PS ''Southsea'' was a passenger vessel built for the Southern Railway in 1930. 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 Fr ...

for war service, she was wrecked after hitting a

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an ...

in 1941.

History

The ship was built by Fairfield, Govan and launched on 2 April 1930 She was one of an order for two new ships, the other being . She was deployed on the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came ...

ferry service, but as one of the largest vessels commissioned for the company, also operated excursions from Portsmouth. In February 1940, ''Southsea'' was requisitioned by the Admiralty 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 ...

, the conversion was carried out by Camper and Nicholson at

Northam, Southampton Northam is a suburb of Southampton in Hampshire. On the West bank of the River Itchen, it shares borders with St Mary's, Bitterne and Bevois Valley. Beside the border with St Mary's is the Chapel area, which has been home to some recent apartm ...

. She went on to serve in the 8th Flotilla with the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

J.113. Working off the coast of

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary author ...

, in November 1940 she was credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft. She was mined at the mouth of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wat ...

on 16 February 1941 with the loss of two officers and five ratings. Although successfully run aground, she was declared wrecked.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southsea 1930 ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of the Southern Railway (UK) Maritime incidents in February 1941 Ships sunk by mines World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea