Park ship
| History | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics Park Ship | |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 315 ft 5 in (96.14 m) |
| Beam: | 46 ft 5 in (14.15 m) |
| Depth: | 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m) |
| Installed power: | Triple expansion steam engine |
| Propulsion: | Screw propellor |
| Crew: | 34, plus 4 DEMS gunners |
| Armament: |
|
Park Ships were merchant steamships constructed for Canada’s Merchant Navy during the Second World War. Park ships and Fort ships (built in Canada for operation by the British) were the Canadian equivalent of the American Liberty Ships. All three shared a similar design by J.L. Thompson and Sons of Sunderland, England. The Jasper Park was first Park ship sank to enemy attack, she sank in the Indian Ocean after a torpedo attack.
The Allied merchant fleet suffered significant losses in the early years of the Battle of the Atlantic as a result of U-boat attacks. The Park Steamship Company was created by the Canadian government on April 8, 1942 to oversee construction of a merchant fleet to help replace the lost vessels and to administer the movement of materiel. This was part of a coordinated Allied effort that saw the construction of British, American and Canadian merchant ships using a common class of vessel known as the North Sands class (named after a beach near the J. L Thompson yard on the River Wear).
Over the next three years, the company ordered approximately 160 bulk cargo ships and 20 tankers that would all fly the Canadian flag. Ships at 10,000 tons deadweight were known as Park class. Smaller vessels, at a nominal 4,700 tons, were at first designated Grey class but were later called Park ships as well and were commonly known as the 4700 tonner Park ships. All the Park ships were powered by coal driven steam engines. All but two vessels launched were named for federal, provincial or municipal parks in Canada. Some were armed with bow guns and anti-torpedo nets. Two of the Park ships were lost to natural hazards and four were lost due to enemy action. One, Avondale Park, built at the Pictou Shipyard in Pictou, Nova Scotia was one of two Allied ships destroyed by enemy action in the North Sea in the last hour of the war in Europe on May 7, 1945.
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