RFA Swin

RFA Swin

RFA Swin

 

 

 

Previous name:                     Shipway
Subsequent name:               Francis A Holmes

Official Number:                    167878                                        

Class:                                      KIN CLASS Coastal Salvage Vessel                        

Pennant No:                            A506    

Laid down:                              14 June 1943

Builder:                                    Alexander Hall, Aberdeen 
Launched:                               25 March 1944    
Into Service:                            23 October 1944 
Out of service:                        1967 
Fate:                                         Sold

 

Items of historic interest involving this ship: -

 

Background Data:  Originally a class of 11 ships was planned but two were cancelled and of the remaining nine, seven saw brief service as RFA’s. They were re-rated as Mooring, Salvage and Boom Vessels in 1971. All were equipped with lifting horns and heavy rollers forward which enabled them to lift 200 tons dead-weight over the bows. In wartime they were armed with 2 x 20 mm AA guns and had a complement of 34

 

25 March 1944 launched by Alexander Hall & Co Ltd, Aberdeen as Yard Nr 695 named  HMS SHIPWAY

August 1944 renamed HMS SWIN

23 October 1944 completed and was engaged on salvage work in NW Europe

November 1944 at Ostend  on wreck clearance work

25 November 1944 nn wreck clearance work at Terneuzen

19 January 1945 grounded on East Dyke, West Outer Harbour at Terneuzen in a gale but was soon refloated

31 January 1945 moved to Flushing

2 April 1945 at Flushing and then to Antwerp

1946 allocated to Liverpool as an RFA and was involved in the clearance of wrecks and the wartime Mersey Towers

 27 February 1948 Captain H J McBride appointed as Master and Mr H Legge appointed as Chief Egineer Officer

December 1949 at Sheerness

21 January 1950 to 14 March 1950 involved with other ships in the raising of HMS/m Truculent which had sunk in the Thames Estuary with sixty four deaths.

April 1950 to 17 December 1950 at Studland Bay, Dorset salvaged three wrecks - SONA (sunk 4 January 1942), mv ABEL TASMAN (mined and sunk 13 June 1940) and PRINCESS JULIANA

11 August 1952 Captain H J Perrett appointed as Master

2 January 1953 Mr A E Daw appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

10 April 1953 Captain W H Harrison appointed as Master

27 November 1954 involved in rescue attempts when the South Goodwin lightship was wrecked and the crew of seven were killed. Three surveys found that the ship had settled below the sand.

15 December 1954 involved in the recovery of HMS/m Talent which was swept from No 3 dock at Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway when the Caisson gave way and onto a mud bank on the other side of the river. The submarine was in refit and four dockyard employees were killed.

17 June 1955 involved with RFA Kinbrace in the raising of HMS/m Sidon at Portland Harbour when twelve members of the crew and a Naval Doctor from HMS Maidstone were killed.

24 June 1955 HMS SIDON was raised and was beached close to the Chesil Beach Causeway to recover the 13 bodies aboard

17 November 1955 Captain W J Burling appointed as Master

4 December 1956 at Malta with RFA Samsonia alongside of her

6 December 1956 sailed Malta to Tobruk arriving 9 December 1956

10 November 1956 commissioned at Sheerness for service during Operation Musketeer - the Suez Crisis - and was  held in reserve at Tobruk

12 November 1956 sailed Chatham for Devonport

14 November 1956 arrived Devonport to embark water and stores

14 November 1956 sailed Devonport

17 November 1956 alongside at Porto de Liexoes, Portugal to discharge a member of the crew to hospital

19 November 1956 sailed Porto de Liexoes to Gibraltar

21 November 1956 arrived Gibraltar berthed alongside RFA Kinbrace alongside the South Mole

24 November 1956 sailed Gibraltar for Malta but was diverted to Algiers instead

27 November 1956 arrived Algiers, refueled and sailed again the same day for Tunis

29 November 1956 arrived Tunis and sailed again the same day to Malta

30 November 1956 arrived Malta moored alongside RFA Uplifter

6 December 1956 sailed for Tobruk where she was held in reserve

4 January 1957 sailed Tobruk for Tripoli, then Malta and finally U.K

5 February 1957 arrived back  in Devonport to pay off and to revert to RFA manning

7 February 1957 entered refit

2 March 1957 reverted to RFA manning

24 May 1957 Captain J W Boyes appointed as Master

4 December 1958 called to assist after the Liberian freighter Prodromos and the Greek owned ship King Minos were in collision in the English Channel about 12 miles from Dungeness the previous day

September 1959 placed in operational reserve at Pembroke Dock

July 1960 was reactivated for service at Dover with Captain J W Boyes reappointed as Master

22 September 1960 Mr J Smith-Bowers appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

10 November 1961 Captain C Anderson appointed as Master

December 1962 was sent to Chatham to raise the wreck of the tug TID 97 which had become girded and sank whilst assisting the berthing of RFA HEBE

July 1966 at Dover where she replaced Airmoor II as range vessel

19 August 1966 Registry closed and no longer listed as an RFA

February 1967 paid off at Plymouth and laid up

July 1967 nine week refit at Portsmouth

14 March 1968 to 12 June 1968 limited refit at Portsmouth

12 June 1968 allocated to the PAS at Portsmouth

March 1971 to July 1971 in refit at Portsmouth

4 March 1972 a SRN6 Hovercraft overturned while approaching Southsea beach. Towed into Portsmouth Harbour where it sank. Swin used to recover the Hovercraft.

February 1973 on the Disposal List Portsmouth

14 June 1973 offered for sale 'as lying' at Portsmouth Dockyard in the Times of this day

August 1973  sold for £26,500 to Salvage and Cable Ltd Folkstone

1974 resold to East Anglian Electrics Group, Panama and renamed FRANCIS A HOLMES and was modified for cable laying duties

3 August 1975 extensively damaged by  explosion and fire in the Mediterranean and was laid up at Zueitina in Libya

16 January 1976 Broke adrift from her moorings, went aground on passage to the breakers and subsequently broke up

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

 

Was managed by Risdon Beazeley Ltd, Southampton during WW2