The ships were built on behalf of the Ministry of War Transport (MOWT). Four ships were built at Richard Dunston shipyard in Thorne and two more at John Harker in Knottingley . The type of ship was designed as a necklace for the coastal journey with coal from South Wales to the power station in Gloucester. The ships had a high forecastle , a low main deck and a raised poop, in which the crew was accommodated, as well as a wheelhouse arranged in front above the poop . The engine room was aft and a diesel engine served as the propulsion system . With a length of around 45 meters and a width of around 6.70 meters, the units had a load-bearing capacity of around 350 tons. All six units of the series were delivered in 1943 and were given names beginning with the term Empire .
In the post-war period, the ships served as coasters for various shipping companies and mainly transported various bulk goods . Two of the ships were converted into sand vacuums (small self-propelled suction dredgers for sand extraction).
The ships
Severn necklace type
Building name
Shipyard / construction number
delivery
Later names and whereabouts
Empire Laird
Dunston / -
1943
1947 Monkton Combe , 1950 Halronell , grounding at Black Rock off Carnsore ( St. George's Canal ) on October 22, 1961, then sunk at Rosslare Harbor
Empire Runner
Dunston / -
1943
Converted to the Sand Runner in 1947 , demolished in Southampton from July 1970
Empire Skipper
Dunston / -
1943
Converted to a sand vacuum cleaner in 1947, Sand Skipper , demolished in 1970 at T. Holden in Southampton
Empire Townsman
Dunston / -
1943
1947 Roselyne , 1953 Lantyan , 1964 Pen Arun
Empire rancher
Harker / -
1943
1947 Shelley , 1948 Normanby Hall , grounding at Tara Rocks before Strangford Lough on 16 October 1965, on October 18 at entrainment of Carrickfergus dropped
Empire Reaper
Harker / -
1943
1947 Browning , 1949 Moreton Corbet , 1953 Lerryn , converted to sand vacuum Port Adur in 1964 , 1969 Sand Wren , 1973 Margaret Smith , on June 28, 1978 on the journey to Cowes, the gravel load slipped, leapt and capsized, towed to Yarmouth and there in position 50 ° 42'90 "N; 001 ° 28'13" W sunk
Data:
literature
Mitchell, William H .; Sawyer, Leonard A .: Empire Ships of World War II . Sea Breezes, Liverpool 1965.
Individual evidence
^ A b C. V. Waine: Coppack & Co. in Marine News Vol. XXIII, No. 4, April 1969, pp. 115/116
