Last Vessels Built at Chatham Royal Dockyard
Last Vessels Built at Chatham Royal Dockyard
So, What Were the Last Vessels to be Built at Chatham Royal Dockyard?
Having covered the last Surface Ship (1951), the last Warship for the Royal Navy (1962), and the last Warship (1968) to be built in previous articles, the question above remains to be answered.
Between 1968 and the dockyard closure in 1984 the following vessels were constructed and launched:
- 1968 – MAC 1010
- 1971 – MAC 1012
- 1972 – ROSYTH PONTOON
- 1974 – PAS 1509
- 1975 – HL 7025
- 1980 – LIGHTER 1022(S) and 1023(S)
These were classified as ‘Yard Craft’ and not warships.
In 1659, Chatham built a ‘Towing Galley’ (a large oar-powered craft) that was the first vessel built at Chatham to be rated as ‘DY Craft’ (Dockyard Craft).
Over the succeeding 325 years, Chatham built numerous ‘Yard Craft’ rated as either a DY: Craft, Smack, Hoy (small sailing vessel), Sheer Hulk, Yacht, Barge, Tender, Store Carrier, Paddle Tug, Tug, Salvage Vessel, or Lighter (Lighter- flat-bottomed barge, powered or un-powered used for carrying stores and cargo between ship and shore).
MAC 101
MAC 1010 was a Generator Test Barge ‘launched’, (by floating off) No 7 Covered Slip, in February 1968. It was 112 ft long x 23 ft wide and displaced 200 tons. Within the barge were 4.5 miles of cables which weighed 17 tons. MAC 1010 was capable of testing ships’ main generators up to a max load of 3 Megawatts. The MoD (Navy) had a policy to provide highly mobile electrical load testers in each Royal Dockyard, MAC1010 was to be permanently Chatham-based.
MAC 1012
MAC 1012 was the world’s first sea-going cleansing unit designed to aid refits of nuclear submarines.
The vessel, a nuclear pipe cleaning vessel, was launched from No7 Covered Slip on February 10th, 1971. The ceremony was performed by Miss Chatham Dockyard, Ann Webb.
MAC 1012 was 186 ft long x 30 ft wide and designed to remove and treat, deposits from the inner walls of pipes in nuclear submarine reactor compartments. The process involved MAC 1012 being linked, by stainless steel pipes, to the submarine in dry dock. Chemicals were then circulated through the submarine which delivered the removed deposits back into MAC 1012. The deposits were treated and separated in the form of solid waste.
The waste was stored sealed in concrete-shielded containers and then sent to the National Waste Disposal Service administered by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. The waste material removed from the submarine was referred to as “crud”
Construction of the vessel’s effluent and de-mineralised water tanks used types of steels never used before in Chatham Dockyard.
ROSYTH PONTOON
The Rosyth Pontoon was a 200ft long x 50ft wide extension, designed and built at Chatham, for the existing Fleet Ferry Pontoon at Rosyth Royal Dockyard, Scotland.
Built as prefabricated sections that were assembled on No 7 Covered Slip in January 1972. A wood deck was laid consisting of 20,000ft of 2½ inch thick timber which had to be caulked (to make watertight). At the time there were only a few wood caulkers in the Dockyard, so additional shipwrights were trained to help complete the task.
When launched in June 1972, the pontoon was thought to be the widest object ever to go down No 7 Covered Slip.
The pontoon was designed with 16 main watertight compartments and constructed using 350 tons of ½ inch steel plate. Provision had to be included for the services that the pontoon supplied to run ships berthed alongside including -electricity, telephones, steam, low-pressure air, and fresh and salt water.
On completion, the pontoon was towed to Rosyth. (Technically the pontoon does not rate as a ‘Yard Craft’).
PAS 1509
PAS 1509 was a Port Auxiliary Service fuel lighter for moving a max of 250 tons of diesel fuel around the dockyard. Launched from No 7 Covered Slip in May 1974, a sister lighter had been ‘launched’, by floating off, a few days before. PAS 1509 weighed 99 tons.
The launch was problematic, the launch button was struck with a mallet but PAS 1509 failed to move, it took hydraulic rams and gentle persuasion from the yard tug Kathleen to coax her into the water.
The launch ceremony was performed by Jeff Beer, a fourth-year constructive technician apprentice.
HARBOUR LAUNCH 7025
In 1972, 4th Year apprentices at Chatham Dockyard were given the project of building a 58ft steel harbour launch.
The project was to build a New Zealand Class harbour launch; these became known colloquially as the Kiwi class. A design that was produced by HMNZ Dockyard, Devonport in 1966, and adopted by the UK MOD in the late 60s and early 70s.
The class was introduced as a replacement for the 52ft wooden-hulled design of the harbour launch and then in service.
No 7025 details:
Length overall 57ft 6ins, Length between perpendiculars 52ft 6ins
Extreme breadth 16ft 0ins, Displacement 26 Tons, Speed 9 Knots
Crew 4 persons, Passenger capacity 80 persons.
There was a Presentation and Dedication of Harbour Launch No 7025 on Saturday 16 November 1974 at HM Naval Base Chatham. All apprentices and ex-apprentices who had taken part were invited to attend.
Harbour launches were operated by the Port Auxiliary Service (PAS), No 7025 was to be used for carrying passengers, working in local waters from Chatham Dockyard and between the Dockyard and London (the PAS was merged into the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) in 1976).
No. 7025 Service Data Card records:
7025 – transported to Falklands 22-11-82. Sold out of service locally 1-10-93, Ref D/DMS(N)19/60/42. A pencilled remark on the Data Card also noted: “called Kiwi 1”.
In private ownership, No 7025 suffered an engine failure causing her to founder and become a total wreck in the Falklands.
LIGHTER 1022(S) and 1023(S)
Construction of Lighters 1022(S) and 1023(S) commenced on 6 and 7 Covered Slips in November 1979. The job helped ease a temporary shortage of work for the constructive trades at Chatham.
The vessels were built as Stores Lighters for use by the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RAMS), Portland Naval Base.
The two vessels were built in 3 prefabricated sections, weighing up to 14 tons, which were transported to near the ‘big crane’ sited on the north side of Basin No 1.
The three sections were joined together on the ‘fender site’, each lighter was 22 m long and weighed nearly 60 tons. During ‘fitting out’ each hold was clad with timber and timber flooring went throughout the hold. There was accommodation for a crew of two fitted out in fibreglass.
The ‘big crane’ had a block capacity of 120 tons and was used to ‘launch’ the lighters by lifting and lowering each lighter into Basin No 1 without ceremony or champagne.
Gerry Jasper, the Inspector in charge of the work stated “The drawings came from Devonport and were a little sparse on detail – but where you lack detail you just use good shipbuilding practice.”
