers and their attendant consorts was to fall the responsibility of leading the assault forces to the Normandy beaches. Contingent upon their effectiveness and timely efficiency in clearing the German mine barrier protecting the area, there lay the potential to cross that finely dividing line between success, or otherwise...' [1]
'... the War Cabinet fully appreciates that, but for the courage, skill and devotion of HM Minesweeping forces, the success of the recent amphibious operations, and especially of the landings in Normandy, could not have been achieved...'
Alvis was returned to civilian service just before the end of the war in Europe in March 1945. She was then owned by a number of companies including: Ocean Steam Trawling Co Ltd, Milford Fisheries Ltd, Boston Deep Sea Fisheries Ltd, and Argosy Trawling Co Ltd of Fleetwood. Alvis was eventually scrapped at Barrow-in-Furness in 1954.
Thomas Crisp VC, DSC, RNR was an English sailor and posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross. Crisp, in civilian life a commercial fisherman operating from Lowestoft in Suffolk, earned his award after being killed during the defence of his vessel, the armed naval smack Nelson, in the North Sea against an attack from a German submarine in 1917.
German submarine U-33 was a Type VIIA U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-35 was a Type VIIA U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was built three years before the start of World War II. The submarine was laid down on 2 March 1936 by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft at Kiel, launched on 24 September 1936, and commissioned on 3 November that year under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Klaus Ewerth. The U-boat was featured on the cover of Life magazine on 16 October 1939, as in the days preceding, it "courteously" rescued all the sailors of a Greek ship that it was about to sink.
The Castle-class minesweeper was a highly seaworthy naval trawler adapted for patrol, anti-submarine warfare and minesweeping duties and built to Admiralty specifications. Altogether 197 were built in the United Kingdom between 1916 and 1919, with others built in Canada, India and later New Zealand. Many saw service in the Second World War.
Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to naval specifications, others adapted from civilian use. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust vessels designed to work heavy trawls in all types of weather, and had large clear working decks. A minesweeper could be created by replacing the trawl with a mine sweep. Adding depth charge racks on the deck, ASDIC sonar below, and a 3-inch (76 mm) or 4-inch (102 mm) gun in the bow equipped the trawler for anti-submarine duties.
Naval trawlers were purpose-built or requisitioned and operated by the Royal Navy (RN), mainly during World Wars I and II. Vessels built to Admiralty specifications for RN use were known as Admiralty trawlers. All trawlers operated by the RN, regardless of origin, were typically given the prefix HMT, for "His Majesty's Trawler".
The ST Leukos was an Irish commercial trawler that was sunk off the north coast of Ireland by a German U-boat on 9 March 1940. The vessel, which had been fishing in the company of British trawlers, was attacked by the German submarine U-38 off Tory Island. The submarine surfaced opening fire with its deck gun. All 11 crew members were lost.
A naval drifter is a boat built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. The use of naval drifters is paralleled by the use of naval trawlers.
His Majesty's or HM Armed Smack Inverlyon was a fishing smack that was converted to a Q-ship during the First World War. Q-ships served as decoys to lure German submarines near enough so that concealed weapons could be brought to bear and sink the submarines. On 15 August 1915, Inverlyon succeeded in luring German submarine UB-4 within range and sinking her with nine shots from her gun. The Royal Navy Gunner in command of the vessel, Ernest Martin Jehan, received the Distinguished Service Cross and members of Inverlyon's crew shared the bounty offered for German submarines. After Inverlyon's Q-ship career ended, she returned to fishing, but was sunk by U-55 on 1 February 1917.
HMS Sir Galahad was a trawler built for the British Royal Navy in 1941. Post war it was sold into civilian service and was wrecked in 1957 after running aground off the Isle of Mull.
The Rudyard Kipling was a British steam trawler launched in 1920 that undertook fishing operations off the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland for almost 20 years. On 16 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the trawler was captured 40 miles (64 km) west of Clare Island by the German submarine U-27. After removing food, equipment, and the crew from the ship, the Germans sunk her with the use of scuttling charges. Several hours later the crew of the Rudyard Kipling were cast adrift 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off the coast of Ireland. They eventually landed their lifeboats at Killybegs.
Davara was a British steam fishing trawler. Launched in 1912, it was requisitioned in 1914 by the Royal Navy for service in World War I and fitted out as a minesweeper. She was returned to her owners after the war and began service as a trawler once more.
The action of 15 August 1917 was a naval engagement which occurred during the First World War. The action was fought between a German U-boat and two naval trawlers, Nelson and Ethel & Millie, in the North Sea.
Armed trawler Nelson was a British auxiliary warship which served during World War I. She was built in 1905 as the fishing smack G&E, operating from Lowestoft and registered as LT 649. In 1915 she was armed for defence against U-boat attack, and fought several actions against them. She was sunk in action on 15 August 1917. This action was fought between a German U-boat and two trawlers, Nelson and Ethel & Millie, off the English coast.
The Armed trawler Ethel & Millie was a British auxiliary warship which served during World War I. She was built in 1908 as the fishing smack Ethel & Millie, operating from Lowestoft and registered as LT 200. In early 1917 she was armed for defence against U-boat attack, and fought two actions against them. She was sunk in action on 15 August 1917.
The SS Desabla was built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co. Ltd at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1913 for Bank Line, Glasgow. She was the first oil tanker to join the Bank Line fleet and was chartered and operated for approximately one year by General Petroleum Company along the Pacific coast of the United States, Chile and Canada. In 1914 she was re-chartered to the British Government to transport oil from Texas to the United Kingdom. In 1915 she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-17 off the coast of Scotland.
HMT Richard Bacon (FY3587) was a British Castle class naval trawler completed in 1918. She served through both world wars under two different names and also had a lengthy career as a civilian fishing trawler. For a short while, she functioned as a support vessel for a famous transatlantic flight by a group of Italian bombers. She was scrapped in 1954 after her boiler failed during a storm.
ST Pasages was originally a Canadian "Castle" – TR series minesweeping trawler built by the Dominion Shipbuilding Company, Toronto, in 1917 for service with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War I as TR 14. Following the war the vessel was taken to the United Kingdom and converted to a fishing trawler in the 1920s. Renamed Pasages, the vessel ran aground in 1931 on the Isle of Man. The vessel was wrecked and her remains can still be seen.
RV Sir Lancelot (LT263) was a fisheries research vessel that was operated by the Directorate of Fisheries, now known as the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).
Caldew was a British steam fishing trawler. Launched in 1914 as Maristo, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for service in the First World War the following year. Maristo survived the war and resumed trawling for the next two decades, being renamed Caldew in that time. She collided with fellow trawler Ospray II in 1935, sinking the latter ship.