HMT Derbyshire. (Hired
Military Transport) Contributed by Trevor Stubberfield 52A Arborfield. |
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By
e-mail, Nyunt Shwe 54B Arborfield, recalled returning home to Burma, with four
friends, at the end of their training in the UK. The voyage started from
Liverpool on the 5th of May 1958 and took 36 days. The ship was the MV
Derbyshire and whilst searching for a photo of the vessel for the site I came
across a remarkable history of it’s
life at sea. Built in 1935 as a four masted liner, it underwent several
refits which saw it end up as a very modern two masted liner before it was broken up in 1964. At
various times it sailed under the titles of SS, HMT, HMS.
HMSLCI, MV. The photos depict the major changes but the story is best told by
the text from the…… web site to which the source and copyright © are attributed. It follows
on from the photos. |
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HMT
Derbyshire |
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HMT
Derbyshire as a four master. |
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The
two masted HMT Derbyshire |
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The
SS Derbyshire in service with the Bibby Line painted by James S Mann. |
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The story of the Derbyshire as recorded on the Red
Duster web site…. |
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DERBYSHIRE (2) was
built in 1935 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Glasgow with
a tonnage of 11660grt, a length of 482ft 7in, a beam of 66ft 2in and a
service speed of 15.5 knots. Bibby's last four masted
ship she was launched on 14th June 1935 and commenced her maiden voyage from
Birkenhead to Rangoon via Marseilles and Colombo on 8th November. When the
Second World War broke out she was converted into the Armed Merchant Cruiser
HMS Derbyshire during November 1939. With her main and mizzen masts removed
and her after mast reduced to a stump she was armed with 6 x 6in, 2 x 3in
anti-aircraft and machine guns and deployed on Western Approaches patrols.
She also acted as a convoy escort and covered over 156,000 miles in under two
years. In 1941 she was decommissioned and converted into a troopship flying
the red ensign. During Operation Torch in November 1942 she carried U. S.
troops from Liverpool to Arzew Bay in Algeria and
troop reinforcements to Mers-el-Kebir
and Algiers. Later in that year she was converted into an LSI (Landing Ship
Infantry) for the invasion of Sicily and equipped with 20 assault craft in
two tiers under the davits with one 'leader' on deck. In 1943 she was part of
'Force G' and landed, at Pechino in two waves,
first her commando force followed by Canadian troops onto the same beaches.
On 22nd January 1944 she carried troops to the Anzio beaches and, in the
following August, took part in Operation Anvil, the invasion of Southern
France where she landed U. S. troops at Cap Camarat
before returning to Liverpool to prepare for service in the Far East. In
January 1945 she sailed for Bombay and Ceylon where, on 3rd September and as
headquarters ship to General Mansergh she took the
first troops back into Rangoon from where she proceeded to Singapore.
Technically, she was the first Bibby ship to visit Burma after the war. On
5th September she was the first troopship to berth at Singapore and the
surrender of the Japanese Garrison was controlled from her. As many as
possible freed Allied prisoners of war being taken aboard where they were
tended and fed while awaiting the arrival of other ships. During 1946 she
continued trooping and repatriated military personnel from the Far East.
Throughout her wartime service she carried some 136,000 troops and steamed
330,000 miles. Returned to Bibby's in November 1947 she was refurbished for
the Burma service where she remained until 1964 when a scheme to convert her
into an exhibition ship failed to materialise. As a result she was broken up
in the Far East. (From a painting by James S Mann). |
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Additional Information was
found on the……… web site which added an exotic role to
the ship’s history. The source and copyright © of the material are attributed
to the web site. |
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H.M.S. DERBYSHIRE - DIAMOND VESSEL DID HER DUTY |
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As
one of the furthest English counties from the coast, Derbyshire is not
generally recognised for its seafaring tradition. But it is not entirely
devoid of ocean-going links, for a number of vessels have carried the name of
the county. Here Peter Seddon considers the H.M.S. Derbyshire. |
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For
over a century it has been a tradition in the shipbuilding industry to name
vessels after the English counties. Although a ship may have no direct link
to its particular locality, the vessels are generally 'adopted' by their
named county and become the subject of general interest and fund-raising
activity. This
is the story of the second ship known to have been christened 'Derbyshire'. |
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The
'DERBYSHIRE' was built in 1935 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding &
Engineering Co. at Glasgow. The vessel weighed 11,660 tons, had a length of
482 feet 7 inches, a beam of 66 feet 2 inches and a service speed of 15.5
knots. She
was ordered as a passenger steamship by the well-known Bibby Line and was
launched in that service as 'SS Derbyshire' on 14 June 1935. She commenced
her maiden voyage from Birkenhead to Rangoon via Marseilles and Colombo on 8
November that year. When
the Second World War broke out she was requisitioned by the Admiralty on 14
October 1939 and converted into the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Derbyshire.
Conversion commenced in November 1939 and was rapidly completed by 4
December. With
her main and mizzen masts removed and her after mast reduced to a stump she
was armed with six 6-inch and two 3-inch anti-aircraft and machine guns and
deployed on Western Approaches patrols. She also acted as a convoy escort and
covered over 156,000 miles in under two years. In
1941 she was decommissioned and converted into a troopship used by the
Ministry of War Transport department. During Operation Torch in November 1942
she carried U. S. troops from Liverpool to Arzew
Bay in Algeria and also carried troop reinforcements to Mers-el-Kebir and Algiers. Later
in that year she was converted into an LSI (Landing Ship Infantry) for the
invasion of Sicily and equipped with 20 assault craft in two tiers under the
davits with one 'leader' on deck. In 1943 she was part of 'Force G' and
landed first her commando force and then Canadian troops onto the same
beaches at Pechino Bay. On
22 January 1944 she carried troops to the Anzio beaches and, in the following
August, took part in Operation Anvil, the invasion of Southern France where
she landed U. S. troops at Cap Camarat before
returning to Liverpool to prepare for service in the Far East. In
January 1945 she sailed for Bombay and Ceylon where, on 3 September and as
headquarters ship to General Mansergh, she took the
first troops back into Rangoon from where she proceeded to Singapore.
Technically, she was the first Bibby ship to visit Burma after the war. On
5th September she was the first troopship to berth at Singapore and the
surrender of the Japanese Garrison was controlled from her. As many as possible
freed Allied prisoners of war were taken aboard, where they were tended and
fed while awaiting the arrival of other ships. During
1946 the Derbyshire continued trooping and repatriated military personnel
from the Far East. Throughout her wartime service she carried some 136,000
troops and steamed 330,000 miles. She
was returned to Bibby's in November 1947 and refurbished for their Burma
service where she remained until 1964. At that time a scheme to convert her
into an exhibition ship failed to materialise, and as a result she was broken
up in the Far East that same year. Apart
from her sterling war service the Derbyshire also performed one particularly
unusual duty connected to an event unique in world history. In
1946 she carried an unprecedentedly large cache of diamonds on the 5,000 mile
voyage from London to Bombay - they were being loaned by the London Diamond
Syndicate to HRH Prince Aga Khan III, and had a cool value of £640,000. In
spectacular celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of his leadership it had been
decided that the Aga Khan would be 'weighed in diamonds' and that he would
donate to charity the exact value of the gems required to balance him. The
glittering ceremony took place in Bombay before a huge multitude on Sunday 10
March 1946. Media interest was considerable and newsreel footage of the
occasion survives. His
Highness proved a very generous benefactor indeed - a mounting pile of
diamonds were loaded onto the balance before the stout fellow eventually
attained equilibrium at 17 stone 5 and a half pounds! 'HMS Derbyshire' 1935 - 1964 |
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Published: 1st February 2010 |
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