TSS (RMS) ''Mona's Queen'' (III) No. 145308, was a ship built for the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited (abbreviated to IoMSPCo or, locally, The Steam Packet ()) is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, having been founded in 1830. The company provides freight, p ...

in 1934. The steamer, which was the third vessel in the company's history to bear the name, was one of five ships to be specially commissioned by the company between 1927 and 1937. They were replacements for the various second-hand steamers that had been purchased to replace the company's losses during the

First World War 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 ...

. However, the life of the ''Mona's Queen'' proved to be short: six years after being launched she was sunk by a sea mine during the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

on 29 May 1940.

Construction

Ordered in August, 1933, ''Mona's Queen'' was built by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

at a cost of £30,000 (approx. £12.3 million in 2017). ''Mona's Queen'' was the sixth vessel to be built in the

yards for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was completed in June 1934. Constructed under special survey in accordance with the requirements of

Lloyd's Register of Shipping Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

and Classification, ''Mona's Queen'' was classed as A.1 "with

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

for Irish Channel Service."''Shipbuilding and Shipping Record.'' August 9, 1934, p146 The clerk of the works on behalf of the Company for the building of ''Mona's Queen'' was Charles Cannell.

Features

Design and layout

The vessel had a registered tonnage of 2,756; a depth of ; a length of ( between the perpendiculars); beam of and a speed of 22 knots. She was certified for 2,486 passengers and a crew of 83. There were 5 decks: the

Boat Deck A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. V ...

Promenade Deck The promenade deck is a deck found on several types of passenger ships and riverboats. It usually extends from bow to stern, on both sides, and includes areas open to the outside, resulting in a continuous outside walkway suitable for ''prome ...

, Shelter Deck,

Main Deck The main deck of a ship is the uppermost complete deck extending from bow to stern. A steel ship's hull may be considered a structural beam with the main deck forming the upper flange of a box girder and the keel forming the lower strength mem ...

and Lower Deck. The Boat Deck was long and the Promenade Deck . The

on the ''Mona's Queen'' extended forward towards the bow giving the impression it was larger than even the . The Shelter, Main and Lower decks extended the full length of the ship. She was considered to be an elegant ship because of her straight lines and elliptical stern. Part of the space on the

starboard side Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which ar ...

amidships on the

main deck The main deck of a ship is the uppermost complete deck extending from bow to stern. A steel ship's hull may be considered a structural beam with the main deck forming the upper flange of a box girder and the keel forming the lower strength mem ...

was occupied by provision rooms which included a refrigerated store, the ship was fitted with a Hallmark automatic

refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...

Power

''Mona's Queen'' was propelled by twin screws driven through single reduction gearing by two sets of Parsons

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

s. She was the first of the Company's ships to have water tube boilers, taking up less room than the scotch boilers previously used. Each set of turbines comprised a

high pressure In science and engineering the study of high pressure examines its effects on materials and the design and construction of devices, such as a diamond anvil cell, which can create high pressure. ''High pressure'' usually means pressures of thousan ...

and a low pressure turbine. The high pressure turbines were of an impulse reduction type, two rows of impulse blading being followed by end tightened reaction blading, while the low pressure turbine ahead blading was of the all reaction type. The

astern This list of ship directions provides succinct definitions for terms applying to spatial orientation in a marine environment or location on a vessel, such as ''fore'', ''aft'', ''astern'', ''aboard'', or ''topside''. Terms * Abaft (prepositi ...

turbines were incorporated in the after ends of both high pressure and low pressure turbine casings and were capable of developing up to 70% of the full ahead power. The turbines were fitted with

governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

for overspeed control. The turbines exhausted into a large condenser capable of maintaining a

vacuum A vacuum (: vacuums or vacua) is space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective (neuter ) meaning "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressur ...

of 29 inches at full power and fitted with turbines of Alumbro composition made by

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

. The condensers were placed outboard of the turbines and their exhaust openings were connected directly to the lower portions of the low pressure turbine casings. This arrangement eliminated the requirement for large overhead trunking and greatly simplified the work of overhauling the low pressure turbines. In order to ensure a suitable feed of water, a water softening plant supplied by Paterson Engineering was fitted, and an electric

salinometer A salinometer is a device designed to measure the salinity, or dissolved salt content, of a solution. Since the salinity affects both the electrical conductivity and the specific gravity of a solution, a salinometer often consist of an ec mete ...

was installed to test the

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

of the condensate from both port and starboard condensers and also of the reserve feed water. Steam was supplied at 230 lbf/in by three water tube boilers. The boilers were oil fired and operated under the closed stokehold system of forced draught. The air for combustion was supplied by two large fans driven by enclosed forced-lubrication engines, manufactured by Matthew Paul & Co. The oil firing equipment was supplied by Babcock & Wilcox, a special feature being the electrically driven lighting up set. The fuel oil was carried in two deep tanks arranged on either side of the after boiler with the oil settling tanks placed behind the boiler at the centre of the ship. Two large pumps were provided for oil transfer purposes and an additional pump was provided for emergency bilge duties. A recorder was fitted in the boiler room to assist combustion control. For fire fighting purposes a Foamite Firefoam system was installed. The air pumps were of the Weir Paragon type and circulating water was supplied by

centrifugal pump Centrifugal pumps are used to transport fluids by the Energy transformation, conversion of rotational kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. The rotational energy typically comes from an engine or electric motor. They are ...

s driven by compound enclosed forced lubrication engines. The air pumps discharged through a

gravitation In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

type filter to a large feed tank. A turbo pump would draw from the feeder tank and discharge through the feed heater to the boilers, with a further direct acting pump being provided as standby. The feed heater would provide an automatic drain control. Lubrication was provided by three pumps and the

oil cooler An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

was fitted with tubes of cupronikel.

Propellers

The propellers were three bladed, cast in bronze and designed by

s in collaboration with the National Physical Laboratory. The propeller revolutions at full power were approximately 275 revolutions per minute.

Technology

Watertight compartments

The hull was subdivided into 10

watertight compartment A compartment is a portion of the space within a ship defined vertically between Deck (ship), decks and horizontally between Bulkhead (partition), bulkheads. It is analogous to a room within a building, and may provide watertight subdivision of the ...

s and 5 of her bulkheads were fitted with sliding watertight doors operated on the Brunton hydraulic system and controlled from the Navigating Bridge.

Rudder and steering

''Mona's Queen'' had two

rudders A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to c ...

, one

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

as well as an Oertz streamline type astern.

Radio communication

The ship was equipped with a

Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This ...

C.W./I.C.W.

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

installation together with a Marconi Echometer sounding device in order to derive the depth of water beneath the ship. Submarine signal receiving apparatus, with a distance finding capability was also installed, supplied by the Submarine Signal Co. (London) Ltd.

Electric power

Electric power was provided by two 90 kW turbo generators in addition to which a 35 kW diesel driven emergency generating set was fitted at the main deck level. As well as its emergency duties the 35 kW generator supplied current for essential services under harbour conditions when steam was not available.

Passenger facilities

On board passenger accommodation was considered advanced for its day. It had 20 cabins, consisting of eight private cabins and 12 convertible cabins, including one that was specially decorated. Each cabin was fitted with sofa berths and a wash basin. The public rooms for the First Class passengers comprised a ladies' lounge on the

, a smoking room with a bar and a first class buffet on the Shelter Deck. A dining saloon with accommodation for 90 was situated forward on the

and a further 3 saloons on the Lower Deck. The Third Class rooms comprised an entrance hall on the shelter deck aft, with stairs leading down to a dining saloon and lounge and ladies' lounge on the

. A further two saloons were also situated on the Lower Deck. Large promenading spaces were provided on the Shelter and Promenade Decks with screens on both sides of the ship fitted with vertically sliding windows. Screw operated, the windows were of a large area and were similar to those fitted to other ships in the Company. The decoration of the First Class public rooms was specially designed for the vessel. The Ladies Lounge was panelled in light

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

with

jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

green mouldings and furniture of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

. The Smoking Room was panelled in Olive

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

; the First Class entrance and stairway from the Promenade Deck were in French walnut; the First Class Lounge in

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

; the Dining Saloon in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

mahogany and the special private cabin also in Burma mahogany.

Sleeping accommodation

A special feature of the First Class Lounge was an arrangement whereby the sofas at the sides of the vessel could be quickly transformed into 12 private cabins and so provide sleeping accommodation for 48 passengers. The three saloons on the Lower Deck, together with the two aft for the Third Class passengers were also fitted with sofas which could provide sleeping accommodation. Berth curtains were provided for privacy when the spaces were being used.

Lifeboats

The ship was issued with a

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

Lifesaving Appliance and Safety Certificate, the appliances including 10 Class 1A

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

carried in Columbus davits, and teak buoyant seats and rafts for over 2,440 persons – sufficient for all passengers and crew on board. Electric winches were installed for handling the

Launch and sea trials

''Mona's Queen'' was launched by Mrs J. Waddington at 9:30am on 12 April 1934 in the presence of G. Clucas (Chairman of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company), W. Cowley (director), J. Waddington (director), A. Robertson (director) and numerous other representatives of the Company. Amongst those representing the builders were: W. Hichens (Chairman), R. Johnson (managing director) and J. Caird (assistant managing director). Also in attendance were the

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

and Lady Mayoress of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

s of

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

and

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

. This rather unusual time for the ship's launch was as a consequence of tide conditions in the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

. Following her

fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

, ''Mona's Queen'' underwent her

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s on Wednesday 13 June. Sailing from Cammell Laird's, she made passage to the Clyde for her speed test over the measured mile, during which a speed of was attained. After the completion of this test a further run was made over the measured mile, with the vessel using the bow rudder. A six-hour consumption trial was carried out on the way back to

. On her return she crossed Douglas Bay (but did not berth at her home port) as she continued back to

, where she entered the wet basin in order to have her turbines examined.''Mona's Herald''. Tuesday 12 June 1934.

Service

Domestic

''Mona's Queen'' was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the last three vessels – all twin-screw and geared turbines – to be built for the Steam Packet Company before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was painted with a white hull over green like the and . This was a summer colour scheme adopted by the company in the 1930s. During the busy summer season, the ''Mona's Queen'' was employed on the main route between

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

and

. It also inaugurated evening cruises from Douglas to the

Calf of Man Calf of Man ( ) is a island, off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man. It is separated from the Isle of Man by a narrow stretch of water called the Calf Sound. Like the nearby rocky islets of Chicken Rock and Kitterland, it is part of th ...

. In the 1935 film '' No Limit'', the ''Mona's Queen'' can be seen berthed alongside the Prince's Landing Stage in

just before it is boarded by the film's star,

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

. and followed the ''Mona's Queen'' into service in 1937 (however, all three ships would be lost during the war).

Mail and cargo

''Mona's Queen's'' designation as a

Royal Mail Ship Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel de ...

(RMS) indicated that she carried mail under contract with the

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

. A specified area was allocated for the storage of letters, parcels and specie (

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

, coins and other valuables). In addition, there was a considerable quantity of regular cargo, ranging from furniture to foodstuffs.

War service

Troop ship

''Mona's Queen'' was requisitioned as a troop ship by the British government on 3 September 1939, the day war was declared. Although she served a military purpose, the ship remained a merchantman with a Steam Packet captain and crew. Most of May 1940 was spent evacuating refugees from Dutch and French ports as the massive German advance swept forward to the Channel. On 22 May she carried 2,000 British troops from

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Dunkirk

''Mona's Queen'' was one of the first vessels to make a successful round trip during the

. Under the command of Captain Radcliffe Duggan, she arrived back in Dover during the night of 27 May with 1,200 troops. The next day the ship returned to sea and was shelled off the French coast by shore guns but escaped damage. Captain Duggan was temporarily replaced by Capt. Holkham''Isle of Man Weekly Times'', 8 June 1940 (newspaper report containing details of Mona's Queen's history, sinking and names and addresses of crew lost and saved) following which in the early hours of 29 May, the ''Mona's Queen'' set sail for Dunkirk from Dover loaded with water canisters because troops on the Dunkirk beaches were short of drinking water. However, the ship struck a magnetic

sea mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

outside Dunkirk harbour at 5:30am. The ''Mona's Queen'' sank in two minutes.The Evacuation from Dunkirk: 'Operation Dynamo', 26 May–June 1940 (p. 38) Captain Archibald Holkham, who had taken over as

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

, and 31 members of the crew were picked up by destroyers. Twenty-four of the crew were lost. Of the crew who died, 14 worked in the engine room. They included the

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

and Second Engineer. Seventeen of the dead were from the Isle of Man. The wreck is designated as a

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

Memorial

To mark the seventieth anniversary of her sinking, ''Mona's Queen''s starboard anchor was raised on 29 May 2010 and subsequently returned to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

to form the centrepiece of a permanent memorial. The anchor had become detached during the sinking, and therefore did not form part of the War Grave. Her anchor was raised by a French salvage vessel, and was shown live on BBC television. There was a 12-gun salute from as a crane lifted the anchor of ''Mona's Queen'' from the seabed. On 29 May 2012, a memorial featuring the restored anchor from ''Mona's Queen'', to commemorate the losses 72 years earlier on ''Mona's Queen'', ''King Orry'' and ''Fenella'' was opened in a ceremony at Kallow Point in

Port St Mary Port St Mary ( or ''Purt-noo-Moirrey'' ) is a village district in the south-west of the Isle of Man. The village takes its name from the former Chapel of St Mary () which is thought to have overlooked Chapel Bay in the village. Its population ...

attended by representatives of local and national government, the Lieutenant Governor, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

Notes

;Citations ;Bibliography * Chappell, Connery (1980). ''Island Lifeline'' T.Stephenson & Sons Ltd {{DEFAULTSORT:Mona's Queen (1934) Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company 1934 ships Ferries of the Isle of Man Ships sunk by mines Steamships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Mersey Maritime incidents in May 1940 Ships sunk by German aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel