 Roulers in the 1920s | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | |
| Owner |
|
| Operator | 1915: Royal Navy |
| Port of registry |  Harwich |
| Route |
|
| Builder | Earle's Shipbuilding,Hull |
| Yard number | 387 |
| Launched | 18 July 1894 |
| Completed | October 1894 |
| Commissioned | into Royal Navy, January 1915 |
| Decommissioned | from Royal Navy, August 1919 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | scrapped, 1930 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | North Seaferry |
| Tonnage | 1,753 GRT, 550 NRT |
| Length | 302.4 ft (92.2 m) |
| Beam | 36.0 ft (11.0 m) |
| Depth | 16.2 ft (4.9 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 2 ×triple-expansion engines; 447NHP |
| Propulsion | 2 ×screws |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Capacity | Passengers: 218 × 1st class; 120 × 2nd class |
| Sensors & processing systems | submarine signalling |
| Notes | sister ships:Berlin,Amsterdam |
SSVienna was aUKNorth Seaferry. She was built in England in 1894 for theGreat Eastern Railway (GER). In theFirst World War she was at first anaccommodation ship, then theQ-shipAntwerp, and finally thearmed boarding steamerHMSVienna. She was returned to the GER in 1919, and renamedRoulers in 1920. In therailway grouping of 1923 she became part of theLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER) fleet. She was scrapped in England in 1930.
She was the first of two railway-ownedHarwich-based ferries to be named after the Austrian capitalVienna. The secondVienna was built in 1929, and scrapped in 1960.
In 1894,Earle's Shipbuilding ofKingston upon Hull built threesister ships for the GER. Yard number 379 was launched on 10 January asBerlin. Yard number 380 was launched on 24 January asAmsterdam.[1] Yard number 387 was launched on 18 July by Lady Seager Hunt, wife ofSir Frederick Seager Hunt, Bart, Chairman of Earle's Shipbuilding, asVienna.[2] The ship was completed that October.[3]
Vienna's registered length was 302.4 ft (92.2 m), herbeam was 36.0 ft (11.0 m), and her depth was 16.2 ft (4.9 m).[4] For overnight crossings of the North Sea she had berths for 338 passengers: 218 in first class, and 120 in second class.[3] Hertonnages were 1,753 GRT and 550 NRT. She had twinscrews, each driven by a three-cylindertriple-expansion engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 447NHP,[4] and gave her a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h).[3]
The GERregisteredVienna at Harwich. Her UKofficial number was 99457, and hercode letters were NMRV.[5] She entered service on the GER's route linking Harwich and theHook of Holland.[3] ThePostmaster General awarded her a mail contract in 1898.[6]
In 1910, the GER transferredVienna to its route linking Harwich andAntwerp.[3] By 1911, she was equipped withsubmarine signalling andwireless telegraphy.[7] By 1913, her wirelesscall sign was PQV.[8]
After the First World War began in August 1914,Vienna was used as an accommodation ship. Then, in January 1915, theAdmiralty requisitioned her, and had her converted into the Q-shipAntwerp, designed to lure enemyU-boats. In April 1915 she was converted into an armed boarding steamer, and commissioned as HMSVienna. She was not returned to her owners until August 1919, about nine months after theArmistice.[3]
In 1920, the GER renamed the shipRoulers,[9] which is the French name for the Flemish town ofRoeselare inWest Flanders. The GER transferred her to its route linking Harwich withZeebrugge.[3] In 1923, the GER became part of the new LNER, andRoulers became part of the LNER's shipping fleet.[10]
In 1930,Roulers wasscrapped atBlyth, Northumberland.[3]
