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Post by KG on Jun 30, 2018 22:08:30 GMT
Sunk by a German Luftwaffe bomber on 5 July 1941: HMS Snaefell (PS Barry)
HMS Snaefell was a paddle steamer, built at John Brown & Company's Clydebank shipyard for the Barry Railway Company and launched on 1907 as the PS Barry. Built to serve as a pleasure steamer carrying passengers on the Bristol Channel, she was quickly transferred to the ownership of Bristol Channel Passenger Boats which in 1911 became part of P & A Campbell. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy during World War I and renamed HMS Barryfield serving during the Gallipoli Campaign where she was the last British ship to leave Suvla Bay evacuating British soldiers. After the war she returned to passenger service, was refitted in 1920 and renamed PS Waverley in 1926. Requisitioned by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of World War II she was renamed again, this time to HMS Snaefell to avoid confusion with another paddle steamer Waverley which had already been requisitioned from London and North Eastern Railway, and assigned to the 8th Minesweeping Flotilla. She was one of the flotilla of ships at the Dunkirk evacuation making two trips across the channel, credited with rescuing 981 soldiers and freeing another ship which had run aground, the Glen Gower. Sunk by a German Luftwaffe bomber on 5 July 1941 with three fatalities but her other nine crew rescued, her wreck was located off the coast of Sunderland in 2010.
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Post by Administrator on Jul 2, 2018 1:18:02 GMT
Paddle Steamer: PS Barry 1907 Launched by John Brown Clydebank, Yard No 379, on 4/5/1907 as a Paddle Steamer for the Barry Railway Company 1910 to the Bristol Channel Passenger Boats Ltd 1911 to P.& A. Campbell HMS Barry WW1. HMS - Paddle Fleet Messenger Fleet Messenger - Y4.28 1914 used to transport German prisoners 29/6/1915 requisitioned as a Fleet Messenger and took part in the Gallipoli landings carrying troops and acting as a store carrier. She was then stationed in Greece, based in Salonika. September 1917 renamed HMS BARRYFIELD 20/11/1919 Returned as BARRY 1920 Refitted by John Brown’s 497 grt 225.5 ft x 26.6 ft Side Paddle, Compound diagonal 25.5 and 54 in x 54 in, 178nhp giving 17.5 knots 1925 renamed WAVERLEY and stationed at Brighton October 1939 requisitioned and converted to a paddle minesweeper at Milford Haven with 1 x 12pdr and light AA guns. WWII: HMS Snaefell Auxiliary Paddle Minesweeper - J.118 12/11/1939 commissioned as HMS SNAEFELL and attached to the 8th Minesweeping Flotilla, North Shields 30/5/1940 arrived at Harwich and set off the same day for Dunkirk coming under air attack before anchoring at La Panne beaches. After taking on 583 soldiers she headed back, but first towed Glen Gower off the beach. She continued to assist in the evacuations and was one of the last to leave with a cargo of 981 soldiers. She then returned to her duties in the North. Bombed and Sunk 5/7/1941 5/7/1941 sunk in a bombing raid off Sunderland, taking a direct hit forward of the bridge with three killed and nine wounded.
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Post by KG on Jul 3, 2018 14:38:50 GMT
PS Barry / HMS Snaefell.
The wreck is now a war grave and although divers can still go down and inspect it they can no longer remove any items. “Once we identified it as a war ship it’s closed as a war grave which means we cannot take anything else,” Allan said. Brent added: “We had to notify the Ministry of Defence when we discovered it was a war ship. We just want to protect it now. It’s a famous ship with a long history.” LINKDivers discover long lost wreck HMS Snaefell
DEEP beneath the waves she has lain lost for 70 years, her carcass gathering rust long after she braved the bombs of Dunkirk. LINKThe heroic wartime service of Barry's paddle steamer – by Keith Greenway LINK
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