SS Mona's Isle (1905)

Last updated

Mona's Isle.JPG
Mona's Isle
History
Name
  • 1905: Onward
  • 1920: Mona's Isle
Owner
Operator1939: Royal Navy
Port of registry
Route1905–1918: Folkestone – Boulogne 1920–1948: Mainly summer Douglas – Dublin / Belfast.
Builder Wm Denny & Bros, Dumbarton
Yard number751
Laid down1905
Launched11 March 1905
In service1905
Out of service1948
Refit1920
Identification
FateScrapped at Milford Haven 1948
General characteristics
Type packet ship
Tonnage1914: 1,671  GRT, 692  NRT
Length311.2 ft (94.9 m)
Beam40.1 ft (12.2 m)
Depth15.8 ft (4.8 m)
Decks2
Installed power7,500  ihp (5,600 kW)
Propulsion
Speed22 knots (41 km/h)
Capacity1,479 passengers
Crew70
Notes sister ship: Victoria

SS Mona's Isle was a steam turbine passenger ship that was built in Scotland in 1905 as Onward, renamed Mona's Isle in 1920, and scrapped in Wales in 1948. She was designed as an English Channel ferry for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), who operated her between Folkestone and Boulogne. In 1920 the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IoMSP) bought her and renamed her Mona's Isle. The IoMSP ran her mainly on summer services linking Douglas with Dublin and Belfast. She was the fourth IoMSP ship to be called Mona's Isle.

Contents

In 1918 Onward caught fire in Folkestone Harbour, and was saved by being scuttled. In 1920 she was raised, which was when the IOMSPCo bought her to replace ships lost during the First World War. In 1940 Mona's Isle was the first ship to complete a round trip during the Dunkirk evacuation, rescuing a total of 2,634 troops.

Building & dimensions

William Denny and Brothers built Onward at Dumbarton. She was launched on 11 March 1905 and completed that April. [1] She had a steel hull, her registered length was 311.2 ft (94.9 m), her beam was 40.1 ft (12.2 m) and her depth was 15.8 ft (4.8 m). Her tonnages were 1,671  GRT and 692  NRT. [2]

She had a crew of 70, and was certified to carry 1,479 passengers.[ citation needed ] She had three screws, each driven by a steam turbine. Between them her three turbines developed a total of 7,500  ihp (5,600 kW) [1] and gave her a service speed of 22 knots (41 km/h).[ citation needed ]

Identification

Onward's UK official number was 120522 and her code letters were HCMF. By 1913 she was equipped for wireless telegraphy and her call sign was SEO. [3] In 1914 this was changed to GUM. [4] By 1930 her call sign was GFPN. [5]

Onward

Onward at Boulogne in 1914 SS Onward, 1914..JPG
Onward at Boulogne in 1914

Onward served mainly the Folkestone – Boulogne route. Her most prestigious passenger in her cross-channel service was King Edward VII, who crossed from Dover to Calais aboard her on 4 May 1905. [6] In 1907 she was joined by a sister ship, Victoria, also built by William Denny and Brothers. [7]

On 1 June 1908, Onward was involved in a head-on collision with another SE&CR ferry, The Queen, [8] killing the bow lookout man. After the collision, Onward returned to Folkestone, and from there to Dumbarton, where she spent a month in Denny's shipyard being repaired. When she returned to service, Onward became the fisst ferry to carry a motor car across the English Channel. [9]

First World War

Aerial view of Onward, in First World War dazzle camouflage, lying on her portside, after being scuttled in Folkestone Harbour in September 1918 Onward scuttled at Folkestone Harbour..JPG
Aerial view of Onward, in First World War dazzle camouflage, lying on her portside, after being scuttled in Folkestone Harbour in September 1918

In the First World War Onward carried British Expeditionary Force troops on her regular route between Folkestone and Boulogne.

On 24 September 1918 a thermite bomb started a fire aboard Onward when she was moored alongside a pier in Folkestone Harbour. The fire took hold, and to prevent the fire spreading to the pier she was scuttled. [1] She capsized onto her port side, and later was hauled upright by a team of five steam locomotives working together. [10]

Mona's Isle

Sister ships Victoria (left) and Mona's Isle (right), laid up one winter at the Tongue, Douglas Mona's Isle and Victoria.jpg
Sister ships Victoria (left) and Mona's Isle (right), laid up one winter at the Tongue, Douglas

In the First World War the Admiralty had bought or chartered eleven IoMSP ships. After the war only four returned, so the company urgently needed replacement ships to resume peacetime services. In order to meet tourist demand in 1919 the company bought the Laird Line ship Hazel and renamed her Mona. Next the IoMSP bought Onward's wreck and had her refitted. She was transferred to the IoMSP at Union Dock, Limehouse Basin, in the Port of London, and became the only IoMSP ship to carry the Manx flag down the River Thames. She began IoMSP service as Onward, and was renamed Mona's Isle on 27 August 1920. In 1920 the IoMSP also bought her sister ship Victoria.

Mona's Isle served various IoMSP routes, but mainly worked summer services linking Douglas with Belfast and Dublin. On Monday, 29 June 1936, she struck the Devil's Rock in Balscadden Bay, but reached Dublin safely. She was taking on water and had to be repaired before her return trip to Douglas.

Second World War

After the Second World War began, the Admiralty requisitioned several IoMSP ships and had them converted into ocean boarding vessels (OBVs). Mona's Isle was requisitioned on 24 September 1939. Toward the end of May 1940, Mona' Isle was one of eight IoMSP ships that were sent to Dunkirk to help to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force in Operation Dynamo. According to Admiralty records, Mona's Isle was the first ship to leave Dover for Dunkirk [11] when the Dunkirk evacuation began, apart from the destroyer HMS Wolsey, whish acted a radio link ship.

Mona's Isle left Dover at 21:00 hrs on 27 May 1940. [11] Her overnight crossing of the Strait of Dover was uneventful, and she docked in Dunkirk about midnight. She embarked 1,420 troops [11] and she left at first light the next morning. [The signal to commence Operation Dynamo was given at 18:57 on 26 May. Therefore to qualify as the first ship to leave, it is more probable that Mona's Isle sailed from Dover at 21:00 that evening, not 27 May.]

Map of the three evacuation routes Dunkirk Evacuation shipping routes.png
Map of the three evacuation routes

Three routes were allocated to the evacuating vessels. [12] The shortest was "Route Z", 39 nautical miles (72 km), which went west from Dunkirk along the French coast as far as No.6 Buoy, then turned west-northwest straight to Dover. The longest was "Route Y", 87 nautical miles (161 km), went east along the French and Belgian coast as far as Bray-Dunes then turned north-northeast until reaching the Kwinte Buoy. [13] From there ships went west-northwest, then west to the North Goodwin Lightship, then south round the Goodwin Sands to Dover. "Route Y" was 55 nautical miles (102 km). It was the safest from German shore batteries, but passed through a heavily mined part of the English Channel. "Route X" went north from Dunkirk, through the Ruytingen Pass [14] to the North Goodwin Lightship and then south around the Goodwin Sands to Dover. The combination of the minefields and sandbanks meant Route X could be used in daylight hours only.

Mona's Isle returned by Route Z and came under fire from German shore batteries on the French coast. Many shells exploded near her, spraying water over her decks. Some shells hit her but failed to explode. One fell aft and smashed her rudder. By differential use of port and starboard engines, the ship could still be steered. A Messerschmitt Bf 109 strafed her twice, killing 23 men and wounding 60. She reached Dover escorted by the destroyer HMS Windsor. The mission had taken nearly 15 hours. [11]

For their parts in the action her commanding officer, Cdr John Dowding RNR was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Petty Officer LB Kearley-Pope, RNR was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He had remained at a 12-pounder gun despite multiple wounds, and took a great risk in coming out of cover to close the cordite boxes. There were casualties among the gun's crew, but Kearley-Pope continued his duties until the ship berthed six hours later. Cdr Dowding was later promoted to captain. In 1942 he was commodore of Convoy PQ 17 to Russia, which was forced to scatter and suffered heavy losses.

Mona's Isle made a second round trip to Dunkirk, evacuating another 1,200 troops, and bringing her total to 2,634.

Mona's Isle spent the rest of the war as an OBV and then an accommodation ship. She was transferred to the River Tyne in 1941, where she contributed to the anti-aircraft defence of coastal convoys. Twice she assisted cargo ships that had been bombed, in one case rescuing 32 survivors. But three times she was involved in collisions, one of which did extensive damage for which she spent three months being repaired in dry dock. After the Normandy landings she provided cross-Channel transport until June 1945, when the Ministry of War Transport chartered her. She was returned to her owners in March 1946.

Post-war

After the Second World War, Mona's Isle returned to IoMSP service. She was withdrawn when the "Six Sisters" entered service in 1948. She arrived at Milford Haven in Wales on 12 October 1948 to be scrapped. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunkirk evacuation</span> Evacuation of Allied forces in early 1940

The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "We shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance".

PS <i>Medway Queen</i> Paddle steamer, little ship of Dunkirk

The PS Medway Queen is a paddle driven steamship, the only mobile estuary paddle steamer left in the United Kingdom. She was one of the "little ships of Dunkirk", making a record seven trips and rescuing 7,000 men in the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Hoverspeed was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd. Its last owners were Sea Containers; the company ran a small fleet of two high-speed SeaCat catamaran ferries in its final year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Man Steam Packet Company</span> Manx shipping company

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, having been founded in 1830.

MS <i>Isle of Innisfree</i> (2021) Passenger and car ferry ship

MS Isle of Innisfree is a passenger and car ferry to be operated by Irish Ferries between Dover and Calais. Originally built at Boelwerf as the Prins Filip originally sailing between Dover and Ostend, later between Ostend and Ramsgate, she has since 1997 operated for a wide variety of companies.

SS <i>King Orry</i> (1946)

TSS (RMS) King Orry (IV) - the fourth vessel in the line's history to be so named - was the lead ship of the King Orry Class of passenger ferries and packet ships. More commonly referred to as the six sisters, they were built for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company between 1946 & 1955 primarily to replace war-time losses. The company's previous King Orry was one of three company losses during Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of British and French troops from the port of Dunkirk during May 1940.

The Channel Ports are seaports in southern England and northern France, which allow for short crossings of the English Channel. There is no formal definition, but there is a general understanding of the term. Some ferry companies divide their routes into "short" and "long" crossings. The broadest definition might be from Plymouth east to Kent and from Roscoff to Zeebrugge although a tighter definition would exclude ports west of Newhaven and Dieppe. A historic group of such ports is the Cinque Ports of south-east England, most of which have ceased to be commercial ports.

TSS <i>The Queen</i>

The Queen was an English Channel passenger ferry that was built in 1903 and sunk in 1916. She was the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR)'s first steam turbine ship.

SS <i>Ben-my-Chree</i> (1927) Passenger ferry operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

TSS (RMS) Ben-my-Chree (IV) No. 145304 – the fourth vessel in the company's history to be so named – was a passenger ferry operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company between 1927 and 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folkestone Harbour</span> Port in United Kingdom

Folkestone Harbour is the main harbour of the town of Folkestone in Kent, England.

RMS <i>Lady of Mann</i>

TSS (RMS) Lady of Mann, was a passenger ship, built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company at Barrow-in-Furness in 1930, at a cost of £249,073. Certificated to carry 2,873 passengers and 81 crew, she was commissioned to operate on the Island's busy Douglas–Liverpool and Douglas–Fleetwood routes, and had a maximum speed of 23 knots. Her hull was at first the company's conventional black, but was changed to white and green in 1933, only to revert to black after her war service.

SS <i>Monas Queen</i> (1934)

TSS (RMS) Mona's Queen (III) No. 145308, was a ship built for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1934. The steamer, which was the third vessel in the company's history to bear the name, was one of five ships to be specially commissioned by the company between 1927 and 1937. They were replacements for the various second-hand steamers that had been purchased to replace the company's losses during the First World War. However, the life of the Mona's Queen proved to be short: six years after being launched she was sunk by a sea mine during the Dunkirk evacuation on 29 May 1940.

SS <i>Fenella</i> (1936)

TSS (RMS) Fenella (II) No. 145310 was a pre-Second World War passenger steamer built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness in 1936, for service with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was sunk by air attack during the evacuation of Dunkirk in May 1940.

HMS <i>Sabre</i> (H18) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Sabre was an Admiralty S-class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in September 1918 at the close of World War I. She was built in Scotland by Alex Stephens and completed by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan. Commissioned for Fleet service in 1919, she was the first Royal Navy ship to carry this name.

SS <i>King Orry</i> (1913)

TSS (RMS) King Orry (III) – the third ship in the history of the Company to bear the name – was a passenger steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, until she was sunk in the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.

HMS <i>Venomous</i> Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Venomous (ex-Venom), was a Modified W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the Russian Civil War and World War II.

HMS <i>Windsor</i> (D42) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

The third HMS Windsor (D42) was a W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the final months of World War I and in World War II.

TSS Princess Maud was a ferry that operated from 1934 usually in the Irish Sea apart from a period as a troop ship in the Second World War and before being sold outside the United Kingdom in 1965. She was built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton on the Firth of Clyde for the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). When the LMS was nationalised in 1948 she passed to the British Transport Commission and onward to British Rail in 1962. She was sold to Lefkosia Compania Naviera, Panama in 1965. Renamed Venus she was for service in Greek waters. It is understood she saw use as an accommodation ship in Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen.

<i>TSS Canterbury</i> (1928)

TSS Canterbury was a ferry completed in 1929 to link the Golden Arrow and La Flèche d'Or trains to form the prestige London–Dover–Calais–Paris service.

PS <i>Princess Elizabeth</i> Former paddle-steamer, now restaurant in Dunkirk

PS Princess Elizabeth is a passenger-carrying paddle steamer which was built by Day, Summers and Company in 1927 for Southampton, Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, that is noted for being one of the Little Ships of Dunkirk, and is now a static floating restaurant in Dunkirk.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Onward". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Steamers". Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Vol. I. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1914. ONT–OOT.
  3. ↑ The Marconi Press Agency Ltd (1913). The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony. London: The St Katherine Press. p. 258.
  4. ↑ The Marconi Press Agency Ltd (1914). The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony. London: The Marconi Press Agency Ltd. p. 401.
  5. ↑ Mercantile Navy List. London. 1930. p. 370. Retrieved 22 September 2022– via Crew List Index Project.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ "TS Onward (Mona's Isle (IV))". Paddle Steamer Picture Gallery. Retrieved 7 September 2013.[ dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Victoria". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "SS Onward". University of Glasgow Archives. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Early 1900 Postcard of the S.S. Onward leaving Folkestone Harbour". eBay. Retrieved 1 September 2013.[ dead link ]
  10. ↑ "The Ferries". Folkestone Then and Now. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Putland, Alan. "Operation Dynamo The Mass Evacuation from Dunkirk" (PDF). Royal Air Force Fighter Command Battle of Britain – 1940. Epaves au Large de Dunkerque. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Rickard, John (16 February 2008). "Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk, 27 May-4 June 1940". Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Dildy, Doug; Gerrard, Howard (2010). Dunkirk 1940: Operation Dynamo. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN   9781846034572 . Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Gardner, WJR (2000). The Evacuation from Dunkirk. Frank Cass Publishers. ISBN   978-0714651200 . Retrieved 29 August 2013.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.