by Ian Dear
Wandy, ss here
War Shipping Administration, US here
War Transport, Ministry of here, here, here, here, here, here
Warden here
Warspite, hms here
Wason, Capt. C. rn here
Watchlin, Lt-Cdr A. rnr here
Watermeyer (ex-TH Watermeyer) here, here
Watson, G. here
Wave King, rfa here–here, here, here
Weazel here
Weltevreden, Capt. B. here, here
Western Approaches here, here
Western Desert Campaign here
Western Rescue Tug Base, Newfoundland here
Weyburn, hmcs here, here
WHALES here, here, here, here, here, here
Whitefriars, hms here
Whittle, Sub-Lt (E) G. rnvr here
Wilde, O. here
William M. Stuart, uss here
Williams, J. here, here, here
Williams, R. here
Wilson, President Woodrow here, here
Winn, G. here, here, here
Witte Zee here, here, here
Wivern, hms here, here
Women’s Royal Naval Service here
Woodpecker, hms here, here, here
Woonda here
Wynne, D. here
Yukon, ss here
Zaree here, here–here
Zimmerman telegram here
Zwarte Zee here, here–here, here, here, here, here
List of Illustrations
First section:
1. Sketch of Zaree
2. Great City beached at St Mary’s
3. Roysterer towing torpedoed destroyer
4. HMS Minona , the rescue tugs’ base ship at Campbeltown
5. The remains of SS Imperial Transport
6. Admiralty Floating Dock under tow of Superman
7. Publicity photograph of 18-inch towrope
8. Freebooter ’s towing winch
9. Jaunty steaming towards the sinking HMS Eagle
10. A stamp issued in Malta to commemorate the PEDESTAL convoy
11. St Day off Gibraltar where she was based during the Second World War
12. Newfoundlander Charlie Ghent who served aboard St Day
13. Salvonia
14. Nimble
15. Masterful
16. US Liberty ship, Flora MacDonald, under tow of Dutch rescue tug Zwarte Zee
17. The Commanding Officer of Prosperous handing out lucky heather to his crew
18. Cdr EG Martin OBE RNVR
19. Lt-Cdr O Jones RNR with his OBE
20. Lt ‘Robbie’ Robinson RNVR
21. Destiny ’s football team at Gibraltar
Second section:
22. Dutch motorship Madoera in St John’s after being torpedoed, February 1943
23. The torpedo hole in Madoera ’s forefoot
24. The damage to the British tanker G.S. Walden after being torpedoed, August 1942
25. The Bustler Class Growler
26. Growler ’s mascot was a dog called Pluto
27. The remains of the American tanker, Brilliant , being evacuated
28. Tenacity approaching the US Coast Guard cutter Campbell
29. The last hours of SS Neptune , March 1943
30. Tenacity fighting an oil fire at St John’s, June 1944
31. Liberty ship Empire Treasure adrift in mid-Atlantic, January 1944
32. Empire Treasure under tow in storm force 10 winds
33. Destiny at St John’s, November 1942
34. ‘Tug’ Wilson manning an Oerlikon
35. Two of Mindful ’s officers, Sub -Lt Crawford and Sub-Lt (E) MacDonald (left)
36. Able Seaman Len Reed
37. Lt-Cdr R.E. Sanders MBE RNR
38. Sub-Lt (E) Stanley Butler RNVR
39. Conundrum used to lay fuel pipelines (PLUTO) to France
40. Rescue tugs’ assembly area off Lee-on-Solent prior to the Normandy Landings, June 1944
Plates
Sketch by E.G. Martin of Zaree (courtesy Martin family)
Great City after being beached at St Mary’s, Scilly Isles, by rescue tugs, June 1917. Her cargo proved lethal (courtesy Isles of Scilly Museum)
Roysterer, one of the First World War Resolve Class rescue tugs retained by the Admiralty. She is seen here towing HMS Eridge into Alexandria after the Hunt Class destroyer was torpedoed, August 1942 (IWM)
HMS Minona. She was used for officers’ accommodation and as the Rescue Tugs’ base ship at Campbeltown
Harbour tugs taking the remains of SS Imperial Transport to the Clyde after a torpedo had broken her in two, February 1940. The aft part was brought to Kilchattan Bay, Isle of Bute, by Buccaneer (courtesy Bute Museum)
The crew of Superman watching their tow, an Admiralty Floating Dock (AFD), September 1941 (courtesy Joanna Barron)
Heave Ho! This publicity photograph shows the massive size of the 18-inch towrope compared to the arms of those hauling it in
The more modern rescue tugs had towing winches. This one belonged to Freebooter
The rescue tug, Jaunty, steaming full speed towards the sinking aircraft carrier, HMS Eagle, during Operation PEDASTAL, August 1942. She rescued over 200 survivors (IWM). Inset: A Malta stamp issued to commemorate PEDASTAL’S 70th anniversary
St Day, one of the First World War Saint Class to operate, 1939–45. She was stationed at Gibraltar. Inset: Charlie Ghent served aboard St Day, one of 215 Newfoundlanders to volunteer for the Rescue Tug Service (photos courtesy Charlie Ghent)
Salvonia, one of the Service’s most successful rescue tugs
Nimble, the only one of her class to operate during the war (IWM)
Masterful, a Lend-Lease Favorite Class rescue tug, She undertook an epic tow off the African coast
The Dutch rescue tug Zwarte Zee towing Flora MacDonald into Freetown after the Liberty ship had been torpedoed in the Atlantic, May 1943. Her valuable cargo was saved but she continued to burn for several weeks and became a constructive total loss (IWM)
Lt JEL Brice MBE RNR, commanding Prosperous, distributing sprigs of lucky heather to celebrate her fi rst anniversary of commissioning, November 1943. She had just returned to port unharmed after three days of constant air attacks (IWM)
Cdr EG Martin RNVR. He did much to develop the Rescue Tug Service, 1917-18, and ran the rescue tug base at Campbeltown, 1941-44 (courtesy Martin family)
Lt-Cdr Owen Jones RNR wearing the OBE he was awarded after his rescue tug, Seaman downed a German Condor bomber, April 1941 (courtesy Hutton Press)
Lt ‘Robbie’ Robinson RNVR was in charge of training the T.124T recruits at Campbeltown
Destiny’s football team, Gibraltar, May 1943 (courtesy Peter Sanders)
When convoy ON-166 was attacked by two U-boat wolf-packs, February 1943, one of the casualties was the 9382-ton Dutch motorship Madoera, but she managed to reach St John’s a week later. Inset: The hole in Madoera’s forefoot was used as a short cut by local boats while she awaited repairs at St John’s (courtesy Downhome magazine, St John’s, Newfoundland)
The hole blown in the 10,627-ton British tanker, G.S. Walden, after a U-boat wolf pack attacked convoy ON-115 about 300 miles from St John’s, August 1942. Despite the extent of her damage, Tenacity brought her safely into harbour
Growler, one of the eight British built Bustler Class rescue tugs. From 1943 some of them were part of the escort groups that guarded Atlantic convoys (IWM)
Petty Officer Harry Bonser (right) and Leading Stoker Mick O’Hara with Growler’s mascot, Pluto, which had been found injured on the Normandy beaches (IWM)
Frisky was towing the torpedoed SS Brilliant, to Sydney, Cape Breton, when the US tanker broke up in a bad storm, January 1943. The stern half, and 33 men, was adrift for some days before Frisky found it. Seen here are the men abandoning the wreck, which Frisky then sank with gunfire
Tenacity approaching the US Coast Guard cutter, Campbell, badly damaged after ramming a U-boat, February 1943.
Photo from Leonard Martin, navigator Tenacity
The last hours of SS Neptune before she sank near St John’s, Newfoundland, March 1943. This photograph was taken by Adolph Wiseman, a crew member of Tenacity, which was trying to tow her to safety
Tenacity fighting an oil fire in St. John’s, Newfoundland, June 1944, which was threatening to raze part of the port
The 7022-ton Liberty Ship Empire Treasure dropped out of Convoy ON-219 when her stern frame fractured in heavy Atlantic weather, January 1944. She lost her propeller and it took HMRT Bustler a week to tow her to the safety of Barry Docks, South Wales (courtesy Peter Sanders)
Empire Treasure sheering badly while under tow in storm force 10 winds (courtesy Peter Sanders)
Destiny at St John’s, Newfoundland, November 1942 (courtesy Peter Sanders)
‘Tug’ Wilson manning one of Destiny’s Oerlikons (courtesy John Wilson)
Despite darkness and high seas Mindful’s First Lieutenant, Sub-Lt Ian Crawford RNVR (right) and Sub-Lt (E) G MacDonald RNVR, dived overboard repeatedly to rescue US servicemen after the troopship Rohna sank with heavy loss of life in the Mediterranean, November 1943 (IWM)
This photograph of Able Seaman Len Reed was taken in Perth, Western Australia, January 1945, while serving aboard the rescue tug Integrity (courtesy Len Reed)
Lt-Cdr RE Sanders MBE RNR, one of the Service’s most outstanding officers. Among his commands were St Mellons, Destiny, and Bustler (Courtesy Peter Sanders)
Sub-Lt Stanley Butler RNVR, was a Rescue Tug Service engineer officer throughout the war (courtesy Peter Butler)
A rescue tug, probably Bustler, towing a conundrum used to lay the fuel pipeline PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean) to Cherbourg after the Normandy Landings, June 1944. Another member of the team was Marauder and, seen here on the right, the smaller Danube V (courtesy Peter Sanders)
An aerial view of the assembly area off Lee-on-Solent for tugs towing parts of the MULBERRY harbours to the Normandy beaches. By the plane’s wing tip is the tugs’ depot ship, Aorangi (IWM)
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First published 2016
© Ian Dear
Ian Dear has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
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ISBN: HB: 978-1-8448-6401-0
ePDF: 978-1-8448-6403-4
ePub: 978-1-8448-6402-7
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