View source for SS Empire Shelter

{{short description|World War II merchant ship of the United Kingdom}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name= ''Empire Shelter''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=[[Ministry of War Transport]]
|Ship operator=[[Ellerman Lines|Ellerman City Line]]
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|Ship ordered=19 January 1943
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|Ship builder=[[George Brown & Co.]], [[Greenock]]
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|Ship laid down=1943, as HMS ''Barnard Castle'' (K594)
|Ship launched=5 October 1944
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|Ship completed=17 April 1945, as ''Empire Shelter''
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|Ship out of service=1954
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|Ship identification=* [[Official number]]: 169520
* [[Call sign]]: GJCZ
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|Ship fate=[[ship breaking|scrapped]], 29 July 1955
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class={{sclass2|Castle|corvette}}, converted to [[convoy rescue ship]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|1333}}
|Ship displacement= 
|Ship length= {{Convert|252|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship beam= {{Convert|36|ft|abbr=on|0}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught= {{Convert|13|ft|5|in|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship power=*2 × [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s
*{{Cvt|2880|ihp|0|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engines]]
|Ship speed= {{Convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}
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|Ship armament=*1 × single 12 pdr ({{cvt|3|in|0}}) [[AA gun]]
*5 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{cvt|20|mm|1}}]] AA guns
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'''SS ''Empire Shelter''''' was a [[convoy rescue ship]] built for the [[Royal Navy]] during [[World War II]], originally [[laid down]] as the {{sclass2|Castle|corvette}} '''HMS ''Barnard Castle''''' ([[pennant number]] K594). Completed a month before the end of the war in May 1945, she made a few short voyages before she was reduced to [[Reserve fleet|reserve]]. The ship later served as a [[barracks ship]] and then as a [[troopship]] before she was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] in 1955.

==Design and description==
The Castle-class corvette was a stretched version of the preceding [[Flower-class corvette|Flower class]], enlarged to improve [[seakeeping]] and to accommodate modern weapons.<ref>Lenton, pp. 296–297</ref> The convoy rescue conversions had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|252|ft|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|36|ft|m|0}} and a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|13|ft|5|in|m|1}}. They had a tonnage of {{GRT|1333|disp=long}}.<ref name="historicalrfa"/> The ships were powered by a pair of [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engines]], each driving one [[propeller shaft]] using steam provided by two [[Admiralty three-drum boiler]]s. The engines developed a total of {{convert|2880|ihp|lk=on}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}.<ref>Lenton, p. 297</ref> The convoy rescue ships were given an armament of a single 12-pounder ({{cvt|3|in|0}}) [[anti-aircraft gun|anti-aircraft (AA) guns]] and five [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{convert|20|mm|1|adj=on|sp=us}} Oerlikon]] AA guns on single mounts.<ref>Goodwin, p. 52</ref>

==Construction and career==
The ship was ordered from [[George Brown & Co.]] of [[Greenock]] on 9 December 1942 as a Castle-class corvette. She was laid down in 1943 and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 5 October 1944 as ''Barnard Castle'' (K594), but further work was then cancelled, and she was completed as a convoy rescue ship on 17 April 1945. Under the ownership of the [[Ministry of War Transport]], and managed by the [[Ellerman Lines|Ellerman City Line]], she sailed on six convoys over the next month, but made no rescues. On 22 May 1945 the ship was briefly placed in reserve before she became an accommodation ship for the [[Third Submarine Flotilla]] based in [[Holy Loch]]. ''Empire Shelter'' later served as a troopship. By 1955 she had been laid up in the [[River Fal]] and was sold for scrap that year. The ship arrived at [[Burcht, Antwerp|Burght]], [[Belgium]], on 29 July to begin demolition.<ref name="historicalrfa">{{cite web |url= http://www.historicalrfa.org/archived-stories/1116-convoy-rescue-ships-service |title=Convoy Rescue Ships Service |work=historicalrfa.org |last1=Smith|first1=James R. |accessdate=26 July 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last1=Goodwin|first1=Norman |title=Castle Class Corvettes: An Account of the Service of the Ships and of Their Ships' Companies|date=2007|publisher=Maritime Books|location=Liskeard, UK|isbn=978-1-904459-27-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
{{Castle class corvette}}
{{Empire ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Shelter}}
[[Category:Empire ships]]
[[Category:Castle-class corvettes]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]