Miscellaneous Ship Histories

Duke of York

 

Duke of York  was launched in 1935 as a ferry but had a long and interesting service history. During the war she served as a LSI and troopship, returned to ferry duties after repairs and reconfiguration with one funnel, survived having her bows sliced off in an accident and spent many years on passenger cruises. She was finally broken up in 1975 giving her a service life of 40 years. There is further information about some of her voyages on the Recollections section of the Benjidog website HERE.

Service Pre-WW2

 

The Duke of York was built for the London Midland and Scottish railways and used for the Heysham to Belfast ferry route from the time she was brought into service in 1935.

 

Participation in WW2

 

In 1942 Juke of York was requisitioned for war service and her name was changed to HMS Duke of Wellington as there was already an HMS Duke of York in service. She was converted for use as a Troopship/Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) vessel.

 

Operation Jubilee

 

HMS Duke of Wellington was one of the LSIs that took part in Operation Jubilee - the abortive raid on Dieppe on 19th August 1942. She was assigned to the landing at Blue beach which was at Puits to the east of Dieppe according to Ext. Ref. 30. She had embarked the Black Watch of Canada at Southampton.

 

HMS Duke of Wellington claimed to have shot down a Ju88 with a Lewis gun and the port wing was described as having been shot off. The gunner, AB N. Mitchinson, was Mentioned in Dispatches as a result.

 

The assault started at 05:00 but a decision was made to retreat by 09:00.

 

The failed operation involved 6,086 allied forces:

 

· Canadian losses were 907 dead, 2,462 captured

· UK losses were 189 dead, 269 Missing in Action,39 wounded, and 17 captured

· US losses were 3 dead

 

German casualties were relatively light with 311 dead and 280 wounded

 

The report on the operation by the naval force commander J. Hughes-Hallett, produced shortly after the raid was published after the war in Ext. Ref. 31 and can be read online. There are a very large number of books and websites covering this operation so this is not covered further here.

 

HMS Duke of Wellington is known to have taken part in the Normandy landings of 1944 and transported a large number of troops. One account described the decks of the ship as "heaving with hundreds of assault infantryman, made up of Canadian troops and soldiers from the Royal Wiltshire Regiment”.

 

Apart from this, no other information is currently to hand regarding her service following Operation Jubilee until towards the end of the war when she was serving as a troopship taking passengers between Tilbury and Ostend. An account of this latter period provided by Stan Mayes who served on her at this time can be found in the Recollections section of the Benjidog website Here.

Image 1

Basic Data: Duke of York

Type: Passenger ship

Registered owners, managers and operators:

                 London Midland & Scottish Railway

Builders: Harland & Wolff                   

Yard: Belfast

Country: UK

Yard number: 951

Registry: London

Official number: 128318

Signal letters: N/K

Call sign: GYKV

Classification society: N/K

Gross tonnage: 3,743 tons

Net tonnage: N/K

Deadweight: N/K

Length: 339.2 Ft

Breadth: 52.2 Ft

Depth: N/K

Draught: 17.9 Ft

Engines: 4 steam turbines SR geared to 2 SC shafts

Engine builders: Harland ~& Wolff

Works: Belfast

Country: UK

Boilers: N/K

Power: 502 NHP

Propulsion: Twin screw

Speed: 12 knots

Passenger capacity: N/K

Crew: N/K

Image 1 is from an old postcard of Duke of York - the date is not known but it is clearly pre-war as she has two funnels.

Image 2

Image 3

Scrapping

 

Fantasia was withdrawn in the mid-seventies and scrapped in Spain in 1975.

 

Images

 

1. Images #1 and #8 provided by Stan Mayes

2. All other images are facsimiles from The Times Online

Service Post WW2

 

Return to Ferry Duties

 

Following the end of war, the  Duke of York was returned to her owners and, after repairs and modifications, she emerged with a single funnel and restarted service on Harwich - Hook of Holland route.

 

Collision with Haiti Victory

 

On 6 May 1953 Duke of York was in collision with the American ship Haiti Victory.

Duke of York was struck on her port side forward of her bridge and cut in two -the bow section sank.

 

Contemporary accounts from The Times newspaper follow:

Looking at the extent of the damage it seems remarkable that the main section of the Duke of York did not sink as well as the bow. During repairs she was fitted with a raked stem.

Images 2 and 3 are a facsimile of The Times 7 May 1953 and provide the first report of the accident and a photo showing the damage to the ship.

Image 4 is a facsimile of The Times of 8 May 1953 and suggests that five people have died.

Image 4

Image 5 is a facsimile of The Times of 23 June 1953 and notes the discovery of another body in the wreckage taking the fatalities to 6.

Image 5

Image 6 is a facsimile of The Times of 5 January 1954 and reports that there will not be a Public Enquiry and the inquest on the victims will resume.

Image 6

Image 7 is a facsimile of The Times of 7 January 1954 and reports the finding of the Coroner that there was no evidence to apportion blame.

Image 7

Image 9 is a facsimile of newspaper advertisement for a cruise on Fantasia from The Times of 24 December 1965.

Image 9

Service as a Cruise Ship

 

In 1963, Duke of York was sold to Chandris Lines. First renamed to York, she and entered service in 1964 as the Fantasia. She ran mainly on cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean, with some winter charters to religious tour groups.

Image 8

Image 8 is a postcard showing the Duke of York with one funnel. The raked bows are apparent so this would have been taken after the repairs following the collision with Haiti Victory.