| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | TSS Normannia |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |  |
| Builder | Fairfield, Govan |
| Yard number | 481 |
| Launched | 9 November 1911 |
| Out of service | 30 May 1940 |
| Fate | Bombed and sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 1,567 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 290.3 feet (88.5 m) |
| Beam | 36.1 feet (11.0 m) |
| Draught | 15.3 feet (4.7 m) |
TSS Normannia was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway in 1911. [1]
The ship was built by the Fairfield Govan and launched on 9 November 1911. With her sister ship Hantonia 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 turbines, which gave the vessels a speed of over 20 knots but also cut down on the vibration experienced by cross-Channel passengers. [2]
She was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1914 and operated as a troopship during the First World War, she also brought home Elsie Cameron Corbett [3] 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 in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) off Dunkerque by Heinkel aircraft of the Luftwaffe. She was beached and abandoned. [4]
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans.
PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger-carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973. Bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS), she has been restored to her 1947 appearance and now operates passenger excursions around the British coast.
William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company.
PS Lincoln Castle was a coal-fired side-wheel paddle steamer, which ferried passengers across the Humber from the 1941 until 1978. She was the last coal-fired paddle steamer still in regular services in the UK. Later, she served as a pub at Hessle, and then as a restaurant under permanent dock at Alexandra Dock, Grimsby. In September 2010, the Hull Daily Mail reported that she was in an advanced state of demolition, despite the efforts of local people to buy the historic vessel and restore her. On 31 March 2011, the Lincoln Castle Preservation Society were reported to have purchased the broken up parts of the ship for restoration.
The River Dart Steamboat Co Ltd (RDSC) and its predecessors, the Dartmouth Steam Packet Company and the Dartmouth and Torbay Steam Packet Company, were the major ferry and excursion boat operators on the River Dart in South Devon for 120 years, until the company's demise in 1976. The company was famous for its distinctive paddle steamers, which were a familiar sight on the river until the late 1960s.
The Great Western Railway's ships operated in connection with the company's trains to provide services to Ireland, the Channel Islands and France. Powers were granted by Act of Parliament for the Great Western Railway (GWR) to operate ships in 1871. The following year the company took over the ships operated by Ford and Jackson on the route between Wales and Ireland. Services were operated between Weymouth, the Channel Islands and France on the former Weymouth and Channel Islands Steam Packet Company routes. Smaller GWR vessels were also used as tenders at Plymouth and on ferry routes on the River Severn and River Dart. The railway also operated tugs and other craft at their docks in Wales and South West England.
SS Princess Alice was a passenger vessel in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) during the first half of the 20th century.
RMS Snaefell (III) – the third ship in the line's history to be so named – was a packet steamer operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from 1910 to 1914. She was then acquired by the Admiralty at the outbreak of the First World War, until she was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean on 5 June 1918.
SS (RMS) Douglas (III) – the third vessel in the line's history to bear the name – was a packet steamer which entered service with the London and South Western Railway in 1889 under the name Dora until she was purchased by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1901 for £13,500.
SS (RMS) Mona's Isle (IV) was a steel, triple-screw turbine driven packet steamer operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company between 1920 and 1948. Built in 1905 for the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company, she operated as Onward between Folkestone and Boulogne. In 1918 a fire was only controlled by scuttling the ship. She was righted and in 1920, the hull was purchased by IOMSPCo to replace tonnage lost during the war. She was the first ship to complete a round trip during the evacuation of Dunkirk, rescuing a total of 2,634 troops.
SS Ouse was a freight vessel built for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1911.
TSS Malines was a passenger vessel built for the Great Eastern Railway in 1921.
SS Dewsbury was a passenger and cargo vessel built for the Great Central Railway in 1910.
PS Duchess of Edinburgh was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1884.
SS Laura was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway in 1885.
PS Sandown was a passenger vessel built for the Southern Railway in 1934 and later served with distinction in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
TSS Hantonia was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway in 1911.
TSS Lorina was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway in 1918.
SS Ardena was a minesweeper and escort vessel built as an Azalea-class sloop minesweeper for the British Royal Navy with the name HMS Peony in 1915.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1940 | |
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| Other incidents |
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