calmac ferries cold war use...

bikedaft

bikedaft

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anyone noticed any of this stuff when on board?

"SECRET SHIPS

A hidden piece of history that a rare few will know about lies hidden in the three once western isles car ferries......

The Columba , Clansman and Hebrides were built for The Secretary of State for Scotland and bareboat chartered to David MacBrayne Ltd being registered at Leith until 1972 when it was changed to Glasgow. All three ships had very elaborate guillotine doors which closed off the main car deck aft of the hoist. Every external doorway and vent had a heavy duty water / air tight door even the galley garbage hatch had a heavy hatch which could be closed and dogged. On the prom deck as part of the engineers accom were two decontamination rooms which consisted of a heavy steel watertight door on the out side, elaborate shower equipment which would look more at home in Sellafield and a steel inner door giving access to the internal accommodation. The three 1964 sisters all had a "citadel" and "pre-wetting" system fitted. Basically all upper deck doors and other openings were fitted with gas tight seals and there was the facility to increase the air pressure inside the enclosed spaces when these openings were hermetically sealed to prevent the ingress of contamination (Nuclear, Biological or Chemical). Hence everyone inside the ship (in the Citadel) would be protected from fallout. The outside decks had a system of water pipes running all round the ship, with sprinklers. The idea was that if the ship sailed through an area of nuclear contamination the sprinklers would spray water all over the outside of the ship and wash away any contamination. Fortunately the systems were never put to the test for real. These ships were built to Government account at the height of the Cold War. There was a lot of speculation as to their use in times of hostilities but the instruction was that they would be given over to the Military Authorities. As for the Columba this equipment was kept up to standard until her sale to Hebridean Island Cruises.

Text Thanks To Colin Gillies, John Newth, Iain Robertson.

More on these ships:
COLUMBA
HEBRIDES
CLANSMAN"
 
I thought they were built strong as a result of the ferry that sunk; cant remember her name, scuppers were undersized and she flooded, Irish Sea I think.

However, it would not surprise me. I read that the Waverly has only survived this long as she was built to carry guns and to a heavier specification. Something about being a replacement, at Government expense, as the original ship was commandeered for WWI and lost due to hostilities.
 
bikedaft said:
http://www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk/ff_secret_ships.asp

anyone noticed any of this stuff when on board?
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Yes, the pre-wetting pipes and sprinklers were quite obvious on the upper decks once you noticed them. (Either that or they were planning on cultivating grass on the upper decks).

Once you noticed that it was quite easy to examine the arrangement of the accommodation doors which were just the same as a lot of warships. These ships were built in 1964, not long after the Cuban missile crisis, and nuclear war was a real anxiety then. They have long since been retired except for the Columba, which now sails as the luxury cruise ship Hebridean Princess, and has been chartered by the Queen a couple of times.

The story of the sinking of the Princess Victoria can be found here, http://www.searcher-na.co.uk/princess_victoria.htm but has little to do with the NBCD capabilities of the MacBrayne sisters.
 
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Gordonmc said:
Victoria?
She went down off Corsewall Point on a Stranraer - Belfast run.
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Princess Victoria. They thought they were going down off Corsewall Point, but were actually close to the Copeland Islands by the time they sank, significantly delaying the rescue efforts. Still, 58 years on, a deeply painful memory in both Stranraer and Larne - 133 people died.

The last message sent by David Broadfoot, the radio operator, was an apology for the poor quality of his morse - the ship was listing at 45 degrees. He went down with the ship, transmitting till the last, and was awarded the George Cross.
 
A bit of Fred Drift - sorry!
We (RNAS Eglinton) commandered the Princess Victoria as a leave vessel in 1950, with about a dozen RAF airmen from Ballykelly. I was part of the leave patrol - no I was not Regulating Staff. This was a device to get one or two National Service ratings home on a duty warrant as we had all had our allotted no. of leave travel warrants, unfortunately the Officer i/c a rather officious ATC Officer took his duties too seriously, he had us fall in 2000+ ratings 'three thick' on both Larne and Stranraer stations - he looked everywhere for his patrol on the return journey. Normally as I worked in the Captain's Office I could wangle my leave warrants via Belfast/Liverpool with a cabin and a goodnight's sleep. We were in the restaurant, which was full; as soon as we left Larne Lough the restaurant emptied of all the ' jolly jacks' leaving about half a dozen of us to consume limitless mixed grills.
The Princess Victoria went down at the same time as the East Coast floods and at the time I was back aboard Defiance at Devonport, as I was still on Reserve. It was not the news event the Zebrugge disaster was, but it was overshadowed by the East Coast disaster. I suppose we were still innured to disaster as the War was not that distant. Apparently things might have been handled differently, but some amazing acts of gallantry.
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
However, it would not surprise me. I read that the Waverly has only survived this long as she was built to carry guns and to a heavier specification. Something about being a replacement, at Government expense, as the original ship was commandeered for WWI and lost due to hostilities.
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Had not heard that one about Waverley. The present Waverley was launched 2nd Oct 1946, for London And North Eastern Railway's Clyde service. She replaced another paddler of the same name built 1899, and lost at Dunkerque. She remained in service on the Clyde until 1973.
 
Ubergeekian said:
Princess Victoria. They thought they were going down off Corsewall Point, but were actually close to the Copeland Islands by the time they sank, significantly delaying the rescue efforts. Still, 58 years on, a deeply painful memory in both Stranraer and Larne - 133 people died.

The last message sent by David Broadfoot, the radio operator, was an apology for the poor quality of his morse - the ship was listing at 45 degrees. He went down with the ship, transmitting till the last, and was awarded the George Cross.
Click to expand...


thanks for the replies. even keener to look round Hebridean Princess now.

fred drift - the thing that always struck me about the victoria was that the main cause of the sinking was water entering stern doors, and flooding a deck that ran the whole length of the ship with no watertight bulkheads. and that we still use this inherently unsafe (if quicker to operate) design today. ok they check the doors are shut before leaving port now (duh) and some have extra doors within the bow and stern, but still...
 
oldharry said:
Had not heard that one about Waverley. ........ She remained in service on the Clyde until 1973.
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On a quiert day as you enter the narrows at the Burnt Islands you can sometimes hear the ghostly sound of paddles chunking towards you. And if you do, you better get out the way 'cos the last sea-going paddle steamer disnae take prisoners
 
awol said:
On a quiert day as you enter the narrows at the Burnt Islands you can sometimes hear the ghostly sound of paddles chunking towards you. And if you do, you better get out the way 'cos the last sea-going paddle steamer disnae take prisoners
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Though she did nearly succomb to a Mk 24 torpedo in Loch Long shortly BEFORE I became a trials officer on the team.
 
awol said:
On a quiert day as you enter the narrows at the Burnt Islands you can sometimes hear the ghostly sound of paddles chunking towards you. And if you do, you better get out the way 'cos the last sea-going paddle steamer disnae take prisoners
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I'll second that... we met her off Ardlamont coming down lower Loch Fyne - she was in a rush to go somewhere, and not about to be distracted by anything with sails.

We tacked and got well out he way ;)

As an aside, my grandfather & great uncle were at Scapa with their puffers in WW2 doing the "victualling" of naval craft. Coaling, food, you name it, but they were also asked to carry torpedos out to ships at anchor. Not the most popular cargo. (it took years to figure out what the bits & pieces in my great uncle's shed were - why he still had them I've no idea)

I don't do the narrows at the Burnt Isles - just zig-zag down the Bute side :D
 
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Waverley Strength of Build Was For Admiralty

oldharry said:
Had not heard that one about Waverley. The present Waverley was launched 2nd Oct 1946, for London And North Eastern Railway's Clyde service. She replaced another paddler of the same name built 1899, and lost at Dunkerque. She remained in service on the Clyde until 1973.
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Her survival was attributed to her heavier than normal post World War II construction which had included provision for minesweeping gear and a deck gun in case she was ever requisitioned by the Admiralty for use in a future conflict.
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You can read about it here in the correct context http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_Waverley

My recollection on the original's demise is wrong, thanks for the correction.
 
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