SB Ena
 Ena lying on the mud at Hoo, 2018
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Ena |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | McLearon, Harwich, Essex, UK |
| Launched | 1906 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Lying in the marshes |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Thames sailing barge |
| Tons burthen | 73 |
| Length | 88.13 ft (26.86 m) |
| Beam | 20.6 ft (6.3 m) |
| Draught | 2 ft (0.61 m)approx |
| Depth of hold | 6.89 ft (2.10 m)approx |
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan | mulie rig sprit mainsail, topsail, mizzen, gaff rigged with boom. |
| Capacity | 150 tonnes |
| Complement | 2 |
| Notes | Served in both World War I as an ammunition barge, and in World War II in the Dunkirk evacuation. [1] Focus of 2002, first series of the Salvage Squad.[2] |
The Ena is a wooden Thames sailing barge constructed in Harwich in 1906 that is resting on the flats adjacent to Stargate Marina in Hoo, Kent. She is a notable Dunkirk little ship reputed to have rescued 100 men.[3]
In 2002, Ena was the focus of an episode of the Channel 4 TV series Salvage Squad.[2][4]
History
[edit]The barge was built speculatively by W B McLearon at the Navy Yard slip, Harwich in 1906. R & W Paul Ltd, the grain and agricultural merchants, bought her in 1907 to use in the grain trade. This was the second barge they had bought from W B McLearon's Navy Yard, after the Thalatta. They rigged her as a mulie in their own Dock End Shipyard.[1]
First World War service
[edit]Ena served in the First World War, delivering supplies across the Channel to troops in France. Her shallow draught allowed her to operate in waters too shallow for the enemy U-boats.[1]
Dunkirk evacuation
[edit]Thirteen Thames sailing barges made the crossing, six from R & W Paul Ltd's fleet. On the Dunkirk beaches, her crew were ordered to abandon her. She was beached but then refloated by Lt Colonel W G Mc Kay and men of the 19th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and taken back to Kent, notable as none of them was a sailorman.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]
- ^ a b c d Ena 199.
- ^ a b "Thames Sailing Barge". Salvage Squad. Series 1. Episode 9. 2002. Channel 4.
- ^ "Dunkirk hero ship Ena pictured decaying at Hoo | On The Thames". onthethames.net. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ Salvage Squad: Sailing Barge on YouTube
- Bibliography
- "Ena | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.