What was happening 84 years ago today? 23 April 1940
The official launch of Sea Fisher, 23 April 1940
We have uncovered from our archive the celebratory photos of Sea Fisher launch on 23 April 1940, 84 years ago. This vessel was designed to carry gun-turrets, the largest class of battleships, she also designed so she could operate as a collier.
Two new ships the Sea Fisher (a steam cargo ship) in the picture, and the Sound Fisher were purpose built in 1940 and 1941 for the carriage of heavy loads.
She was constructed by Austin of Sunderland at a cost of £77,000, she had very large hatchways, 76 feet in length, with circular bulges on both sides of one of them to take the turrets.
She was mined in the North Sea soon after her launch. Had she been carrying cargo she would have sunk. The Admiralty was alarmed by the Sea Fisher’s narrow escape, which had almost left them without a single vessel capable of carrying the Navy’s largest gun turrets, and the Admiralty instructed Fishers to commission a second vessel the Sound Fisher.
Special thanks to our former Trustee, Mike Shields, for providing the information above.