Type PF (B)

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The standard ships of type PF (B) belong to the group of Empire ships . They were built in British shipyards during World War II .

details

Against the background of the initially successful German submarine war of World War II, there was a shortage of cargo space on the British side. The British government switched the construction of ships in the UK shipbuilding industry to the construction of standard ships soon after the start of the war . The first general cargo ships built in series were the types "X" and "Y". After the type "Y" had served as the basis for the development of the Ocean type in the course of the British Merchant Shipbuilding Mission in 1940 , plans for the first successor type PF (A) emerged in the same year, which, unlike at the time, developed from prepared sections should (the PF stands for pre fabricated ). In the wake of the defeat of France, however, some shipyards that should have built this type were otherwise claimed. In addition, the transport of the planned heavy sections turned out to be a problem for the smaller shipyards, which led to a further revision of the plans and the draft of the type PF (B).

The draft of the TY PF (B) was based on the consequent simplification of the “Y” type, which was based on the British tramp ships that were common at the time and had a carrying capacity of around 10,000 tons. For example, the hull of the PF (B) no longer had a crack, just a kink in the foredeck and stern area. The superstructures of the ships were arranged amidships and divided in the middle by a hold . The bridge superstructure was in front of the hatch, the engine room behind it. The ships were equipped with a three-cylinder steam engine as a propulsion system.

The types PF (C) and PF (D) were later developed from the type PF (B) .

literature

  • Mitchell, WH; Sawyer, LA: Empire Ships of World War II . Sea Breezes, Liverpool 1965.
  • English war-standard cargo ships in: Die Seekiste 8/1951, p. 266/67