British Railways Board (BRB)British Transport Commission (BTC)FerriesLondon & North Eastern RegionPast and Present

TS Amsterdam (II) (1930) – Past and Present

TS Amsterdam (II)

Ex Hospital Carrier No 64, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Steel twin screw turbine steamer built in 1930 at John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank (Yard No 529) as a passenger and mail ferry for the British Transport Commission (London and North Eastern Railway).

Technical Data

  • Length: 107.04 m (overall) m (between perpendiculars)
    Breadth: 15.25 m
    Depth: 7.93 m
    Draught: 4.65 m
    Tonnage: 4220 gross/1989 net/3028t deadweight
    Engines: 4 SR Brown/Curtis steam turbines
    Power: kW/1520 bHP
    Speed: 21.0  knots
    Capacity: 444 1st class passengers/ 104 2nd class passengers
    Call Sign: GNCW
  • Register Number (1939-40): 19622
    Official Number:
    161037
    Port of Registry: Harwich/UK
    Sister Ships: Prague, Vienna II

History

January 13th 1930: Launched.

Amsterdam (Fitting out)

April 26th 1930: Delivered to London and North Eastern Railway and made her maiden voyage, followed by regular sailings between Harwich and Hook of Holland.

August 31st 1939: Made her last pre-war commercial departure from Hook of Holland.

September 1st 1939: Arrived at Harwich and requisitioned  for troopship service.

September 12th 1939: Reached Southampton.

September 13th 1939: Set out for Cherbourg.

September 18th 1939: To Brest carrying members of the 1st Guards Brigade.

September 27th 1939: To Brest after an isolated crossing from Falmouth. It was however to Cherbourg and Le Havre that the vessel primarily sailed to.

October 3rd 1939: Returned to Southampton.

October 4th 1939: Damaged on her starboard side when DUKE OF ARGYLL collided with her.

May 31st 1940: Reached Weymouth carrying British troops from Cherbourg and returned there to repatriate French soldiers brought to England from Dunkirk.

June 2nd 1940: Directed to Southampton.

Amsterdam (Troopship)

June 11th 1940: Directed to Brest. The intention was to embark British troops stranded in the area but fog prevented the rescue, with the result that most of the men were captured.

June 13th 1940: Having been diverted to Le Havre lifted withdrawing British troops to Cherbourg and Southampton, before becoming Plymouth based for a few days.

July 4th 1940: Arrived at Swansea to be laid up and was not found further employment in that area.

February 5th 1941: Reached Aberdeen to join the troopship service to Orkney and Shetland.

February 8th 1941: First sailing to Scapa and continued on this service until late July.

July 30th 1941: Embarked military and RAF personnel at Invergordon which from that date replace Aberdeen as the mainland terminal for the service.

October 6th 1942: Collision in Cromarty Forth with the cargo ship HIRONDELLE in which AMSTERDAM suffered bow damage, including a hole below the water-line in her chain locker.

November 22nd 1942: Back in service.

March 2nd 1943: The vessel PAUL M struck her amidships at Invergordon.

January 1st 1944: Arrived at North Shields to be fitted out as a Landing  Ship, Infantry (Hand Hoisting) capable of carrying six landing craft and 420 troops.

March 2nd 1944: Sailed out of the Tyne on Operation Neptune (The landings in Normandy).

June 5th 1944: Left Weymouth as part of Assault Convoy O1.

June 6th 1944: Landing craft lowered to take American soldiers ashore at Omaha beach head after which she was withdrawn from the assault ship fleet and left the South Coast for conversion work at Glasgow.

July 13th 1944: As HOSPITAL CARRIER No 64 left the Clyde.

Hospital Carrier No 64

July 19th 1944: Headed out of Southampton to embark her first casualties off the Normandy coast.

August 7th 1944: Mined on the second trip, near the French coast, with heavy loss of life.


All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright.

Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)

 

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