Southern Pride
 Southern Pride, after Royal Navy conversion.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Southern Pride, |
| Owner | Southern Whaling and Sealing Company, London (1936–1940), Admiralty (1940–44) |
| Builder | Smiths Dock Company |
| Launched | 1936 |
| In service | 1936–1944 |
| Fate | Wrecked near Freetown, 16 June 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 582 GRT |
| Length | 160 ft (49 m) |
| Installed power | Steam |
| Speed | 15.25 knots (28.24 km/h; 17.55 mph)[1] |
| Crew | 30 |
Southern Pride was a steam-powered whaler built by the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough in 1936.[2] She was the initial design inspiration for the Flower-class corvettes used to escort convoys in the North Atlantic in World War II.[3][4][5] The final design for the Flower class was significantly modified from that of Southern Pride factoring in things like ease of construction.[6]
After World War II began Southern Pride was requisitioned by the Royal Navy, and converted into a warship.[4] Her conversion took six weeks and cost 75,000 pounds. She was wrecked off Freetown in June 1944.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ McKay, John; Harland, John (1994). The flower class corvette Agassiz. Anatomy of the Ship. Naval Inst Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-55068-084-3.
- ^ Woodman, Richard (2005). The History of the Ship. Conway Maritime Press. p. 376. ISBN 978-1-84486-004-3.
- ^
Brian Lavery (2016). Churchill's Navy: The ships, people and organisation, 1939-1945. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 9781844863372.
About this time Mr William Reed of Smith's Docks came to see me. He enlarged upon the properties of the whale-catchers of the Southern Pride class built to the British Corporation's classification. It seemed to me that vessel with the characteristics of Southern Pride would meet the requirements outlined by Sir Roger Backhouse.
- ^ a b David Brown (2007). Atlantic Escorts: Ships, Weapons & Tactics in World War II. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781844157020.
- ^ "Southern Pride HMS (K 249)", wrecksite.eu
- ^ Harland, John (1991). "The Whaler and the Corvette". Warship: 201–204.
- ^ "Naval Losses: List Completed To May 8". The Times. 18 May 1945. Retrieved 7 February 2010.