''Empire Cymric'' was a Ferry that was built in 1944 by Harland & Wolff Ltd,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

as LST (3) HMS ''LST 3010'' for 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 ...

. She was transferred to the

Koninklijke Marine The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

in 1945, serving as HNLMS ''LST 3010''. In 1947, she was transferred back to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS ''Attacker''. The ship was requisitioned by the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

in 1954 and renamed ''Empire Cymric''. Requisitioned briefly during the Suez Crisis in 1956 as HMS ''Empire Cymric'', she served until 1962, and was scrapped in 1963.

Description

The ship was built in 1944 by Harland & Wolff Ltd,

. The ship was long, with a beam of .She had a draught of . She was assessed at , The ship was propelled by a 5,500 ihp

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

which was supplied by two 3-drum boilers. It drove twin screw propellers and could propel the ship at . In Royal Navy service, armament was 8 x 20mm AA guns.

History

''LST 3010'' was launched on 30 September 1944. She was commissioned into the

on 5 April 1945. ''LST 3010'' was transferred to the

in 1945. In February and March 1946, ''LST 3010'' was in service in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

, Dutch East Indies, where a

war of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

was taking place. In 1947, she was returned to the Royal Navy and was renamed ''Attacker''. She was chartered by the

and converted to a ferry. In 1955, she was sold to the

Atlantic Steam Navigation Company The Atlantic Steam Navigation Company was founded in 1934 with the original object of providing a no-frills transatlantic passenger service. A combination of difficult economic conditions and then World War II frustrated these early ambitions. ...

and renamed ''Empire Cymric''. Operated on the

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

route, ''Empire Cymric'' was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use during the Suez Crisis. She was escorted from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

to Port Said,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

by , which escorted her back to Malta after the crisis was over. She served until 1963, arriving on 1 October at Faslane,

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Pe ...

for scrapping.

References

External links

Photo of ''Empire Cymric''Photo of ''Empire Cymric''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Cymric LST (3)-class tank landing ships 1944 ships Ships built in Belfast Empire ships LST (3)-class tank landing ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy Troop ships of the Netherlands Ferries of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built by Harland and Wolff