SAS ''Somerset'' was a
Bar-class boom defence vessel
The Bar class were a class of boom defence vessels of the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy and South African Navy during World War II.
Ships Royal Navy
* HMS ''Barbain'' (Z01)
* HMS ''Barbarian'' (Z18)
* HMS ''Barbastel'' (Z276)
* HMS ''Bar ...
of the
South African Navy
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force.
The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...
, now preserved as a museum ship in Cape Town. Formerly HMS ''Barcross'', it operated in
Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay ( af, Saldanhabaai) is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Mu ...
, transferred to South Africa Naval Forces during World War II and was purchased by South Africa in 1947.
History
''Somerset'' was originally built in
Blyth,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, by
Blyth Shipbuilding Company
The Blyth Shipbuilding & Dry Docks Company Ltd. was a British shipyard located in Blyth, Northumberland, England.
Company history
Early history
Shipbuilding began on the site on the south bank of the River Blyth in 1811. In the 1840s the ya ...
and
commissioned as HMS ''Barcross'' in 1941.
HMS ''Barcross'' and her
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
HMS ''Barbrake'' arrived at the
Cape Station at
Simon's Town
Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern sid ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, in 1942 and was transferred to
Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay ( af, Saldanhabaai) is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Mu ...
for boom defence operations directly thereafter. In 1943 she was re-designated as HMSAS ''Barcross'' when she was transferred to the
South African Naval Forces for the remainder 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 ...
.
In 1946, the
Government of South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa.
Executive authority ...
purchased ''Barcross'' and used for the dumping of ammunition off
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
. On completion of these services, she was transferred to
Salisbury Island Salisbury Island may refer to:
* Salisbury Island (California), United States
* Salisbury Island (Nunavut), Canada
*Salisbury Island (Russia)
*Salisbury Island (Western Australia), Australia
*Iona Island (New York), once known as Salisbury Island
...
in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
and subsequently was
laid up
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
at Salisbury Island. In 1951 her name was changed to ''Somerset''. In 1953 while still
decommissioned ''Somerset'' was used in the raising of the sunken
minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
''Skilpad'' (ex-''Spindrift'') at Salisbury Island.
During 1955 ''Somerset'' was recommissioned, and during this period she was tasked in
salvaging the remains of two
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
trainer aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...
following a midair collision over
Table Bay
Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named ...
. Six weeks later she recovered a third Harvard which had crashed into the sea off
Bok Point. During a refit in 1959, ''Somerset'' had her
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
-fired
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...
s converted to firing by
furnace oil. She was responsible for the laying of an
oil pipeline
Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...
at the port of
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...
to serve the
oil terminal
An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical
Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obt ...
there.
In 1961 ''Somerset'' salvaged the
South African Railways
Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...
tug ''Schermbrucker'', which had sunk in the harbour at
East London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
. In 1967 she was fitted with new boilers and a reconditioned main engine. In 1968 her services were called on again to assist the
cable ship
A cable layer or cable ship is a deep-sea vessel designed and used to lay underwater cables for telecommunications, electric power transmission, military, or other purposes. Cable ships are distinguished by large cable sheaves for guiding cabl ...
''John W. Mackay'' in raising and repairing the newly inaugurated
overseas telephone cable in the shallow waters off
Melkbosstrand
Melkbosstrand (Afrikaans for " Milkbush beach") is a coastal town located on the South West Coast of South Africa, 30 km north of Cape Town. It forms part of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, the municipality governing Cape ...
. During 1969 Somerset raised the old
whale catcher
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, J ...
''Wagter 11'' in Saldanha Bay and subsequently
towed her back to Simon's Town. During the same year, she salvaged a
floating crane
Floating may refer to:
* a type of dental work performed on horse teeth
* use of an isolation tank
* the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched
* ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes
* Floating (psychological phe ...
which had
capsize
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
d and sunk at Port Elizabeth. In the early hours of 24 July 1974 Somerset was dispatched to
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; pt, Cabo das Agulhas , "Cape of the Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa.
It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian ...
to assist with the salvage of the ''Oriental Pioneer'', but poor weather conditions and bad luck rendered this effort unsuccessful. In 1981, ''Somerset'' raised the
fishing trawler
A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate Trawling, fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing ...
''Aldebaran'', which had lain on the harbour bottom at Port Elizabeth for over two-and-a-half years. ''Somerset'' also acted as a standby vessel during
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
shallow-water diving operations. In 1983 she assisted in the salvaging of a
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
and two whale catchers at Saldanha Bay.
In March 1986, ''Somerset'' was finally paid off. In 1988 the old boom defence vessel was donated for use as a
museum ship
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
, moored at the waterfront at Cape Town. Her original Royal Navy badge can be seen displayed on the side of the
Selborne
Selborne is a village in Hampshire, England, south of Alton, Hampshire, Alton, and just within the northern boundary of the South Downs National Park. The village receives visitors because of its links with the naturalist Revd. Gilbert White, a ...
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
.
Now used as a museum ship, ''Somerset'' has been moored on the
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
The Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront in Cape Town is situated on the Atlantic shore, Table Bay Harbour, the City of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Adrian van der Vyver designed the complex.
Situated in South Africa's oldest working harbour, ...
in Cape Town since 2 September 1988,
and is the only boom defence vessel remaining in the world,
as well as the only remaining ship that served in the South African Naval Forces
Gallery
File:SAS Somerset stern view.jpg, SAS ''Somerset'' on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
The Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront in Cape Town is situated on the Atlantic shore, Table Bay Harbour, the City of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Adrian van der Vyver designed the complex.
Situated in South Africa's oldest working harbour, ...
, September 2010 (stern view)
File:SAS Somerset bow view 2019.jpg, SAS Somerset (bow view) in 2019
File:SAS Somerset bridge and crane 2019.jpg, View of SAS Somerset's bridge and crane in 2019
File:SAS Somerset amidships 2019.jpg, SAS Somerset's winching gear situated amidships, 2019
File:SAS Somerset funnel 2019.jpg, SAS Somerset's funnel and top deck in 2019
File:SAS Somerset from astern 2019.jpg, SAS Somerset from astern in 2019
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset
Maritime history of South Africa
Boom defence vessels of the South African Navy
Boom defence vessels of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the River Blyth
1941 ships
Museum ships in South Africa
Ships and vessels on the National Archive of Historic Vessels