TSS The Queen
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin |display title=TSS The Queen}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image = The Steam Turbine, 1911 - Fig 40 - The Queen.png |Ship caption = Drawing of The Queen }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header = |Ship country = United Kingdom |Ship name = The Queen |Ship owner = South Eastern and Chatham Railway |Ship operator = |Ship registry = {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} London |Ship route =*Dover – Calais (1903–07)
|Ship ordered = |Ship builder = Wm Denny & Bros, Dumbarton |Ship original cost = |Ship yard number = 682 |Ship laid down = |Ship launched = 4 April 1903 |Ship completed = June 1903 |Ship maiden voyage = 27 June 1903 |Ship in service = |Ship out of service = |Ship identification = *UK official number 118293
|Ship fate = Sunk by torpedo, 26 October 1916 |Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header = |Header caption = |Ship class = |Ship tonnage = {{GRT|1676}}, {{NRT|695}} |Ship displacement = |Ship length = {{cvt|309.9|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship beam = {{cvt|40.0|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship height = |Ship draught = |Ship depth = {{cvt|15.7|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship decks = |Ship deck clearance = |Ship power = 800 RHP |Ship propulsion = *3 × screws
|Ship speed = {{convert|21|kn|km/h}} |Ship capacity = |Ship crew = |Ship notes = }} |
The Queen was an English Channel passenger ferry that was built in 1903 and sunk in 1916. She was the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR)'s first steam turbine ship.
In 1908 The Queen was damaged in a collision with another SECR ferry. Early in the First World War she was a troop ship. In 1916 she was captured by one German destroyer and then sunk by another.
Building
William Denny and Brothers built The Queen at Dumbarton as yard number 682. She was launched on 4 April 1903 and completed that June.{{cite web |url= http://clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=15234&vessel=THE+QUEEN |title=The Queen |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=7 July 2021}}{{csr|register=MSI|id=1118293|access-date=14 January 2010}} Her registered length was {{cvt|309.9|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|40.0|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|15.7|ft|abbr=on}}. Her tonnages were {{GRT|1676}} and {{NRT|695}}.{{cite book |year=1914 |chapter=Steamers |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping}}
She had three propellers, each powered by a Parsons steam turbine. Between them they were rated at 800 RHP and gave her a speed of {{convert|21|kn|km/h}}.{{cite web |url= http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?40 |last=Lettens |first=Jan |title=SS The Queen (+1916) |work=Wrecksite |access-date=14 January 2010}}
Identification
The Queen{{'}}s UK official number was 118293 and her code letters were VCPH. By 1913 she was equipped for wireless telegraphy and her call sign was SEQ.{{cite book |author=The Marconi Press Agency Ltd |author-link=Marconi Company |year=1913 |title=The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony |place=London |publisher=The St Katherine Press |page=259}} In 1914 this was changed to GUN.{{cite book |author=The Marconi Press Agency Ltd |author-link=Marconi Company |year=1914 |title=The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony |place=London |publisher=The Marconi Press Agency Ltd |page=404}}
History
The Queen entered service on the Dover – Calais route, making her maiden voyage on 27 June 1903. In 1907 she was transferred to the Folkestone – Boulogne route. On 1 June 1908{{cite web |url= http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/archives/exhibitions/ernestarthurbinstead/photogallery/sketchbook21908/ssonward/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110605025510/http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/archives/exhibitions/ernestarthurbinstead/photogallery/sketchbook21908/ssonward/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= 5 June 2011 |title=SS Onward |publisher=University of Glasgow |access-date=14 January 2010}} The Queen and another SECR ferry, {{SS|Onward||2}}, collided in thick fog. Both ships were badly damaged.{{cite web |url= http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/transport/queen.htm |title=The Queen |publisher=Dover |accessdate=14 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731111803/http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/transport/queen.htm |archivedate=31 July 2010 |df=dmy-all}}
In 1914 The Queen helped evacuate Belgian refugees from Ostend. She later became a troop ship. On 26 October 1914 she rescued more than 2,000 people from the Chargeurs Réunis ship Amiral Ganteaume, which had been damaged by torpedo. In September 1916 The Queen towed the damaged troop ship Queen Empress to safety.
On 26 October 1916 the German V25-class torpedo boat V-80 captured The Queen about {{convert|3|nmi|km|0}} from the Varne Lightvessel. V-80{{'}}s sister ship S-60 then sank The Queen by torpedo at {{coord|50|54|N|1|19|E|display=inline,title}}.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{SECR Ships}}
{{October 1916 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:The Queen}}
Category:Maritime incidents in 1908
Category:Maritime incidents in 1916
Category:Ships built on the River Clyde
Category:Ships of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom