SS Minotaure
SS Minotaure was a twin screw steamer built for the British Royal Navy in 1918 and most famously operated as a tender by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (French Line) from 1929 to 1940; and from 1948 to 1958.[1]
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 1918-22: SS Rollcall |
| Owner: | 1918-22: Royal Navy |
| Operator: | 1918-22: Royal Navy |
| Port of registry: |
 |
| Builder: | Ferguson Brothers Ltd, Port Glasgow |
| Yard number: | 238 |
| Launched: | 2 August 1918 |
| In service: | 1918 |
| Out of service: | 1922 |
| Fate: | Sold to Alexandria Towing Co., Ltd., Southampton |
| Notes: | Tug Salvage |
| History | |
| Name: | 1923-1929: SS Romsey |
| Owner: | 1922-1929: Alexandria Towing Co., Ltd., Southampton |
| Operator: | 1923-1929: Alexandria Towing Co., Ltd., Southampton |
| Port of registry: |
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| Acquired: | 1922 |
| In service: | 1923 |
| Out of service: | 1929 |
| Fate: | Sold to Compagnie Générale Transatlantique in 1929 |
| History | |
| Name: | 1929-1940: SS Minotaure |
| Owner: | 1929-1940: Compagnie Générale Transatlantique |
| Operator: | 1929-1940: Compagnie Générale Transatlantique |
| Port of registry: |
 |
| Acquired: | 1929 |
| In service: | 1929 |
| Out of service: | 1940 |
| Fate: | 26 August 1940 seized by German Forces at Bordeaux |
| Notes: | Tender at Le Havre |
| History | |
| Name: | 1940-1945: S142 |
| Owner: | 1940-1944: Kriegsmarine |
| Operator: | 1940-1944: Kriegsmarine |
| Port of registry: |
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| Acquired: | 1940 |
| In service: | 1940 |
| Out of service: | 1944 |
| Fate: | July 4th 1944 torpedoed by Royal Navy MTB; beached at Dinard. |
| Status: | Sunk 1944; refloated 1945 and repaired; returned to Compagnie Générale Transatlantique the same year |
| Notes: | Ferry service in Channel Islands. |
| History | |
| Name: | 1945-1958: SS Minotaure |
| Owner: | 1948-1958: Compagnie Générale Transatlantique |
| Operator: | 1948-1958: Compagnie Générale Transatlantique |
| Port of registry: |
|
| Acquired: | 1945 |
| In service: | 1929 |
| Out of service: | 1940 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1958 |
| Notes: | Tender at Le Havre |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 357 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 175.0 ft (53.3 m) |
| Beam: | 34.2 ft (10.4 m) |
| Depth: | 16.4 ft (5.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | Twin Screws |
| Speed: | 13.75 knots |
| Notes: | Built with two funnels; second removed in 1922/23 |
History
She was built by Ferguson Brothers, Ltd. for the Royal Navy in 1918 and launched under the name Rollcall. She operated as a salvage tug until 1922 when she was sold to Alexandria Towing Co., Ltd., Southampton and renamed Romsey. The second funnel was removed and a bridge was added on top of the upper deck, as well as a new lounge on the upper deck.[2]
In 1929 she was acquired by the French Line and based in Le Havre as a tender, under the name Minotaure. She participated in the rescue of several liners; including L'Atlantique in 1933 and Paris in 1939. Minotaure was seized by the Germans in 1940 and renamed S142; she was used as a Channel Islands ferry under the German flag. In 1944 she was torpedoed by a Royal Navy vessel; S142 was beached near Saint-Malo.
After the end of WWII, the tug was refloated and repaired, and given back to the French Line. Under the name Minotaure once again, she was a tender in Le Havre until her retirement and scrapping in 1958.[3]