Depot ship

Short description: Type of auxiliary warship

Not to be confused with Ship's tender.

A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and relaxation. Depot ships may be identified as tenders in American English. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose.

Submarine depot ship  missing name with a flotilla of submarines

## Contents

* 1 Function
* 1.1 Boom defence depot ships
* 1.2 Coastal forces depot ships
* 1.3 Destroyer depot ships
* 1.4 Escort vessel depot ship
* 1.5 Landing craft depot ships
* 1.6 Minesweeper depot ships
* 1.7 Motor torpedo boat depot ships
* 1.8 Patrol vessel depot ships
* 1.9 Seaplane depot ship
* 1.10 Submarine depot ships
* 2 Regulations
* 3 See also
* 4 Citations
* 5 Sources

## Function

Depot ships provide services unavailable from local naval base shore facilities. Industrialized countries may build naval bases with extensive workshops, warehouses, barracks, and medical and recreation facilities. Depot ships operating within such bases may provide little more than command staff offices,[1] while depot ships operating at remote bases may perform unusually diverse support functions. Some United States Navy submarine depot ships operating in the Pacific during World War II included sailors with Construction Battalion ratings to clear recreational sites and assemble buildings ashore,[2] while the Royal Navy mobile naval bases included specialized amenities ships to meet recreational needs of British Pacific Fleet personnel.[3]

Services provided by a depot ship depend upon whether typical client warship missions are measured in hours, or days, or weeks. A warship crew may be expected to remain at their stations for missions measured in hours, but longer missions may require provisions for dining, sleeping, and personal hygiene. The crew of small warships may carry individual combat rations and urinate or defecate from the weather deck. Longer missions typically require storage provisions for drinking water and preserved food, and some resting area for the crew, although rest may be limited to a sheltered spot to sit or recline. Cooking may be limited to warming food on an exhaust vent, and buckets may be used for bathing, laundry, and sanitary waste. Habitability standards vary among navies, but client warships large enough to include a head, bunks, a shower, a kitchen stove, refrigerated food storage, a drinking water distillation unit, and a laundry require little more than medical and repair service from a depot ship. Depot ships are similar to repair ships, but provide a wider range of services to a smaller portion of the fleet. Depot ships undertake repair work for a flotilla of small warships, while repair ships offer more comprehensive repair capability for a larger variety of fleet warships. Depot ships also provide personnel and resupply services for their flotilla. Some depot ships may transport their short-range landing or attack craft from home ports to launch near the scene of battle.[4] The following summary of World War II depot ships indicates the range of locations and warships served:

### Boom defence depot ships

HMS St. Columba was the depot ship for the boom defence vessels at Greenock. The survey ship HMS Endeavour (J61) was a depot ship for boom defence in Singapore and the Mediterranean Sea.[5]

### Coastal forces depot ships

Requisitioned merchant ships HMS Aberdonian (F74) and Vienna (F138) and the French Belfort (U63) were used as depot ships for Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy. Aberdonian started at Fort William, Scotland, but spent most of the war at Dartmouth, Devon, while Vienna was in the Mediterranean. The Loch-class frigates Loch Assynt (K438) and Loch Torridon (K654) became coastal forces depot ships HMS Derby Haven and Woodbridge Haven, respectively.[5]

### Destroyer depot ships

Destroyer tender  missing name moored in Pearl Harbor with destroyers on 8 February 1925.

Main article: Engineering:Destroyer tender

* missing name served in the Pacific after conversion from a repair ship in 1944.[6]
* missing name served in the Atlantic.[7]
* missing name was with the Asiatic Fleet in 1941 and transferred to Alaska for the remainder of the war.[7]
* HMS Blenheim served with the Home Fleet, at Iceland, and in the Mediterranean.[5]
* missing name[6]
* missing name served in the Atlantic.[7]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[6]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[7]
* HMS Greenwich (F10) served in Scapa Flow, Canada, Iceland, and with the Home Fleet.[8]
* missing name[6]
* HMS Hecla (F20) was based at Greenock and Iceland before being sunk in the Mediterranean during Operation Torch.[9]
* missing name[6]
* missing name served in the Atlantic.[7]
* HMS Philoctetes (F134) was stationed at Freetown.[5]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[6]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[6]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[6]
* missing name
* HMS Tyne (F24) served with the Home Fleet and British Pacific Fleet.[9]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. was a repair ship before being converted to a Home Fleet destroyer depot ship in 1945.[5]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[7]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. served in home waters, the Mediterranean, and the East Indies.[9]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[6]

### Escort vessel depot ship

HMS Sandhurst (F92) was a converted merchant ship used as a depot ship for coastal convoy escorts at Dover, Derry and Greenock.[8]

### Landing craft depot ships

The first landing craft carrier was completed by Japan in 1935.[10] The United States Navy began launching dock landing ships in 1943.[11] The 8,580-ton Beachy Head-class ships HMS Buchan Ness, Dodman Point, Dungeness, Fife Ness, Girdle Ness and Spurn Point were used as depot ships for Ramped Cargo Lighters during the last year of World War II.[12]

### Minesweeper depot ships

Nettlebeck, Brommy and Van der Groeben were depot ships for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd R boat flotillas, respectively. The 1st and 3rd flotillas were at Kiel, and the 2nd was at Cuxhaven.[13] HMS Ambitious (F169), Celebrity and St. Tudno were depot ships for minesweepers. Ambitious was stationed at Scapa Flow, and St. Tudno was at the Nore.[5] Japan requisitioned Chohei Maru, Rokusan Maru and Teishu Maru from civilian service as depot ships for minesweepers.[14]

### Motor torpedo boat depot ships

Tsingtau and Tanga were depot ships for the 1st and 2nd E-boat flotillas at Kiel and Hamburg, respectively.[13] Kamikaze Maru, Nihonkai Maru, Shinsho Maru and Shuri Maru were requisitioned from civilian service as depot ships for Japanese Motor Torpedo Boats.[14]

### Patrol vessel depot ships

Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. and the French ships  missing name,  missing name, Coucy and Diligente were used as depot ships for vessels patrolling the English Channel after the Second Armistice at Compiègne.[5] Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. was based at Lerwick, Shetland Islands, in July 1917 as a depot ship for trawlers and patrol boats. HMS Ambitious was a depot ship at Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands during the First World War.

### Seaplane depot ship

Includes both seaplane carriers and ships intended to support the operation of large flying boats, known as seaplane tenders in United States usage.

### Submarine depot ships

Main article: Engineering:Submarine tender

Submarine depot ship Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. with submarines alongside Submarine tender  missing name with submarines alongside Whang Pu is representative of the depot ships requisitioned from civilian service

* missing name served in the Pacific.[15]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. served with the Eastern Fleet and British Pacific Fleet.[9]
* HMS Alecto (J10) served at Portsmouth and became the boom defense depot ship.[16]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. was depot ship for the Fourth Flotilla, 1919 to 1928.
* missing name was converted to a troopship.[15]
* missing name was stationed at Subic Bay in 1945.[17]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[15]
* Wilhelm Bauer provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for the 7th U-boat Flotilla.[1]
* missing name was depot ship for Squadron 50 at Rosneath[18] before transfer to Alaska.[19]
* Bogata Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for the Monsun Gruppe.[20]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. was the depot ship for X craft.[5]
* missing name was depot ship for Squadron 12 at Fremantle and Majuro.[21]
* missing name was lost serving as the Asiatic Fleet depot ship.[22]
* Chōgei was depot ship for Subron 6.[20]
* missing name served in the Pacific.[15]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist.[16]
* HMS Cyclops (F31) served first in the Mediterranean, and then with the Home Fleet.[16]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for the 1st U-boat Flotilla.[13]
* missing name was stationed in New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands.[23]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. was depot ship for the 2nd and 3rd submarine flotillas.[9]
* missing name was depot ship for Squadron 8 in Pearl Harbor, Midway Atoll, Brisbane, New Guinea, Saipan and Subic Bay.[24]
* missing name was stationed at Subic Bay in 1945.[17]
* missing name was stationed in Newfoundland in late 1941 before serving in Brisbane and then in Pearl Harbor and Fremantle as depot ship for Squadron 12.[25]
* Heian Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for Subron 1.[20]
* Hie Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for Subron 8.[20]
* missing name was depot ship for Squadron 2 with the Asiatic Fleet before moving to Australia, Saipan and Guam.[26]
* Isar provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for the 6th U-boat flotilla.[13]
* Jingei was depot ship for Subron7.[20]
* The 5,747-ton French Jules Verne was initially stationed at Oran[27] and later at Madagascar.[28]
* Waldemar Kophamel provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for U-boat flotillas.[1]
* Lech provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for the 5th U-boat Flotilla.[13]
* HMS Lucia (F27) served in the Indian Ocean and was the Red Sea force base ship in 1940.[16]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. served at Rosyth and in the South Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific.[9]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. served in China and the Mediterranean.[8]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. served with the British Pacific Fleet.[5]
* Nagoya Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for Subron 4.[20]
* missing name was stationed at Fremantle and New Guinea.[29]
* missing name was under conversion from civilian service at Manila when Japan attacked and became a landing craft depot ship at Fremantle.[30]
* Antonio Pacinotti was a Regia Marina submarine depot ship.[31]
* missing name was depot ship for Squadron 6 at the attack on Pearl Harbor and in Fremantle.[32]
* HNLMS Pelikaan was stationed in the Dutch East Indies.[33]
* missing name was depot ship for Squadron 20 in Tokyo Bay for the Surrender of Japan.[34]
* Rio de Janeiro Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for Subron 5.[20]
* Saar provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for the 2nd U-boat Flotilla.[13]
* Santos Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for Subron 2.[20]
* HMS Talbot was the Malta submarine depot ship.[5]
* missing name was depot ship for Squadron 10 at Brisbane, Pearl Harbor, Majuro and Guam.[35]
* Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. was the depot ship for Welman submarines.[16]
* Tsukushi Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for Subron 11.[20]
* Alessandro Volta was a Regia Marina submarine depot ship.[31]
* Erwin Wassner provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for U-boat flotillas.[1]
* Weichsel provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for the 3rd U-boat Flotilla.[13]
* missing name was the Royal Australian Navy submarine depot ship.[5]
* HMS Wolfe (F37) was depot ship for the 3rd submarine flotilla until transferred to the Eastern Fleet in 1944.[5]
* HMS Wuchang (F30) served with the Eastern Fleet.[5]
* Otto Wunsche provided command facilities and submarine crew accommodations for U-boat flotillas.[1]
* Yasukuni Maru was requisitioned from civilian service as depot ship for Subron 3.[20]

## Regulations

Some depot ships support a naval base.  missing name was the base ship at Darwin, Australia during World War II.[8] In the Royal Navy, under section 87 of the Naval Discipline Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 109), the provisions of the act only applied to officers and men of the Royal Navy borne on the books of a warship. When shore establishments began to become more common it was necessary to allocate the title of the establishment to an actual vessel which became the nominal depot ship for the men allocated to the establishment and thus ensured they were subject to the provisions of the Act.[36] Some were also used as floating barracks designated receiving ships or receiving hulks.

## See also

* Stone frigate, a shore establishment listed as a ship for the purposes of naval organization.

## Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lenton (1975) pp.391-394
2. ↑ "Euryale". United States Navy. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e5/euryale.htm.
3. ↑ Lenton & Colledge, pp.333&335
4. ↑ Lenton & Colledge, p.333
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Lenton & Colledge, pp.341-348
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Silverstone, p.285
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Silverstone, p.283
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lenton & Colledge, p.336
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Lenton & Colledge, p.338
10. ↑ Watts, pp.307-309
11. ↑ Silverstone, p.263
12. ↑ Lenton & Colledge, p.350
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Kindell, Don. "French, Polish, German Navies, also US Ships in Europe, September 1939". http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-3909-05OtherNavies.htm#5.3.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Watts, p.322
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Silverstone, p.288
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Lenton & Colledge, p.334
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Blair, p.821
18. ↑ Blair, p.239
19. ↑ Silverstone, p.287
20. ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander; Cundall, Peter. "Sensui-Bokan!". http://www.combinedfleet.com/Sensui-bokan.htm.
21. ↑ Blair, pp.447&533
22. ↑ Blair, pp.131&136
23. ↑ Blair, p.582
24. ↑ Blair, pp.200,227,305,447,766&820
25. ↑ Blair, pp.59,194-195,411&582
26. ↑ Blair, pp.60,168,646&807
27. ↑ Auphan & Mordal, p.390
28. ↑ Kafka & Pepperburg, p.480
29. ↑ Blair, pp.582&646
30. ↑ Blair, pp.109&363
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Kafka & Pepperburg, p.806
32. ↑ Blair, pp.61&213
33. ↑ Lenton (1968) p.123
34. ↑ Blair, p.847
35. ↑ Blair, pp.225,344,346,533&766
36. ↑ Warlow, Ben (2000). Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy. Liskeard, Cornwall: Maritime Books. p. 6. ISBN 0-907771-73-4.

## Sources

* Auphan, Paul; Mordal, Jacques (1959). The French Navy in World War II. Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-8371-8660-9.
* Blair, Clay (1975). Silent Victory. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company. ISBN 9780397007530. https://archive.org/details/silentvictoryus00blai.
* Kafka, Roger; Pepperburg, Roy L (1946). Warships of the World (Victory ed.). New York: Cornell Maritime Press.
* Lenton, H.T. (1968). Navies of the Second World War. Royal Netherlands Navy (Doubleday ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company.
* Lenton, H.T. (1975). German Warships of the Second World War. New York: Arco Publishing. ISBN 0-668-04037-8.
* Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J. (1964). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company.
* Silverstone, Paul H. (1968). U.S. Warships of World War II. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company.
* Watts, Anthony J. (1966). Japanese Warships of World War II. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company.

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