Sinking of S P 17 26 2 1918. What sort of vessel?

[MerchantOldSalt]

11 hours ago, charlie962 said:

 

Perhaps my question to Terry about 'ferry crews' would be more appropriately addressed to you? 

 

 

Not at all Charlie, ask everybody, particularly Terry.

The crews of the powered vessels like the SP17 probably acted as run crews and then manned the ship in Mesopotamia though there is little information in the surviving Service Records of IWT personnel to indicate a specific answer to your question. However as Terry shows in his post, the barges and other vessels requiring tows or armed tug escort were handed down the line through the list of ports shown on a relay basis, the tugs working and based between the same ports and undertaking the same trips on many occasions. Personnel would quite possibly have been attached to each depot to cover for loss or sickness amongst the various crews and there is no reason why Colvin could not have been employed on the relay runs and been picked up in Gibraltar or Malta, one of the crew of SP17, Barrow, was landed to hospital in Gibraltar so possibly replaced there.

 

Tony

 

[charlie962]

I suspect Terry got his list of distances from the "History of the IWT in Mesopotamia" and I post three pages(172-4) relevent fom the history. Sadly the loss of HP 17 is only mentioned as a statistic 'foundered in bad weather' and no mention of the number of crew lost.

 

 

 

Edited 14 October , 2018 by charlie962