Visitors to Elderslie Drydocks in December 1958

[Angus Mac Kinnon]

HMS CAPRICE : No. 1 Dock from 11 December to 18 December
The Destroyer HMS Caprice was laid down at the shipyard of Yarrows & Co Ltd., Scotstoun on 28th September 1942, launched on 16 September 1943 as HMS Swallow, and first commissioned on 5th April 1944. She was one of 36 War Emergency class destroyers built to replace ships lost in action. During the war, the ship took part in Russian and Atlantic convoys and acted as escort to the liners, Queen Elizabeth and Ile de France on their high speed trooping runs. In 1945 she saw action in the Far East at the close of the Japanese War and received the surrender of some 5,000 Japanese prisoners at Uleeheue. After the war the Caprice spent some time with the Mediterranean and Far East Fleets and was extensively modernised in the late fifties. In spite of her age, the Caprice packed a heavy punch. Her Parsons geared turbines produced a total of 40,000 shaft horse power, driving two shafts to push her 362 foot long hull through the water at over 35 knots. She was armed with three 4.5 inch radar controlled guns in single turrets, for use against aircraft, surface targets or shore bombardment. She was fitted with the (then) modern Seacat anti-aircraft missile system, two 40mm close range guns and also Sonar underwater detection gear for hunting submarines, which were then attacked by two triple barrel mortars from the after end of the ship. By 1968 HMS CAPRICE was one of the few wartime ships still in service with the Royal Navy and one of the last ‘Greyhounds of the Seas’ as conventional Destroyers of the British Royal Navy were once called. Finally, in 1973, the CAPRICE, then the Navy’s last remaining serving WWII Destroyer was taken out of commission and later broken up, in November 1979, at Washer Wharf, Queenborough. During her 36 years of service she had steamed a total of over400,283 miles – the equivalent of almost to the moon and back, but more realistically 16 times around the world


S.S. LINCOLN : No. 2 Dock from 12 December to 15 December 1958
Steam Turbine Oil Tanker from John Brown of Clydebank for the Federal Steam Navigation Company Limited of London.
Yard Number 707
O.N. 300819
GRT 12,780 T.
DWT 19,298 T.
11-09-1958 : Launched
29-12-1958 : Completed


LAURENTIA : No. 2 Dock from 15-12-1958 to 18-12-1958
Steam Turbine Passenger-Cargo vessel built in 1945 as the Victory-Ship MEDINA VICTORY by Permanmete of Richmond, USA. Yard Number V586. O.N. 180899. Launched on 10-02-1945, completed on 07-03-1945. In 1947, vessel converted to passenger-cargo vessel of 8,349 tons for Glasgow’s Donaldson Line and renamed LAURENTIA.


PELEUS : No. 2 Dock from 18-12-1958 to 23-12-1958
Built by Cammell Laird & Coy as steam turbine Passenger/Cargo vessel – 18.5 Knots
Blue Funnel Line / China Mutual Steam Navigation
10,093 T GRT
11,215 T DWT
Launched : 03-09-1948
Completed : MARCH 1949


DUCHESS OF MONTROSE : No. 1 Dock from 19-12-1958 to 29-12-1958
Passenger Steamer built by William Denny & Brothers in 1930 for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. 806 tons. O.N. 161921. Steam Turbines driving vessel at 20.5 knots. Taken over from 1939 by the Caledonian Steam Packet Company


CLAN BUCHANAN : No. 2 Dock from 23-12-1958 to 28-12-1958
Built as cargo ship ENGADINE for the Royal Navy in 1941 by William Denny & Brothers. O.N. 169477. Yard No. 1356. 9,909 tons. Steam Turbines for a vessel speed of 15 knots. Transferred over to Clan Line Steamers Limited of Glasgow in 1946


BENLOYAL : No. 2 Dock from 28-12-1958 to 30-12-1958
11,463 tons Reefer Cargo Ship built by Charles Connell & Company of Scotstoun, Yard No. 489, for Ben Line Steamers of Leith. O.N. 300608. Steam Turbines giving a vessel speed of 18 knots. Launched on 03-10-1958 and completed in January 1959.


Coming soon :
The next batch of vessels arriving at Elderslie in January 1959 :

Clan MacLaren
Clan Chisholm
Neleus
Clan MacLaren
Captain Cook
Clan Forbes
City of Coventry
Hurricane
Tarantia
HMS Tiger
Clan Keith

[Brianh]

In December 1958 HMS Caprice was coming to the end of a 2 year modernisation refit by Yarrows, she had been in reserve since 1946.

[Deepol]

A nice shot of CAPRICE on the Beira Patrol in 1966.

[Angus Mac Kinnon]

Yes - that's a very good image of her