Additional information courtesy of Barry Banham, David Slinger and Phil Rogers
Technical
Official Number: 162872
Yard Number: 953
Completed: 1933
Gross Tonnage: 397.84
Net Tonnage: 150.50
Length: 155.0 ft
Breadth: 26.4 ft
Depth: 12.2 ft
Built: Smith’s Dock Co Ltd, South Bank-on-Tees, Middlesbrough
Engine: 700ihp T.3-cyl by Smith’s Dock Co Ltd, South Bank-on-Tees, Middlesbrough.
Boiler: Richardson Westgarth & Co Ltd, Hartlepool
History
6.7.1933: Launched by Smith’s Dock Co Ltd, South Bank-on-Tees, Middlesbrough (Yd.No.953) for Consolidated Fisheries Ltd (64/64), Grimsby as ASTON VILLA.
2.8.1933: Registered at Grimsby (GY508).
2.8.1933: Sir John D. Marsden, Bart designated manager.
8.8.1933: Vessel mortgaged(64/64) to Smith’s Dock Co Ltd, North Shields (A).
8.1933: Completed at a cost of £19736.
30.4.1936: Mortgage (A) discharged.
2.5.1936: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to Midland Bank Ltd, London (B).
21.7.1936: Mortgage (B) discharged.
8.1936: Sold to The Admiralty.
14.8.1936: Grimsby registry closed (Advice received from the Manager and from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty). Fitted out as depot ship for Coastal Forces (cost £31,696, estimate £27,000 – stored torpedoes and depth charges). Renamed HMS MASCOT and later HMS VULCAN, tender to the 1st MTB Flotilla.
1939: Served in Mediterranean.
1940: In Home Fleet.
1941: In Mediterranean Fleet.
1944: Armed (1-20mm).
5.2.1947: Sold to Boston Deep Sea Fishing & Ice Co Ltd (64/64), Fleetwood. Basil Arthur Parkes designated manager.
11.1947: Reclassed at Fleetwood and registered at Fleetwood as FOTHERBY (FD262).
1948: Transferred to fish out of Gt. Yarmouth.
From 10.1950: Landings transferred to Israeli refrigerated steamer D’VORA (506grt/1943) ex ‘Isles’ class trawler KITTERN (P.No.T382) for shipment to Haifa, Israel.
2.1951: Chartered by Ezra Deep Sea Fishing Co Ltd (Ezra Danin & others),Tel-Aviv, Israel for six months with option to purchase.
8.2.1951: Sailed Fleetwood for Grimsby (Sk. Arthur J. Lewis). Seven Israeli deckhands/firemen arrived Grimsby to join.
31.3.1951*: Sailed Grimsby at 1400 for Las Palmas (Capt T. S. Hodgkinson); nineteen crew all told. To initially fish the Canary-Saharan bank under an agreement for Israel to pay £60/ton for all fish landed at Haifa. To then train Israeli fishermen.
8.4.1951: Arrived Las Palmas at 1615, berthed 1715. Total time – 8 days 2hrs 15 mins. Distance run 1,807 miles. Average speed 9.90knots.
10.4.1951: Sailed Las Palmas at 1805 for fishing grounds.
11.4.1951: Fishing in position 26N 14W.
21.4.1951: Fishing 13m ExS of Cape Juby, Morocco. Hauled and stowed gear. 1200 left fishing grounds for Haifa, Israel.
3.5.1951: At 0300 arrived off Haifa Harbour. Total time 11 days 7hrs. Distance run 2,817 miles. Average speed 10.40 knots.
1951: Fishing off the coasts of Morocco and Greece mainly for bream.
1951: Fleetwood registry closed.
1951: Registered at Tel-Aviv as MIRIAM (TA122).
1951: Returned to UK.
12.1951-1.1952: Completed Special Survey at Grimsby. Continued to land at ?? and some part landings transhipped to Israel along with those of company steam trawlers SHULAMITH (585g/20) and ZIPORAH (580grt/1921).
1952: Ezra Deep Sea Fishing Co Ltd in liquidation.
1953: Sold to Government of Poland, Warsaw (Ministry of Industry & Commerce)(P. P. D. “Dalmor”, managers).
3.1953: Tel Aviv registry closed. Registered at Gdynia as POLLUX (GDY187).
1965: Laid up.
1969: Sold for breaking up.
*Crew on sailing 31.3.1951: Capt T. S. Hodgkinson, J. Dewhurst, B. Harivess, F. Nicholson, M. Smith, W. Newman, J. Smith, G. Whittle, J. A. Woods, P. Walton, W. P. Jones – all British; M. Shadmi, A. Goldman, Z. Klein, I. Ziser, J. Rabach, A. Gevandter, R. Vaadi – all Israeli; J. Gorecki – Polish.
Click to enlarge image
Changelog
03/05/14: Page updated.
25/01/2017: Removed disputed image.
19/02/2018: Added an image.
12/10/2020: Updated information.
22/10/2020: Updated history and added images.
29/10/2020: Further update.
08/08/2022: Added an image.