SS (RMS) ''Mona's Queen'' (II) No. 76308, was an iron-built paddle steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was the second vessel in the company's history to be so named. ''Mona's Queen'' served from 1885 until 1929. In 1917, during the Great War, she collided with a German submarine.

Construction and dimensions

''Mona's Queen'' was built in 1885, by the

Barrow Shipbuilding Company Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Ltd (VSEL) was a shipbuilding company based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in northwest England that built warships, civilian ships, submarines and armaments. The company was historically the Naval Constructi ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 202 ...

, at a cost of £55,000. Length 320'1"; beam 30'3"; depth 14'5" and a service speed of 19 knots. ''Mona's Queen'' was constructed from Siemens-Martin mild steelIsle of Man Examiner. Saturday 25 April 1885 and had a registered tonnage of . ''Mona's Queen'' carried four lifeboats as well as eight William's double-lined raft seats. ''Mona's Queen'' was launched by the Mayoress of

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

, Mrs. Fell, on Saturday 18 April 1885. For the occasion, the Directors of the company were taken to

on board the ''Ellan Vannin'', which departed Douglas at 07:30hrs, arriving in Ramsden Dock, Barrow at 11:30hrs. Her engine design attracted considerable attention when she was first built, for she had a set of compound surface condensing cylinder engines, which produced 5,000 i.h.p. Her boiler steam pressure was . ''Mona's Queen'' was the last ship built for the company to be fitted with oscillating engines. The

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid fo ...

of the high pressure cylinders was 50 inches, the diameter of the low pressure cylinders was 88 inches, both producing a stroke length of 72 inches. Her saloons were described as "very commodious," being panelled in satin wood and walnut, and decorated in gold. The main saloon, together with the Captain's Room were upholstered in 'peacock blue velvet', with the Ladies Saloon decorated with bronze green velvet and furnished with sycamore and walnut, with gold mountings. The design of the Ladies Saloon enabled easy conversion into sleeping accommodation. Her Smoke Room was paneled with ash with oak framing and teak mouldings. The upholstery was carried out by Townson, Ward & Barrow, who also provided the upholstery in the ''Peveril.''

Service life

The second of the large paddle steamers which dominated the Steam Packet's fleet until the Company turned solely to screw ( propeller) driven vessels from 1905, ''Mona's Queen'' started service on the Douglas- Fleetwood schedule, but was transferred to the main home run to help meet and beat the competition from the Isle of Man, Liverpool and Manchester Company. ''Mona's Queen'' was considered a fast vessel, and in her first season often steamed from Douglas to the Wyre Light at Fleetwood in under three hours. In 1888, she was overhauled at

and fitted with new paddles.

War service

Together with other Steam Packet vessels, ''Mona's Queen'' had a most distinguished record during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. She was chartered in 1915 and was used as a troop carrier. The necessary work to fit her out was undertaken by the Steam Packet's own workshops in Douglas, and once completed her initial task was to ferry troops mainly between

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, 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, S ...

and the main

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

serving the British Expeditionary Force at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

. On 16 February 1917, under the command of Captain William Cain, she left Southampton on a fine night with a full moon, with over 1,000 troops embarked. Less than an hour's steaming from

the German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

surfaced almost dead ahead, and not more than 200 yards away. Cain kept his course, and when within about ten yards of the submarine a

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 ...

was observed travelling underneath the ship, and then to track away to starboard. The U-boat was almost instantaneously hit by the

paddlebox of the ''Mona's Queen'', her steel paddle floats rammed home into the submarine's bow and it was severely damaged. The collision damaged the vessel, which managed to steam slowly to Le Havre. The troops were disembarked, and the ''Mona's Queen'' set off under tow for major repair work in

. The weather was bad, and the captain decided to complete the journey without aid while a

tug 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 ...

stood by. She eventually reached Southampton in more than twice her normal time. After her repairs she returned to her trooping duties in March 1917.

Post-war service

''Mona's Queen'' rejoined the Steam Packet fleet in time for the 1920 tourist season, and continued with her normal duties. She was the last paddle steamer in service with the company, until it was decided to dispose of her in 1929. In some quarters it was hoped to retain the ''Mona's Queen'' along with the ''Fenella'' so as they could form part of the forthcoming Centenary Celebrations scheduled for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1930.''Isle of Man Examiner.'' Friday 12 July 1929. However the two vessels were offered for sale at the end of August, being subsequently inspected by representatives of a Dutch firm of shipbrokers, and also by shipbrokers from Ardrossan. Both ''Mona's Queen'' and the ''Fenella'' were offered at auction by Messers C. W. Kellock at the

Cunard Building The Cunard Building is a Grade II* listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Royal Liver Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's ''Three Graces'', which line the ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, on Thursday 27 September 1929, and it was reported that the auction was well attended.''The Ramsey Courier.'' Friday 28 September 1929. Bidding for the ''Mona's Queen'' commenced at £4,500 and the vessel was withdrawn at £5,920. She was sold for breaking to Smith & Co. of Port Glasgow for £5,920.

References

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

External links