PS ''Waverley'' was a
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
-built
paddle steamer
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 wer ...
that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1899 and 1939. She 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, Traf ...
to serve as a
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
during World War I and again in World War II, and was sunk while participating in the
Dunkirk evacuation
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 ...
in 1940. The current
PS ''Waverley'', launched in 1946, was built as a replacement for this vessel.
History
''Waverley'' was built by
A. & J. Inglis for the
North British Steam Packet Co. at their Pointhouse shipyard on the
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
The ship was designed to be the flagship of the North British Steam Packet Co. fleet with the intention that it could be used for regular Clyde services but also to help the company expand their initial foray into excursions in areas around
Bute,
Arran,
Kintyre
Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north ...
and
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound o ...
.
She was launched on 29 May 1899
and completed official trials on 8 July during which she achieved 19.73 knots over the measured mile.
After her trials she went downriver and around Bute before returning to Craigendoran.
She entered service on 10 July 1899.
In 1902, North British Steam Packet Co was dissolved and ''Waverley'' was transferred to the ownership of its parent company
North British Railway
The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...
operating a smaller range of routes that did not include Kintyre, Loch Fyne and the west of Arran.
World War I
Like many Clyde steamers, ''Waverley'' was requisitioned in 1915 by the Admiralty for service during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, being modified to increase her decked area and adding bow plating.
For four years she served on the British and Belgian coasts and was discharged from service in April 1919.
Return to service
She spent over a year being renovated for her return to service, with the most obvious change being the repositioning of her bridge from its original location between her paddle boxes to a new location in front of her funnel.
She was returned to her owners on 9 July 1920.
As the
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...
took effect in 1923, ''Waverley'' was transferred again as North British Railway was merged into
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
.
In 1931 the ''Waverley'' was superseded as the fleet's flagship by the newly launched
PS ''Jeanie Deans'', but was renovated in 1923 with the addition of shelters on the promenade deck and remodeled interior passengers spaces to bring her up to the same standard as more modern steamers like the ''Jeanie Deans''.
By the late 1930s decreasing passenger numbers on the Clyde estuary resulted in other steamers being moved to service routes elsewhere, and the ''Waverley'' was removed from service in 1939.
World War II
With the outbreak of
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
she was brought briefly back into service to evacuate children from Glasgow to areas on the Clyde coast, and was then requisitioned by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
to serve as the lead ship of the 12th Minesweeping Flotilla.
The flotilla consisted of five paddle steamers, was based at
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
on the east coast of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and tasked with sweeping the shipping lanes.
On 28 May 1940, this flotilla was given orders to stock up and sail south to take part in
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-Man ...
, the effort to evacuate Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk.
The next day the ship was intercepted by 12 German
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...
s while returning to England with 600 troops on board.
After avoiding their bombs for about 30 minutes, one struck the port side of the ship and opened a 6-foot hole in the bottom of the ship.
The ship sank near Kwint Bank Buoy with the loss of some crew and about 400 troops.
158 survivors were pulled from the water by the ''Cyclone'', 285 by the
PS ''Golden Eagle''. A Dutch tugboat Java and two drifters picked up a few more.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waverley (1899)
1899 ships
Clyde steamers
Little Ships of Dunkirk
Maritime incidents in May 1940
Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom
Ships built on the River Clyde
Ships of Scotland
World War II minesweepers of the United Kingdom