Description
The ship was built by David and William Henderson and Company, D & W Henderson Ltd, Glasgow. She was yard number 475 and was launched on 25 July 1911 with completion in August 1911. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was powered by a compound steam engine, which had cylinders of and bore by stroke. This could propel her at a speed of .History
''Duchess of Norfolk'' was built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway. She was used on their Portsmouth - Ryde route. Her port of registry was Portsmouth. In May 1916, ''Duchess of Norfolk'' was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use as a minesweeper in the Mediterranean. She was returned to her owners in July 1920 and refitted before resuming service. She passed to the Southern Railway at Grouping. In 1937, ''Duchess of Norfolk'' was replaced by PS Ryde, ''Ryde''. She was sold to Cosens & Co Ltd and was renamed ''Embassy''. She was refitted before entering service. Her port of registry was changed to Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth. She was used for day trips from Bournemouth. During the Second World War, ''Embassy'' was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use as a minesweeper, HMS ''Ambassador''. Postwar, she was returned to Cosens & Co, and regained her former name. ''Embassy'' was refitted, with a larger wheelhouse and extended deck shelters, re-entering service in 1946. She was converted to oil firing during the winter of 1946-47. ''Embassy'' was used for day trips from Bournemouth, except for the 1948 season when she was based at Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth. In 1966, ''Embassy'' developed mechanical problems, including a damaged paddle wheel. She operated her final service on 22 September of that year. She was sold for scrap, and departed Weymouth under tow on 25 May 1967, bound for Ghent, Belgium. She was scrapped at Boom, Belgium, Boom, where she arrived on 28 May 1967.Official Number and code letters
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. ''Duchess of Norfolk'' and ''Embassy'' had the United Kingdom Official Number 131994 and used the Code Letters MBQN. Towards the end of her life, ''Embassy'' was allocated IMO Number 5510305.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchess Of Norfolk 1911 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Ships of the London and South Western Railway Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ferry transport on the Isle of Wight Minesweepers of the Royal Navy Ships of the Southern Railway (UK) Ships of Cosens & Company