Port
Napier ble lagt ned i 1940 under navnet Port Napier av Swan, Hunter
& Wigham Richardson i Newcastle. Siden Royal Navy trengte flere
skip i krigen mot Tyskland, ble Port Napier tatt over av marinen i juni
1940 og ferdigstilt som minelegger. Hun ble satt i tjeneste for 1. Minelaying
Squadron som gjorde tjeneste med å sikre havet utenfor vestkysten
av Skottland, men så aldri noen aktiv tjeneste. 27. November 1940
brøt det ut brann ombord. Med masse ammunisjon ombord, var hun
en stor fare for sikkerheten, og ble tauet over kanalen mot en avsidesliggende
bukt hvor hun ble etterlatt drivende. Noe senere rev en stor eksplosjon
broen av fra skipet, og HMS Port Napier ble snart oversvømt og
forsvant i dypet. Der la hun seg til rette på snaue tyve meters
dyp. I 1955 bestemte Royal Navy å fjerne den farlige lasten, og
i samme operasjon ble de øverste skrogplatene også fjernet.
Idag hviler vrket på babord side på en dybde fra atten til
tjuefem meter rett mellom de to bøyene utenfor kystlinjen ved
Loch Alsh. Vraket kan lett lokaliseres, bare se etter restene av bro-seksjonen
som ligger i en haug nær vannlinjen. Vraket ligger hundre meter
fra land...
Port Napier was laid down in 1940 with
the name Port Napier by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson at
Newcastle. Since the Royal Navy needed more ships in the war against
Germany, Port Napier was taken over by the navy in June 1940 and
completed as a minelayer. She was put in service for 1. Minelaying
Squadron who did service to secre the areas outside the west coast
of Scotland, but never saw any active service. On 27. November
1940, a fire broke out. With lots of ammunition on board, she
was a grave danger, and was towed across the channel towards a
remote bay where she was left drifting. Some time later a huge
explosion ripped the bridge section of, and HMS Port Napier soon
flooded and disappeared in the deep. There she laid herself at
rest on a depth of merely twenty meters. In 1955 the Royal Navy
decided to remove the dangerous cargo, and in the same operation
most of her upper plating was also removed. Today the wreck rest
on her port side on a depth of eighteen to twenty five meters
just between the two buoys outside the shoreline of Loch Alsh.
The wreck can easily be located, just look for the remains of
the bridge section that still lies in a rubble close to the water.
The wreck lies one hundred meters off the shore...
Name: |
Former names: |
Material: |
Dimensions: |
HMS Port Napier |
Port Napier |
Steel |
152,0x 21,0x ?m. |
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| Tons: |
Built: |
Homeport: |
Cargo: |
| 8947 grt \ |
Newcastle UK ) 1940 |
( UK ) |
Ammunition, mines |
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