SS Brussels
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = SS Brussels (Our Generation, 1938).jpg | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship name =*SS Brussels (1902–16)
| Ship owner =*Great Eastern Railway (1902–16)
| Ship operator =*Great Eastern Railway (1902–16)
| Ship registry =*{{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|civil}} Harwich (1902–16)
| Ship route =*Harwich–Antwerp (1902–16)
| Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Gourlay Brothers, Dundee | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = 202 | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 26 March 1902{{cite news |author= |title=Important Launch at Dundee. |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000576/19020326/018/0004 |newspaper=Aberdeen Journal |location=Aberdeen |date=26 March 1902 |access-date=11 November 2015|via = British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} | Ship completed = May 1902 | Ship christened = | Ship acquired = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = May 1902 | Ship out of service = 1918–20 | Ship identification = UK Official Number 109884 (1902–16, 1921–29) | Ship fate = Scrapped 1929 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = | Ship tonnage = {{GRT|1,380}} | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|285|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|34|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship draft = | Ship depth = {{convert|15|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on}} | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship sail plan = | Ship power = Two triple-expansion steam engines | Ship propulsion = Twin screws | Ship speed = {{convert|16.5|kn|km/h}} | Ship capacity = | Ship crew = | Ship notes = }} |
File:SS Brussels Zeebrugge Raid.jpg
Brussels was a passenger ferry built in 1902 for the British Great Eastern Railway. In 1915, she tried to ram {{SMU|U-33|Germany|2}}. The ship was captured by Germany in 1916 and her captain, Charles Fryatt was executed after the Germans discovered his attempted ramming. Brussels was renamed Brugge and used as a depôt ship at Zeebrugge.
In October 1918, Brugge was scuttled by the Germans when they evacuated the port. The ship was raised by the Belgian government and presented to the Admiralty in 1920. She was repaired and later renamed Lady Brussels. She was employed as an Irish Sea ferry, serving until scrapped in 1929.
Construction and design
Brussels was a {{GRT|1380|link=off}} passenger ferry. She was built by Gourlay Brothers, Dundee, as yard number 202. She was {{convert|285|ft|m|2}} long, with a beam of {{convert|34|ft|m|2}} and a depth of {{convert|15|ft|6|in|m|2}}. Her two triple expansion steam engines gave a service speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|km/h}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.southernlife.org.uk/fryatt.htm |title=Charles Fryatt |publisher=Southern Life |access-date=4 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006185254/http://southernlife.org.uk/fryatt.htm |archive-date=6 October 2008 |df=dmy-all }}
Brussels was launched on 26 March 1902 and completed in May.{{csr|register=MSI|id=1109884|accessdate=4 December 2009}} Her Official Number was 109884 and her port of registry was Harwich.
Service history
Brussels was used on the Harwich – Hook of Holland route. During the First World War, her captain, Fryatt, was twice recognised for his actions. On 3 March 1915,{{cite web|url=http://www.roll-of-honour.com/London/LiverpoolStreetFryatt.html |title=LIVERPOOL STREET STATION, CHARLES ALGERNON FRYATT MEMORIAL |publisher=Roll of Honour |access-date=4 December 2009}} he evaded a German U-boat for which he was awarded a gold watch by the Great Eastern Railway. On 28 March 1915, Brussels was ordered to stop by U-33 when she was near the Maas Lightship, but Fryatt attempted to ram the U-boat, which was forced to crash dive. For this action, the Admiralty awarded him a gold watch. The First Officer and Chief Engineer also received gold watches from the Admiralty for this action.[http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/irs/irshome/features/readings/readings.htm#EX02 The Great Eastern Railway Magazine, September 1920, p 218–26]
On 23 June 1916, Brussels was captured by the German torpedo boats G101 and G102. Fryatt was interned at Zeebrugge where he was arrested after engravings on his watches revealed his previous actions. Fryatt was tried and executed on 27 July 1916. Brussels was taken over by the Kaiserliche Marine and renamed Brugge, serving as a depôt ship at Zeebrugge. Her port of registry was nominally Berlin. On 23 April 1918, the Zeebrugge Raid took place, and the ship was torpedoed several times by the British, but did not sink.{{cite book |title=The Zeebrugge Raid |last=Kendall |pages=135–136 }} Brugge was scuttled by the Germans on 28 October 1918NARA roll 225 Pic 600 when they evacuated Zeebrugge.{{cite book |title=The Zeebrugge Raid |last=Kendall |page=256 }}
In 1918, Brugge was claimed by the Belgian government as a war prize. On 26 April 1920, she was presented to Britain. On 17 May, Brugge left Antwerp assisted by three tugs on a three-day journey to South Shields.[http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/irs/irshome/features/readings/readings.htm#EX09 The Great Eastern Magazine, June 1920, p102] Brugge was taken to a Henry Robb's shipyard at Leith to be repaired.{{cite book |title=April Folly|last=Wilson |first=A.|page=5 }} She was sold by auction in 1920 for £2,700 to J Gale & Co. She was operated by the Dublin & Lancashire Steamship Company, which was later taken over by the British & Irish Steam Packet Company. Her port of registry was Dublin. Brugge was renamed Lady Brussels in 1922. She was used on the Preston – Dublin route, serving until 1929. In May 1929 she was scrapped by Smith & Co, Port Glasgow. In 1920, the {{convert|10317|ft|m}} high Brussels Peak in Canada ({{coord|51|31|00|N|117|49|20|W}}) was named in honour of the ship.{{cite peakfinder|id=176|name=Brussels Peak|access-date=10 December 2009}}
A ship's bell, which had been installed in the ship during her repairs in 1920/21, was acquired by Harwich Borough Council at put on display in Harwich Guildhall in April 1950.{{cite web|url=https://www.harwich-history.co.uk/captain-fryatt/|title=Captain Charles Algernon Fryatt|publisher=A Brief History of Harwich|first=Philip|last= Cone|access-date=4 September 2023}}
Footnotes
{{Reflist|2}}
References
- {{cite book |title=The Zeebrugge Raid 1918: 'The Finest feat of Arms' |last=Kendall |first=Paul |year=2009 |publisher=Spellmount |location=Brimscombe Port |isbn=978-0-7524-5332-3}}
- {{cite book |title=April Folly|last=Wilson|first=A.|year=1948|location=Leith }}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Brussels (ship, 1902)}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20111002121112/http://www.photoship.co.uk/JAlbum%20Ships/Old%20Ships%20L/slides/Lady%20Brussels-03.html Photo of SS Lady Brussels]
{{GER Ships}}
{{June 1916 shipwrecks}}
{{April 1918 shipwrecks}}
{{October 1918 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brussels}}
Category:Ships built in Dundee
Category:Ships of the Great Eastern Railway
Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom
Category:Ferries of the United Kingdom
Category:World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Maritime incidents in 1915
Category:World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea
Category:Maritime incidents in 1916
Category:Maritime incidents in 1918
Category:Steamships of the Republic of Ireland
Category:Ferries of the Republic of Ireland
Category:Ships of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company