SS Mona's Queen (1934)
Mona's Queen
| |
History | |
---|---|
Isle of Man | |
Name | Mona's Queen |
Owner | 1934–1940: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company |
Operator | 1934–1940: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company |
Port of registry | Douglas, Isle of Man |
Builder | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead |
Cost | £201,250 |
Yard number | 998 |
Way number | 145308[2] |
Laid down | 27 October 1933 |
Launched | 12 April 1934 |
Completed | 25 June 1934 |
Maiden voyage | 1934 |
Out of service | May 1940 |
Identification | |
Fate | Sunk at Dunkirk, 29 May 1940 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Passenger Steamer |
Tonnage | 2,756 gross register tons (GRT) |
Length | 347 feet (106 m) |
Beam | 48 feet (15 m) |
Depth | 17 feet (5.2 m) |
Decks | 5 |
Ice class | N/A |
Installed power | 8,500 shp (6,300 kW) |
Propulsion | Two sets of single-reduction Parson's-geared turbines; developing 8,500 shp (6,300 kW) |
Speed | 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
Capacity | 2,486 passengers |
Crew | 83 |
TSS
Construction
Ordered in August, 1933, Mona's Queen was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead at a cost of £30,000 (approx. £12.3 million in 2017). Mona's Queen was the sixth vessel to be built in the Birkenhead yards for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was completed in June 1934.[3]
Constructed under special survey in accordance with the requirements of
Features
Design and layout
The vessel had a registered tonnage of 2,756; a depth of 17 feet (5.2 m); a length of 347 feet (106 m) (336 feet (102 m) between the
There were 5 decks: the
Part of the space on the
Power
Mona's Queen was propelled by twin screws driven through single reduction gearing by two sets of Parsons steam turbines. 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
The turbines exhausted into a large condenser capable of maintaining a vacuum of 29 inches at full power and fitted with turbines of Alumbro composition made by Imperial Chemical Industries.[3] 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 was installed to test the salinity of the condensate from both port and starboard condensers and also of the reserve feed water.[3]
Steam was supplied at 230
The air pumps were of the Weir Paragon type and circulating water was supplied by
Propellers
The propellers were three bladed, cast in bronze and designed by Cammell Lairds in collaboration with the National Physical Laboratory.[3] The propeller revolutions at full power were approximately 275 revolutions per minute.[3]
Technology
Watertight compartments
The hull was subdivided into 10
Rudder and steering
Mona's Queen had two
Radio communication
The ship was equipped with a
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.[3] As well as its emergency duties the 35 kW generator supplied current for essential services under harbour conditions when steam was not available.[3]
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.[3]
The public rooms for the First Class passengers comprised a ladies' lounge on the
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.[3]
The decoration of the First Class public rooms was specially designed for the vessel. The Ladies Lounge was panelled in light
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 Lifesaving Appliance and Safety Certificate, the appliances including 10 Class 1A lifeboats carried in Columbus davits, and teak buoyant seats and rafts for over 2,440 persons – sufficient for all passengers and crew on board.[3] Electric winches were installed for handling the lifeboats.[3]
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 and Lady Mayoress of Liverpool and the Mayors of Wallasey, Birkenhead and Bootle. This rather unusual time for the ship's launch was as a consequence of tide conditions in the River Mersey.[5]
Following her
A six-hour consumption trial was carried out on the way back to Birkenhead. On her return she crossed Douglas Bay (but did not berth at her home port) as she continued back to Birkenhead, where she entered the wet basin in order to have her turbines examined.[5]
Service
Domestic
Mona's Queen was the
During the busy summer season, the Mona's Queen was employed on the main route between Douglas and Liverpool. It also inaugurated evening cruises from Douglas to the Calf of Man.
In the 1935 film No Limit, the Mona's Queen can be seen berthed alongside the Prince's Landing Stage in Liverpool just before it is boarded by the film's star, George Formby.
Fenella and Tynwald 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 (RMS) indicated that she carried mail under contract with the Royal Mail. A specified area was allocated for the storage of letters, parcels and specie (bullion, 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 to Dover.
Dunkirk
Mona's Queen was one of the first vessels to make a successful round trip during the Dunkirk evacuation. 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[6] 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 outside Dunkirk harbour at 5:30am. The Mona's Queen sank in two minutes.[7]
Captain Archibald Holkham, who had taken over as
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 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 HMS Monmouth 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
Notes
- Citations
- ^ Ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Fred Henry) p.64
- ^ Connery Chappell – Island Lifeline (1980) p54.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Shipbuilding and Shipping Record. August 9, 1934, p146
- ^ Mona's Herald Tuesday, April 10, 1934; Section: Front page, Page: 1
- ^ a b Mona's Herald. Tuesday 12 June 1934.
- ^ a b 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)
- ^ The Evacuation from Dunkirk: 'Operation Dynamo', 26 May–June 1940 (p. 38)
- Bibliography
- Chappell, Connery (1980). Island Lifeline T.Stephenson & Sons Ltd ISBN 0-901314-20-X