''Brittany'' was a passenger ferry built in 1910 for the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

. In 1912 she was sold to the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

, passing to the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923. She was renamed ''Aldershot'' in 1933. In 1937 she was sold to an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

owner and renamed ''Hercules''. On 24 November 1941, she was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

ed and sunk by .

Description

The ship was built by Earle's,

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

. She was yard number 572 and was launched on 9 July 1910 with completion in August 1910. She had a GRT of 632 and a NRT of 256. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was powered by a

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 had cylinders of 13½ inches (34 cm), and bore by stroke. This could propel her at a speed of .

History

''Brittany'' was built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. She was used on their Newhaven - Caen route. In 1912, ''Brittany'' was sold to the London and South Western Railway. Her port of registry was

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. She passed into the ownership of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923. In 1933, ''Brittany'' was renamed ''Aldershot'' when the new entered service with the Southern Railway. In 1936, ''Aldershot'' was sold to D Tripcovich & Compagnie,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and renamed ''Hercules''. She was converted to a salvage vessel and was operated under the management of Società Anonima di Navigazione Rimorchi e Salvataggi. Her port of registry was

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

. On 24 November 1941, ''Hercules'' was torpedoed and sunk by in

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

harbour.

Official Number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to

IMO Number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term covering two distinct meanings. The IMO ship identification number, is a type of hull number used as a unique ship identifier, and the IMO company and registered owne ...

s. ''Brittany'' and ''Aldershot'' had the United Kingdom Official Number 105657 and used the Code Letters HRNC. ''Hercules'' had the Italian Official Number 404 and used the Code Letters IOMU.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brittany 1910 ships Ships of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Ships of the London and South Western Railway Steamships of the United Kingdom World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships of the Southern Railway (UK) Steamships of Italy World War II merchant ships of Italy Ships sunk by British submarines Maritime incidents in November 1941 World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea