Previous name: Shipway
Subsequent name: Francis A Holmes
Official Number: 167878
Class: KIN CLASS Coastal Salvage Vessel
Pennant No: A506
Laid down: 14 June 1943
Builder: Alexander Hall, Aberdeen
Launched: 25 March 1944
Into Service: 23 October 1944
Out of service: 1967
Fate: Sold
Items of historic interest involving this ship: –
Background Data: Originally a class of 11 ships was planned but two were cancelled and of the remaining nine, seven saw brief service as RFA’s. They were re-rated as Mooring, Salvage and Boom Vessels in 1971. All were equipped with lifting horns and heavy rollers forward which enabled them to lift 200 tons dead-weight over the bows. In wartime they were armed with 2 x 20 mm AA guns and had a complement of 34
13 August 1942 ordered from Smith’s Dock, Middlesborough to be Yard No: 1122. The order was transferred to Alexander Hall & Co Ltd, Aberdeen on 21 January 1943
14 June 1943 laid down
25 March 1944 launched by Alexander Hall & Co Ltd, Aberdeen as Yard Nr: 695 named HMS SHIPWAY
August 1944 renamed HMS SWIN
23 October 1944 completed and was engaged on salvage work in NW Europe
November 1944 at Ostend on wreck clearance work
25 November 1944 nn wreck clearance work at Terneuzen
19 January 1945 grounded on East Dyke, West Outer Harbour at Terneuzen in a gale but was soon refloated
31 January 1945 moved to Flushing
February 1945 to April 1945 at Flushing with HMS KINGARTH (later RFA KINGARTH) removing several dock gates. Discovered a 500lb bomb at a lock entrance and this was recovered for detonation
2 April 1945 at Flushing and then to Antwerp
29 March 1946 the Dover Express newspaper reported …
28 June 1946 sailed Dover for Southampton
19 July 1946 passed the Lloyds Signal Station on the Lizard sailing west bound
1946 allocated to Liverpool as an RFA and was involved in the clearance of wrecks and the wartime Mersey Towers
16 April 1947 sailed Devonport to salvage a German E-Boat which had sunk in St Ives Bay
27 April 1947 passed the Lloyds Signal Station on the Lizard sailing west bound
27 February 1948 Captain H J McBride appointed as Master and Mr H Legge appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
14 June 1949 passed the Lloyds Signal Station on the Lizard sailing west bound
24 October 1949 passed the Lloyds Signal Station on the Lizard sailing west bound
25 October 1949 at anchor in St Ives Bay
26 October 1949 passed the Lloyds Signal Station on the Lizard sailing west bound
December 1949 at Sheerness
21 January 1950 to 14 March 1950 involved with other ships in the raising of HMS/m TRUCULENT which had sunk in the Thames Estuary with sixty four deaths
20 January 1950 sailed from Dover for Sheerness
February 1950 due to bad weather returned to Sheerness and refuelled. After five days in port and together with HMS BARNDALE returned to HMS/m TRUCULENT and continued with salvage operations
22 March 1950 alongside the now floating submarine.
23 March 1950 entered Sheerness Dockyard with the submarine for docking
April 1950 to 17 December 1950 at Studland Bay, Dorset salvaged three wrecks – ss SONA (sunk 4 January 1942), ss ABEL TASMAN (mined and sunk 13 June 1940) and ss PRINCESS JULIANA
ss Abel Tasman
11 August 1952 Captain H J Perrett appointed as Master
2 January 1953 Mr A E Daw appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
1 March 1953 the Swedish ship Baalbeck collided in thick fog with the Nore Fort in the Thames Estuary demolishing two towers. Four solidiers who were part of the Army unit manning the fort were killed – see entry in 1957 below
10 April 1953 Captain W H Harrison appointed as Master
5 October 1954 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
27 November 1954 involved in rescue attempts when the South Goodwin lightship was wrecked and the crew of seven were killed. Three surveys found that the ship had settled below the sand.
15 December 1954 involved in the recovery of HMS/m TALANT which was swept from No: 3 dock at Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway when the Caisson gave way and onto a mud bank on the other side of the river. The submarine was in refit and four dockyard employees were killed
18 December 1954 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway for Dover
12 January 1955 sailed from Dover for the River Medway
13 January 1955 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
7 February 1955 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
17 June 1955 sailed Dover to Portland and involved with RFA KINBRACE in the raising of HMS/m SIDON at Portland Harbour when twelve members of the crew and a Naval Doctor from HMS MAIDSTONE were killed
21 June 1955 the Portsmouth Evening News reported –
24 June 1955 HMS/m SIDON was raised and was beached close to the Chesil Beach Causeway to recover the 13 bodies aboard
17 November 1955 Captain W J Burling appointed as Master
4 December 1956 at Malta with RFA SAMSONIA alongside of her
6 December 1956 sailed Malta to Tobruk arriving 9 December 1956
10 November 1956 commissioned at Sheerness for service during Operation Musketeer – the Suez Crisis – and was held in reserve at Tobruk
12 November 1956 sailed Chatham for Devonport
14 November 1956 arrived Devonport to embark water and stores
14 November 1956 sailed Devonport
17 November 1956 alongside at Porto de Liexoes, Portugal to discharge a member of the crew to hospital
19 November 1956 sailed Porto de Liexoes to Gibraltar
21 November 1956 arrived Gibraltar berthed alongside RFA KINBRACE on the South Mole
24 November 1956 sailed Gibraltar for Malta but was diverted to Algiers instead
27 November 1956 arrived Algiers, refueled and sailed again the same day for Tunis
29 November 1956 arrived Tunis and sailed again the same day to Malta
30 November 1956 arrived Malta moored alongside RFA UPLIFTER
6 December 1956 sailed for Tobruk where she was held in reserve
4 January 1957 sailed Tobruk for Tripoli, then Malta and finally U.K
5 February 1957 arrived back in Devonport to pay off and to revert to RFA manning
7 February 1957 entered refit
2 March 1957 reverted to RFA manning
24 May 1957 Captain John W Boyes appointed as Master
In mid 1957 together with RFA SUCCOUR and RFA KINBRACE were brought into remove those parts of the Nore Fort which were a potential hazard to navigation (see collision May 1957 above)
End of 1957 at Chatham
4 December 1958 called to assist after the Liberian freighter Prodromos and the Greek owned ship King Minos were in collision in the English Channel about 12 miles from Dungeness the previous day
1 June 1959 to 16 December 1959 at Devonport in refit and then placed in operational reserve at Pembroke Dock
29 January 1960 at Devonport in No: 3 basin
22 April 1960 at Devonport moved from No: 3 basin to the Slip Jetty
25 April 1960 at Devonport sailed from the Slip Jetty to Plymouth Sound
2 May 1960 at Devonport sailed from the Slip Jetty to Plymouth Sound
July 1960 was reactivated for service at Dover with Captain John W Boyes reappointed as Master and manned by the crew from RFA KINBRACE
22 September 1960 Mr J Smith-Bowers appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
January 1961 at Portsmouth being repaired
May 1961 returned to Portsmouth for a refit until September 1961
10 November 1961 Captain C Anderson appointed as Master
December 1961 at Portsmouth for a boiler clean
May 1962 at Dover
September 1962 at Devonport
November 1962 at Portland working on Phoenix units
November 1962 attended upon RFA GREEN RANGER aground on the North Devon Coast and undertook some salavage
30 December 1962 from Dover was sent to Chatham to raise the wreck of the tug TID 97 which had become girded and sank whilst assisting the berthing of RFA HEBE. The tug was raised on 4 January 1963. Three of the tugs crew lost their lives
1 January 1963 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
8 January 1963 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
20 February 1963 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
8 April 1963 to 20 April 1963 at Rye Arc Ltd of London for repairs
6 May 1963 to 22 May 1963 in repair
June 1963 sailed Chatham to start the final clearance of the wreck of the trawler Resolvo and the Boom Mooring Vessel Sparsholt that had sunk at Sheerness on 13 March 1942
29 July 1963 sailed from the River Medway to Sheerness
2 August 1963 sailed from the River Medway to Chatham Dockyard
6 August 1963 sailed from Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway when on passage to Sheerness
12 August 1963 sailed from Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway when on passage to Sheerness
19 August 1963 sailed from Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway
23 August 1963 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
August 1963 to September 1963 raised the BMV Sparsholt
10 September 1963 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
27 September 1963 at Grimsby to undertake mooring maintenance for Shell at their Killingholme moorings
4 October 1963 sailed Grimsby for the River Clyde to help in the search for a Buccaneer aircraft which had been lost at sea
5 November 1963 arrived at Greenock
2 December 1963 arrived at Portsmouth
10 December 1963 at Portsmouth tank cleaning in preparation for a limited refit
16 December 1963 at Portsmouth taken in hand for a limited refit which commenced on 26 December 1963 and was completed on 20 March 1964
September 1964 at Loch Ewe
22 March 1965 arrived at Portsmouth
20 April 1965 to 18 June 1965 at Portsmouth undergoing DER
After 18 June 1965 sailed to Chatham Dockyard
October 1965 at Portsmouth for a boiler clean
10 December 1965 entered Chatham Dockytard from the River Medway
13 December 1965 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
8 January 1966 sailed from Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway
February 1966 at Portsmouth
July 1966 at Dover where she replaced Airmoor II as range vessel
19 August 1966 registry closed and no longer listed as an RFA
5 December 1966 sailed Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway
22 December 1966 enter Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
28 December 1966 sailed Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway on onward to Dover
February 1967 paid off at Plymouth and laid up
July 1967 nine week refit at Portsmouth
12 January 1968 basin trials in Chatham Dockyard
15 January 1968 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
2 February 1968 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
13 February 1968 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
14 March 1968 to 12 June 1968 limited refit at Portsmouth
12 June 1968 allocated to the PAS at Portsmouth
20 June 1968 to 17 October 1968 at Portsmouth for repairs
March 1970 again at Portsmouth for repairs
March 1971 to July 1971 in refit at Portsmouth
4 March 1972 a SRN6 Hovercraft overturned while approaching Southsea beach. Towed into Portsmouth Harbour where it sank. Swin used to recover the Hovercraft
February 1973 on the Disposal List Portsmouth
14 June 1973 offered for sale ‘as lying’ at Portsmouth Dockyard in the Times of this day
August 1973 sold for £26,500 to Salvage and Cable Ltd., Folkstone
1974 resold to East Anglian Electrics Group, Panama and renamed FRANCIS A HOLMES and was modified for cable laying duties
3 August 1975 extensively damaged by explosion and fire in the Mediterranean and was laid up at Zueitina in Libya
16 January 1976 broke adrift from her moorings, went aground on passage to the breakers and subsequently broke up
Notes:
Was managed by Risdon Beazeley Ltd, Southampton during WW2