Beachy Head-class repair ship

The Beachy Head-class repair ships were a class of 21 depot, maintenance and repair ships constructed for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. All of the ships in the class were constructed in Canada of which only five served in British waters during the war. Based on a modified mercantile design, five of the class were completed as merchant vessels after the war's end. Following the war, the majority were converted for mercantile use, with a further two ships ending up in service with the Royal Canadian Navy and another with the Royal Air Force.

HMS Flamborough Head underway in coastal waters
Class overview
Name: Beachy Head class
Builders: Burrard Dry Dock, Vancouver
Operators:
Planned: 21
Completed: 16
Retired: 16
General characteristics
Type: Maintenance ship
Displacement: 8,580 long tons (8,718 t) standard
Length:
  • 441 ft 6 in (134.6 m) oa
  • 425 ft 0 in (129.5 m) pp
Beam: 57 ft (17.4 m)
Draught: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Propulsion: Oil-fired triple expansion steam engines, 2 boilers, 1 shaft, 2,500 ihp (1,864 kW)
Speed: 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement: 270
Armament: 16 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons

Design and description

Following setbacks in the Pacific theatre of operations which led to the loss of naval bases, the Royal Navy required more depot and repair ships for the fleet to replace shore facilities.[1] As part of the war construction programme, the Royal Navy ordered a series of vessels based on standard mercantile designs and modified them to fit their expected roles.[2] Repair and maintenance vessels were ordered from Canadian shipyards with the escort maintenance ships intended to service smaller types of warships, such as frigates and corvettes.[1] The Beachy Head class, ordered from a series of Canadian shipbuilders, was based on the Fort ship, but of the "Victory" type layout.[3]

The ships of the class had a standard displacement of 8,550 long tons (8,687 t) and 11,270 long tons (11,451 t) fully loaded. They were 441 feet 6 inches (134.6 m) long overall and 425 feet 0 inches (129.5 m) between perpendiculars with a beam of 57 feet (17.4 m) and a draught of 20 feet (6.1 m).[4][5] The vessels were propelled by one shaft driven by a reciprocating triple expansion steam engine powered by steam from two Foster Wheeler water-tube boilers, creating 2,500 indicated horsepower (1,900 kW). This gave the vessels a maximum speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).[4][5] Machinery was provided from three manufacturers; General Machinery Corporation of Hamilton, Ohio, Canadian Allis-Chalmers Ltd and Dominion Engineering Works of Montreal, Quebec.[6] The vessels had a complement of 270.[7] During the war, the vessels were armed with sixteen single-mounted 20 mm Oerlikon cannons.[5]

Ships in class
Beachy Head class[8]
Pennant no. Name Builder Launched Purpose Fate
F02 Beachy Head Burrard Dry Dock 27 September 1944 Maintenance and repair ship HNLMS Vulkaan (1946); HMCS Cape Scott (1954); scrapped Texas 1978
F18 Berry Head Burrard Dry Dock 21 October 1944 Maintenance and repair ship
F36 Buchan Ness West Coast Shipbuilders 10 February 1945 Depot ship
F49 Cape Wrath West Coast Shipbuilders 24 August 1945 Maintenance and repair ship
F19 Dodman Point Burrard Dry Dock 14 April 1945 Depot ship
F58 Duncansby Head Burrard Dry Dock 17 November 1944 Maintenance and repair ship
F46 Dungeness West Coast Shipbuilding 15 March 1945 Depot ship
F29 Fife Ness Burrard Dry Dock 30 April 1945 Depot ship
F88 Flamborough Head Burrard Dry Dock 7 October 1944 Maintenance and repair ship HMCS Cape Breton (1954); sunk as artificial reef 20 October 2001
F04 Penlee Point Burrard Dry Dock 29 March 1945 Depot ship Built as Penlee Point, converted to a missile trials ship HMS Girdle Ness from 1953
F25 Hartland Point Burrard Dry Dock 4 November 1944 Maintenance and repair ship
F26 Mull of Galloway (ex-Kinnaird Head) North Vancouver Shipbuilding 26 October 1944 Maintenance and repair ship
F86 Mull of Kintyre North Vancouver Shipbuilding 5 April 1945 Maintenance and repair ship
F96 Mull of Oa (ex-Trevose Head) North Vancouver Shipbuilding 11 August 1945 N/A Completed as merchant vessel Turan (1946)
F67 Orford Ness West Coast Shipbuilders 12 April 1945 N/A Completed as merchant vessel Rabaul (1951)
F34 Rame Head North Vancouver Shipbuilding 22 November 1944 Maintenance and repair ship Scrapped 2010
F73 Rattray Head North Vancouver Shipbuilding 8 June 1945 N/A Completed as merchant vessel Iran (1951)
F54 Selsey Bill Burrard Dry Dock 11 July 1945 N/A Completed as merchant vessel Waitemata (1946)
F42 Spurn Point Burrard Dry Dock 8 June 1945 Depot ship
F84 Tarbat Ness West Coast Shipbuilders 29 May 1945 N/A Completed as merchant vessel Lautoka (1946)

Service history

Of the sixteen vessels that completed before the end of the war, Fife Ness, Girdle Ness, Dodman Point, Dungeness and Spurn Point served in British waters around the United Kingdom. The remaining eleven vessels served either in the East Indies or in the Pacific. Following the war, Beachy Head was loaned to the Royal Netherlands Navy and renamed Vulkaan. The vessel returned to Royal Navy service in 1949 and was then sold to the Royal Canadian Navy and renamed Cape Scott in 1954. Flamborough Head was also sold to the Royal Canadian Navy and renamed Cape Breton in 1954. Fife Ness was transferred to the Royal Air Force and renamed Adastral in 1947.[8]

The stern of Cape Breton was scrapped at the North Vancouver, British Columbia waterfront in 2014 despite protests,[9] the rest of the ship having been sunk as an artificial reef.[3]

See also

References

Citations
  1. Mitchell and Sawyer, p. 39
  2. Lenton and Colledge, p. 341
  3. Richter, Brent (1 December 2013). "North Vancouver scraps Flamborough Head". North Shore News. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  4. Blackman (1958), p. 79
  5. Lenton and Colledge, p. 350
  6. Mitchell and Sawyer, pp. 40–44
  7. Macpherson and Barrie, p. 279
  8. Lenton and Colledge, pp. 350–351
  9. Robinson, Matthew (21 June 2014). "Work begins on scrapping historic North Vancouver ship's stern". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 24 December 2016.

Sources
  • Blackman, Raymond V. B., ed. (1958). Jane's Fighting Ships 1958–59. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. OCLC 32592770.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Lenton, H. T.; Colledge, J. J. (1968) [1964]. British & Dominion Warships of World War II. New York: Doubleday and Company. ISBN 0-71100-403-X. OCLC 1366368.
  • Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 (Third ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-072-1.
  • Mitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1966). The Oceans, The Forts, and The Parks: Merchant Shipbuilding for British Account in North America during World War II. Liverpool: Sea Breezes. OCLC 154154648.
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