MV Munster (1937)
MV Munster was a passenger ferry operated by the British and Irish Steam Packet Company from 1938 to 1940. She was sunk by a mine during WWII.
Munster mined approaching Liverpool | |
History | |
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Name: | MV Munster (1937-40) |
Namesake: | Munster |
Owner: | British and Irish Steam Packet Company |
Port of registry: | Liverpool |
Route: | Liverpool-Dublin (1938-1940) |
Builder: | Harland and Wolff |
Yard number: | 996 |
Launched: | 3 November 1937 |
Completed: | 22 February 1938 |
Identification: | Official No.166226 |
Fate: | sank in 1940 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage: | 4,302 GRT |
Length: | 345 ft (105.2 m) |
Beam: | 50 ft (15.2 m) |
Draught: | 4.13 m (13.5 ft) |
Installed power: | 2 x Single Acting (S.A.) Diesel 1347 n.h.p. |
Propulsion: | Twin screws |
Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
Notes: | [1] |
History
MV Munster was a passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff for the British and Irish Steam Packet Company in 1937.[2] She and her sister MV Leinster took up their intended service between Liverpool and Dublin in 1938. Their original buff hulls were later changed to dark green.[2] Although they were the largest vessels in the Coast Lines fleet, they did not have capacity for cattle on the Dublin route. Two cattle carriers were added to the fleet: Kilkenny (1,320 tons from the Liffey Dockyard), and Dundalk (630 tons from Ardrossan, Scotland).[3][4]
Whilst on the Belfast to Liverpool run on 7 February 1940, Munster triggered a magnetic mine near the Liverpool Bar at 6 am, laid by German submarine U-30. Munster sank; all 250 aboard were rescued, although one died later.[1]
References
- "Munster". The Yard/Harland & Wolff. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- "1938 Munster (3) (British and Irish)". Ian Boyle/Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- "B&I Line". Irish Ferries Enthusiasts. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- Ian Collard (2015). Coast Lines: Fleet List and History. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1445646756. Retrieved 19 August 2018.