Famous Ships and Boats

In history, movies, books, on exhibit

War ships, ship tragedies, steam ships, yachts, and more

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British/English Cargo and Commerce Ships

Baychimo, SS — German cargo ship, then British; steel-hulled
Known as a ghost ship and seen numerous times since, her last sighting in 1969. She was taken by Great Britain as part of Germany's WW I reparations and acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1921. LAUNCHED: 1914 → FATE: Abandoned and lost along the Alaska coast in November, 1931.

Bounty, HMS — English collier, three-mast
Mutiny aboard ship, April 28, 1789, led by Fletcher Christian against Captain William Bligh. Its mission was to pick up breadfruit plants from Tahiti and transport them to the West Indies. The mutiny was dramatized in several books and movies. LAUNCHED: 1784 → FATE: Was burned by the mutineers on January 23, 1790.

Derbyshire, MV — British cargo ship, oil-ore
Largest British ship ever to have been lost at sea. All 42 crew members and two wives were lost with the ship during Typhoon Orchid in 1980. LAUNCHED: 1976, June → FATE: Sank south of Japan September 9, 1980.

(Another )

Gaspée — English single-masted sloop-of-war, used as a fast revenue cutter
Subject of the "Gaspée Affair," the torching of the ship by a group of American colonialists, leading up to the American Revolution. The city of Warwick, RI commemorates the Gaspée Affair with a festival and parade, including burning the Gaspée in effigy. LAUNCHED: 1764, January → FATE: Looted and burned in Narragansett Bay June 9, 1772.

Gaul — English fishing trawler
Worst peacetime maritime disaster to befall the UK fishing fleet. No distress signal was received and her loss was not realised until days later. 36 crew were lost. LAUNCHED: 1971, December 18 → FATE: Mysteriously sank in the Barents Sea, north of Norway February, 1974.

Glencairn, SS — British tramp steamer
In the movie The Long Voyage Home about the men on board on the long voyage home from the West Indies to Baltimore and then to England. Nine prominent American artists, all painters, were hired to construct the dramatic scenes during the film's production. LAUNCHED: 1940, for the movie → FATE: Inconclusive.

Herald of Free Enterprise, MS, famous ships

(Another )

Herald of Free Enterprise, MS — British roll-on/rolll-off ferry
Capsized moments after leaving the Belgian port, killing 193 passengers and crew, the highest death-count of any peacetime British maritime disaster since 1919. The ship owners, Townsend Thoresen, re-branded the company as P&O European Ferries, repaint the fleet's red hulls in navy blue and remove the TT logo from the funnels. LAUNCHED: 1980 → FATE: Because deck doors were left open, she filled with water and capsized March 6, 1987; was raised April 1987 and scrapped in 1988.

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Holland I, HMS — British submarine
The first submarine commissioned by the Royal Navy. While being towed to the scrapyard she sank in bad weather off the coast of Eddystone lighthouse. LAUNCHED: 1901, October → FATE: On display at Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport.

(Another )

Lady Elizabeth — British 3-masted iron barque
The hulk of the ship is the only semi-intact hulk left in the harbours of the Falkland Island. After being condemned in 1913, she served as a timber warehouse alongside the East Jetty. In February 1936 she broke her moorings in a storm and drifted to her present location. LAUNCHED: 1879, June 6 → FATE: Her remains now lie at the bottom of Whale Bone Cove harbour, Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Maggie — British Clyde puffer cargo ship
Appeared in the movie The Maggie which was released in the U.S. titled High and Dry. The story is about a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain. LAUNCHED: 1954, movie release; boat origin unknown → FATE: Inconclusive.

Merchant Royal — English merchant ship
Lost at sea with 18 men off Land's End, Cornwall, England, the ship is one of the richest sunken treasures. Lost were more than half million Spanish silver pesos, 500 bars of gold and ingots of silver, and hundreds of pieces of jewelry. LAUNCHED: 1627 → FATE: Sank in bad weather September 23, 1641.

SN.R4 — British Mountbatten class hovercraft
Was the largest civil hovercraft ever built, carrying 254 passengers and up to 30 cars. She is the only surviving hovercraft that served English Channel traffic from 1968 to 2000. The others, Sir Christopher, Sure, Swift, Princess Margaret, and The Prince of Wales, were all scrapped. LAUNCHED: 1968 → FATE: Preserved and on static display at the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent, England.

Terra Nova — British wooden-hulled barque
Serving in the British Antarctic Expedition 1910, best remembered for the death of Captain Scott and four companions. She was built for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet, working 10 years in the annual seal fishery in the Labrador Sea. LAUNCHED: 1884 → FATE: Sank off the southwestern tip of Greenland September 13, 1943.

(Another )

Vital Spark — British Clyde puffer cargo ship
Star of the book series and British TV comedy series, The Vital Spark about the adventures of the boat captain and his crew. The BBC Scotland TV program The Vital Spark (1959-1974 series) was set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the books by Neil Munro LAUNCHED: 1931, book published; 1959 for the start of TV series; boat built in 1943 → FATE: The boat is to be restored as a tourist attraction with the Inveraray Maritime Museum.

Zong — British square rigger slave ship
Infamous for the 1781 massacre of 132 sick and dying slaves thrown overboard so the ship's owners could collect on their cargo insurance. The Zong had been a Dutch vessel the Zorgue seized by the British in 1781 off West Africa, along with 244 Africans on board. LAUNCHED: 1776, or ealier → FATE: Unknown.

The number of British/English Cargo and Commerce Ships listed is 15

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For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	Bounty, HMS (English collier)
2.	Holland I, HMS (British submarine)

British/English Cargo and Commerce Ships
1.	Bounty, HMS English collier
2.	Derbyshire, MV British cargo ship
3.	Gaspée English single-masted sloop-of-war
4.	Gaul English fishing trawler
5.	Glencairn, SS British tramp steamer
6.	Herald of Free Enterprise, MS British roll-on/rolll-off ferry
7.	Holland I, HMS British submarine
8.	Lady Elizabeth British 3-masted iron barque
9.	Maggie British Clyde puffer
10.	Merchant Royal English merchant ship
11.	SN.R4 British Mountbatten class hovercraft
12.	Terra Nova British wooden-hulled barque
13.	Vital Spark British Clyde puffer
14.	Zong British square rigger