HMS Aberfoyle

History
United Kingdom
Name	The Aberfoyle
Owner	Lough Swilly Steamboat Co
Builder	Philip & Son, Dartmouth
Yard number	407
Launched	1912
Out of service	sold 1920
Identification	Official Number 121359
United Kingdom
Name	1920–1938: Aberfoyle; 1938-1947: Dolphin;
Owner	Royal Navy
Acquired	4 November 1920
Out of service	1947
General characteristics
Class and type	Passenger ferry, later naval tender
Tonnage	100 GRT
Displacement	210 tons
Length	100.0 ft (30.5 m) p/p
Beam	19.0 ft (5.8 m)
Depth	7.1 ft (2.2 m)

HMS Aberfoyle was a tender of the Royal Navy. The vessel was built in 1912 in Dartmouth as The Aberfoyle^[a] for passenger service across Lough Swilly, Ireland by the Lough Swilly Steamboat Company. She was sold to the Admiralty for use as a tender in 1920, and was later deployed at HMS Dolphin, the submarine base at Gosport, taking that name. She was disposed of in 1947.

The Aberfoyle

The ship was built by Philip & Son, Kingswear, Dartmouth Harbour, Devon, England, as Yard No.407 for the Lough Swilly Steamboat Company, based in Derry under the management of John McFarland, and initially named The Aberfoyle.^[1] She measured 100 GRT and 58 NRT and was 100.0 ft (30.5 m) in length between perpendiculars, 19.0 ft (5.8 m) in beam, 7.1 ft (2.2 m) in depth,^[1] and a draught of only 4.5 ft (1.4 m).^[2] The Aberfoyle had twin screws, powered by two compound steam engines made by the shipbuilder, totalling 34 nhp or 250 ihp and giving her a service speed of 9 knots (17 km/h); steam was supplied by a single fire-tube boiler operating at 130 psi.^[1]^[3]

The Aberfoyle arrived in Lough Swilly, County Donegal, via Derry, in October 1912 to enter passenger service between Fahan and Rathmullen.^[3]^[4] Her licensed capacity was 408 passengers.^[3] She was registered at the Port of Londonderry with British Official Number 121359.^[5]

In October 1920, enroute from Derry to the River Thames the shallow-draught vessel ran into a severe gale in the Irish Sea and, developing engine trouble, was forced to put in to Dublin for repairs.^[2]

Naval service

The vessel was purchased by the Admiralty on 4 November 1920 and her name was shortened to Aberfoyle.^[6] At some point she was attached to submarine depot ship Cyclops.^[7]

In March 1938 the vessel was renamed Dolphin and transferred to be tender to the shore base of that name, the headquarters of the Royal Navy's submarine service, at Gosport in Portsmouth Harbour. The vessel was sold in 1947.^[8]

Notes

^ One of the few merchant ships whose official name includes the definite article

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c Blackhurst (2001), p. 81.
^ ^a ^b "Londonderry Steamer Puts in for Safety". Evening Telegraph. No. 11417. Dublin. 4 October 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c "New Steamer for Lough Swilly". Londonderry Sentinel. 22 October 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "New Lough Swilly Steamer". Donegal Vindicator. No. 1234. Ballyshannon. 18 October 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ Mercantile Navy List. London: Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. 1913. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via Crew List Information Project.
^ Colledge & Warlow (2010), p. 1.
^ "The Aberfoyle". Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
^ Colledge & Warlow (2010), p. 113.

References

Blackhurst, Derek (2001). Philip and Son Ltd., Shipbuilders and Engineers. Preston: Ships in Focus Publications. ISBN 1-901-703-42-8.
Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2010) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (4th Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-935149-07-1.
Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J. (1973). Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0403-X.