SS ''Foundation Franklin'' was a seagoing salvage tug built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as HMS ''Frisky'' in 1918. In 1924, the tugboat was sold and renamed ''Gustavo Ipland'' before being acquired in 1930 by Foundation Maritime and renamed ''Foundation Franklin''. The tugboat became famous for many daring salvage operations and rescues between 1930 and 1949. Her many rescues and salvage triumphs were celebrated in

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

's book '' The Grey Seas Under''. In 1948, the ship was damaged in a hurricane and not considered repairable. The tug was broken up for scrap in 1949 at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

Description

As built, the

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

measured , was long between perpendiculars with a beam of .Miramar Ship Index The vessel had a draught of . ''Foundation Franklin'' was powered by a triple expansion steam engine driving one

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

, rated at . The tugboat had a maximum speed of .

History

''Foundation Franklin'' was built as HMS ''Frisky'' by John Lewis and Sons Shipbuilding at their yard in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

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, in 1918. Given the yard number 67, ''Frisky'' was launched and completed in August 1918. She was designed to move

capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic i ...

s, and operate in rough weather. The ship was commissioned in early 1919, but the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

removed the need for ''Frisky'' by the Royal Navy. She was used to tow warships to

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

until being laid up. In 1924, the ship was sold and retaining her named, performed towing work on the

Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...

and in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. ''Frisky'' was later purchased by a German project in 1927 intending to tow

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s across the

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to Argentina and renamed SS ''Gustavo Ipland'', but the project fell through. ''Gustavo Ipland'' then was laid up until 1930. The ship was purchased in January 1930 at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany by Foundation Maritime representative Captain James Sutherland. Brought to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

for further refit and inspection, she was registered under the

Canadian Red Ensign The Canadian Red Ensign () served as a nautical flag and civil ensign for Canada from 1892 to 1965, and later as the ''de facto'' flag of Canada before 1965. The flag is a British Red Ensign, with the Royal Union Flag in the canton (flag), canto ...

and given the name ''Foundation Franklin''. Brought to Foundation Maritime headquarters in

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in 1931, the tug was further refitted by Halifax Shipyards for Atlantic salvage service. After a few salvage jobs based along the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

, ''Foundation Franklin'' established a homeport at

for the rest of her career. One of the most successful and hard-working vessels of her type, ''Foundation Franklin'' carried out many remarkable rescue and salvage exploits. She continued to operate in the salvage role until 1948, when, during the tow of the vessel ''Arosa'' a hurricane damaged the ship beyond economical repair. The ship was broken up for scrap at Halifax which was completed on 4 April 1949. Her bell, bearing her original Royal Navy name ''Frisky'', was saved from the scrapyard and used at the Foundation Wharf to summon crews to successor rescue tugs when vessels were in distress. The bell has continued to reside at offices beside the company's wharf through successive ownership changes. Today it is owned by Svitzer Canada Limited which continues to operate tugs from ''Foundation Franklin''s old wharf. A plaque beside the wharf on the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk commemorates her many rescues. The

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The museum is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection o ...

preserved ''Foundation Franklin''s bridge and engine room clocks as well as several models and the tug's heavy salvage tackle. ''Foundation Franklin'' was the centrepiece of a special tug exhibit which opened at the museum in 2009 displaying many pieces of her original equipment and her original bell on loan from Svitzer Canada.

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , last=Mowat , first=Farley , author-link=Farley Mowat , title=The Grey Seas Under , date=May 1964

External links

''hazegray.org'' specifications and photographs of ''Foundation Franklin'' and sister tugs

plaque location and picture
Tugboats of the United Kingdom 1918 ships History of Halifax, Nova Scotia Steamships of Canada Tugboats of Canada