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Gracie Fields
Above
: The last new-build for the Red Funnel fleet was the short-lived
Gracie Fields in 1936. She continued with the design concept of
Princess Elizabeth built nine years earlier and looked distinctly
outmoded. An enclosed wheelhouse was added - something which was not to
be commonplace on paddle steamers until shortly after World War II,
during which Gracie Fields was lost when bombed and sunk making her
second crossing to the beaches of Dunkirk.
Launched on April
8th 1936 by J I Thornycroft at Woolston, Southampton
Engines : Compound diagonal
Dimensions : 195.11 ft x 24.11 ft
396 Gross Registered Tons
Requisitioned for war service in 1939, going to
Dover for minesweeping duties.
Lost after receiving a direct bomb hit on her second run to Dunkirk
on May 29th 1940, sinking whilst under tow early the next morning
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