SS Fenella (1936)

TSS (RMS) ''Fenella'' (II) No. 145310 was a pre-Second World War passenger steamer built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness in 1936, for service with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was sunk by air attack during the evacuation of Dunkirk in May 1940.

''Fenella''s sister ship ''Tynwald'' was also lost during the war.

Design and construction

Identical to her twin sister ''Tynwald'', ''Fenella'' had a registered tonnage of 2376; a beam of 46'; length 314'6" and a depth of 18'. Both ''Tynwald'' and ''Fenella'' were designed with a service speed of 21 knots, accommodation for a crew of 68, and certificated to carry 1968 passengers. Both vessels were fitted with twin-screw geared turbines, and had water tube boilers with a steam pressure of , and two sets of single-reduction turbines, developing .

Both ''Fenella'' and ''Tynwald'' were launched at Barrow on the same day, 16 December 1936.

Whilst the twins were identical in almost every facet, there were two subtle differences incorporated into their external appearance so as to be able to differentiate between the two. The ''Fenella'' had a yard running out from her foremast which had been installed specifically so as she could be identified from a distance. The strake, or gunwale, around the main deck was white on the ''Tynwald'' whilst it was black on the ''Fenella.'' The bows on both ships bore not only their names but the Three Legs of Man symbol.

There were also some quite distinctive differences in the internal decor of the twins. The first class dining saloon of the ''Fenella'' consisted of English chestnut, whilst on the ''Tynwald'' the woodwork was Queensland walnut. In the first class lounge of the ''Fenella'' figured Australian walnut provided the setting for a colour scheme in blue and fawn, whereas the ''Tynwald's'' was pannelled in chestnut the general colour scheme being in green and gold.

The smoke room panelling was walnut in the ''Fenella'' and oak in the ''Tynwald.'' In addition the third class ladies lounge the walls were panalled with weathered sycamore in the ''Fenella'' and white sycamore in the ''Tynwald''.

Service life

Smaller than their immediate predecessors, they were designed specifically for winter work and were the first ships in the company to have cruiser sterns. ''Fenella'' made her maiden voyage to Douglas on Saturday May 1, 1937, when she made passage from Liverpool.Green Final, Saturday, May 01, 1937; Page: 3 During the course of her passage she received a salute from the Ramsey Steamship Company's ''Ben Varrey'' which was inbound to Liverpool.

Both ships worked on the heavy seasonal traffic on the main Douglas-Liverpool route, and both were much appreciated by passengers, especially in winter weather.
With large public rooms, both twins were furnished to a high standard, and apart from slight decorative differences, they were of similar external appearance, except that ''Tynwald'' had her upper strake painted white, whereas on ''Fenella'' it was black.

On Tuesday 16 November 1937, a storm, with associated south-easterly gales, forced ''Fenella'' to seek shelter on the protected western side of the Isle of Man near Peel.Peel City Guardian. Saturday 20 Nov 1937; Section:Front page; Page Number:1 She proceeded to Douglas early on the morning of Wednesday 17 November, to take the morning sailing to Liverpool.

However, whilst berthing in challenging conditions, a mooring rope fouled one of her propellers.
''Fenella'' was taken to the inner harbour at Douglas, where divers tried and failed to free the rope. Due to the ebbing tide in the inner harbour, ''Fenella'' then went aground, and the sailing was cancelled.

That same day, her sister ''Tynwald'' also had problems trying to berth in Douglas, which before the construction of the Princess Alexandra Pier in 1984, was particularly hazardous during strong easterly winds. Taking that morning's sailing from Liverpool to Douglas, ''Tynwald'' had great difficulty berthing at the King Edward VIII Pier, and suffered damage to the belting on her starboard side, over a distance of about five metres, as well as suffering damage to her plating.
Finally she secured alongside, and having discharged her passengers and mail, ''Tynwald'' then departed for Liverpool at 15:50, taking the passengers and mail which should have left on ''Fenella''s morning sailing.

''Fenella'' then had the rope removed from her propeller, and resumed normal service the following day.

A further mishap occurred on the River Mersey on Monday October 24, 1938, when the ''Fenella'' collided with one of the Mersey ferries, the ''Hinderton.'' Slight damage was sustained to ''Fenella's'' bows however no one was hurt.Ramsey Courier, Friday, October 28, 1938; Page: 4

On Tuesday 17 January 1939, whilst lying at anchor in the River Mersey, having taken the sailing from Douglas to Liverpool, ''Fenella'' was run into by a cargo ship, the SS ''Eastleigh'', which had arrived from Karachi, and was proceeding to berth at Bromborough Dock.Peel City Guardian; Date:21 Jan 1939
Part of ''Fenella's'' belting was carried away, and damage was sustained to one of her lifeboats, along with damage to her plating.
''Fenella'' was taken to the Prince's Landing Stage, where she was inspected by representatives of the Board of Trade.
Temporary repairs were carried out, and ''Fenella'' was able to sail from Liverpool to Douglas the following day.

At this time ''Tynwald'' was undergoing an overhaul, and had been replaced by ''Mona's Isle'' which was working in conjunction with the ''Fenella''.
''Tynwald'' was due to resume service, replacing ''Mona's Isle'', on Thursday, 19 January, but this was delayed until 21 January. ''Fenella'' then underwent repairs to the damage she had sustained in the collision with the ''Eastleigh'', and ''Tynwald'' joined ''Mona's Isle'', which had to be kept in service substituting for ''Fenella''.

War service and loss

Requisitioned in the first week of the war as a personnel carrier, ''Fenella''s first few months were relatively uneventful. Then, on 28 May 1940, ''Fenella'' joined no less than seven of her steam packet sisters and made passage to Dunkirk.

On 29 May 1940, under the command of her Master, Captain W. Cubbon, ''Fenella'' made her first trip into the evacuation area. She started to embark troops from the East Pier, and had 650 on board when she came under heavy fire in the third massed air attack of that day. She was hit by three bombs in quick succession, the first bomb hitting her directly on the promenade deck, the second bomb hitting the pier, blowing lumps of concrete through the ship's side below the waterline, and the third exploded between the pier and the ship's side, wrecking the engine room.

''Fenella'' was abandoned and later sank. The troops were disembarked onto the pier, where they were picked up by , the famous old London pleasure steamer. This too, was bombed and beached.

The survivors of ''Fenella''s crew were later picked up by the Dutch skoot, ''Patria'', which was under Royal Navy command. Others of the crew had succeeded in getting ashore via the pier and had been taken on to the ''Crested Eagle'', only to receive a direct hit.

''Fenella'' had gone into the harbour with a crew of 48, all Steam Packet men and most of them Manxmen. Four men had been left behind on leave. In all, 33 men got back to Dover, where one died of wounds. Many had been wounded, some seriously.

Some weeks later, a postcard was received from junior steward Thomas Helsby, who was 19 years of age, and came from Liverpool. He had last been seen, terribly burned, as ''Fenella'' was foundering after the bomb attack. It transpired that he had been taken prisoner of war – the only Steam Packet Company man to be taken prisoner in all the operations of its ships in wartime – and was in a hospital in occupied Belgium. The German surgeons did an expert job on him, and he was repatriated before the end of the war, and eventually rejoined the Steam Packet.

Operation Dynamo, whilst widely regarded as the Steam Packet's "''finest hour''", also saw its blackest day. Three vessels were lost from the fleet on 29 May: ''Mona's Queen'', ''King Orry'' and ''Fenella''.

Ultimate fate

The sinking of ''Fenella'' was later followed by a theory that the ship had been raised by the enemy, fitted with new engines, and used under the name ''Reval''. Much later, the belief grew that she had been taken over by the Russians, following the collapse of Germany.

F B O'Friel has arrived at what is probably the authentic version after help from a correspondent who searched the Kriegsmarine files at Freiburg. From the papers unearthed, it seems certain that the wrecked ''Fenella'' was eventually removed piecemeal from the harbour as scrap. The Germans had classified her as Wreck No. 11. Near her, had been Wreck No. 8, the steamer ''Bawtry''. This ship was raised in March 1941, and was later repaired at Antwerp and declared a 'prize of war'. She was taken over by a Kiel shipping firm in 1943 under the name of ''Rival'', only to be completely destroyed in the massive RAF air raid on Hamburg on the night of 31 December 1944.

References

;Bibliography
* Chappell, Connery (1980). ''Island Lifeline'' T.Stephenson & Sons Ltd

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenella (1936)
Ship names
Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
Ships sunk by German aircraft
1936 ships
Ferries of the Isle of Man
Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness
Steamships of the United Kingdom
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Maritime incidents in May 1940
World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea