PS Duchess of Fife (1903)
{{other ships|PS Duchess of Fife|HMS Duchess}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{use British English|date=November 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
| infobox caption = | display title = }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = P.S. Duchess of Fife - geograph.org.uk - 323710.jpg | Ship image size = 200px | Ship caption = A mosaic of the Duchess of Fife in a Greenock underpass }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship flag = | Ship name = {{ubl| PS Duchess of Fife (1903–1953) | HMS Duchess (1916–1919) | HMS Duchess of Fife (1939–1945) }} | Ship owner = {{ubl| Caledonian Steam Packet Company }} | Ship operator = {{ubl| {{Flag icon|UK|civil}} Caledonian Steam Packet Company (1903–1953) | {{navy|UK}} (1916–1919) | {{navy|UK}} (1939–1945) }} | Ship registry = | Ship route = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = {{ubl| Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Glasgow }} | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = 432 | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 9 May 1903 | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship identification = | Ship honours = Dunkirk 1940 | Ship fate = Scrapped, 15 September 1953 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = | Ship type = Paddle steamer | Ship tonnage = {{GRT|336|disp=|link=}} | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|213.3|ft|m}} | Ship beam = | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship draft = | Ship depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = | Ship propulsion = Triple expansion diagonal | Ship sail plan = | Ship speed = 17 knots | Ship capacity = | Ship crew = | Ship notes = }} |
PS Duchess of Fife was a paddle steamer built in 1903 for the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. She spent most of her career serving passenger routes in the Firth of Clyde and was requisitioned for use as a minesweeper during both World Wars. In 1940 she took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, rescuing a total of 1,633 allied troops.
She was sold for scrapping in September 1953 after 50 years of service.
Construction
Duchess of Fife was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan, Glasgow, as Yard Number 432 and was launched on 9 May 1903.{{Cite web|title=Paddle Steamer DUCHESS OF FIFE|url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=6405|publisher=The Caledonian Maritime Research Trust|accessdate=30 September 2017}} The design of her machinery was similar to that of her sister ship in the Caledonian Steam Packet Company, {{PS|Duchess of Montrose}}.Deayton, Alistair (2014) The Caledonian Steam Packet Company: An Illustrated History, Amberley Publishing: Stroud, UK {{ISBN|978-1-4456-3920-8}}
Service history
Duchess of Fife began her passenger service on the Gourock to Dunoon and Rothesay routes. In May 1916 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to a minesweeper for the remainder of World War I with her name shortened to HMS Duchess, and was allocated the pendant number PP533, where she served in the North Sea.{{Cite web|title=Minesweepers & Trawlers – World War 1|url=http://www.harwichanddovercourt.co.uk/warships/minesweepers-2|publisher=Harwich & Dovercourt – A time gone by|accessdate=30 September 2017}} She was returned to her owner in April 1919 and from 1937 she undertook sailings from Wemyss Bay to Millport and Kilchattan Bay.
She was requisitioned once again in 1939 upon the outbreak of World War II, this time retaining her full name as HMS Duchess of Fife, pendant number J115.{{Cite web|title=Duchess 1903 HMS – Auxiliary Paddle Minesweeper|url=http://forums.clydemaritime.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=9953|publisher=ClydeMaritime|accessdate=30 September 2017|archive-date=14 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114041044/http://forums.clydemaritime.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=9953|url-status=dead}} She was part of the 12th Minesweeping Flotilla, based at Harwich.
Duchess of Fife took part in "Operation Dynamo", the Dunkirk evacuation, while under the command of Temporary Lieutenant J N Anderson of the Royal Naval Reserve.Gardner, W. J. R. (2000), The Evacuation from Dunkirk: 'Operation Dynamo', 26 May – 4 June 1940, Frank Class Publishers: London, UK. {{ISBN|0-7146-8150-4}} From 28 May, she undertook four crossings between Dunkirk and Ramsgate rescuing a total of 1,633 allied troops.Winser, John de S. (1999). B.E.F. Ships before, at and after Dunkirk, World Ship Society: Gravesend, UK. {{ISBN|0-905617-91-6}} Her final crossing was on 3 June with 300 French troops. She was later awarded a Royal Navy battle honour for her part in the operation.Warlow, Ben, Lt. Cdr., Royal Navy (2004) Battle Honours of the Royal Navy, Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK; {{ISBN|1-904459-05-6}} Later that year, Fife was transferred from Harwich to Kingston upon Hull, and from there went to the School of Minesweeping as a training ship at HMS Lochinvar in Port Edgar on the Firth of Forth.{{cite book |last=Plummer |first=Russell |date=1995 |title=Paddle Steamers at War 1939-1945 |location=Peterborough, England |publisher=GMS Enterprises |pages=21–22 |isbn=1-870384-39-3 }}
She was refurbished by James Lamont & Co, Greenock, in 1945 and returned to civilian service. The last sailing of Duchess of Fife was on 6 June 1953, and she was sold for scrapping in September 1953 to Smith & Houston Ltd, Port Glasgow.
References
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Category:1903 establishments in Scotland
Category:1953 disestablishments in Scotland
Category:Little Ships of Dunkirk
Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Minesweepers of the United Kingdom