HMS Beckford

HMS Beckford (P3104) was one of 20 Ford-class patrol boats built for the Royal Navy in the 1950s.[1]

HMS Beckford in renamed guise as HMS Dee, 1972
History
United Kingdom
Builder: Yarrow
Launched: 27 April 1955
Name: HMS Beckford (P3104)
Namesake: Beckford, Worcestershire
Operator:  Royal Navy
Name: HMS Dee (P3104)
Namesake: River Dee
Operator:  Royal Navy Mersey Division, Royal Naval Reserve
Name: Robert Clive (1968-1969)
Operator: Plessey Group
Name: HMS Dee (P3104) (1969-1984)
Operator:  Royal Navy Mersey Division, Royal Naval Reserve
Out of service: 1982
Name: Beckford (1984-)
Operator: Pounds Marine Shipping
Homeport: Harwich
Fate: Broken up in 2017
General characteristics
Class and type: Ford class seaward defence boat
Displacement:
  • 120 tons standard
  • 160 tons full load
Length: 117 ft 3 in (35.74 m)
Beam: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Propulsion:
  • 1 × Foden diesel (Centre shaft)
  • 2 × Paxman 12YHAX 550hp Diesels (Outer shafts)
Speed: 16 knots
Complement: 19
Armament:
  • 1 × 40 mm anti-aircraft gun
  • 2 × 20 mm anti aircraft guns

Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ford. This boat was named after Beckford, Worcestershire.

Beckford was launched on 27 April 55. She was later renamed HMS Dee whilst serving as the training tender to the Mersey Division of the Royal Naval Reserve.[2][3] In 1968 the vessel was chartered by the Plessey Group and renamed Robert Clive, then returned as HMS Dee to the RNR in January 1969. She was the tender to Liverpool University Royal Naval Unit from 1970 undertaking weekend training trips to Anglesey, the Isle of Man and surrounding areas during term time and longer voyages during the Easter and Summer vacations when destinations included Norway, Paris, Western Isles etc. including at least two transits of Loch Ness. She was placed on the disposals list in 1982 and sold to Pounds Marine Shipping in 1984.[3] She was fitted with schooner rig and was anchored off Shotley, Suffolk in Harwich harbour for many years.[3][4] In 2017, after being beached at Harwich, she was removed and broken up at Lowestoft by East Point Metal Trading Ltd.[5]

HMS Beckfoot

Beckford was an inspiration for the fictional vessel HMS Beckfoot (also called Hispaniola and Pride of Macau) in the Strong Winds trilogy of children's books by Julia Jones.[4]

References
  1. Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475
  2. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1971. ISBN 0-354-00096-9
  3. Beckford page on shipspotting.com website, viewed 2012-12-09
  4. Author's endnote, Julia Jones, Ghosting Home (Strong Winds Trilogy 3) ISBN 978-1899262069 2 July 2012
  5. "Ex-HMS Beckford". Lowestoft: East Point Metal Trading Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.


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