SS Alacrity (1893)

History
French Navy EnsignFrance
Name	Jean Bart
Namesake	Jean Bart
Owner	Dunkirk Chamber of Commerce (1893–1902)
Builder	Graville, France
Launched	1893
Fate	Sold 1902
Australian/Commonwealth red ensign (1901–1903)Australia
Name	Alacrity (1902–1929)
Owner	Howard Smith (1902–1917) Royal Australian Navy (1917–1925)
Acquired	1902 by purchase
Fate	Wrecked 1931
General characteristics
Tonnage	353 grt
Length	44.3 m (145 ft 6 in)
Beam	8.2 m (27 ft)
Depth	4.3 m (14 ft 3 in)
Propulsion	Twin screw

SS Alacrity was a tug built in Graville, France in 1893 as Jean Bart, and was operated by the Dunkirk Chamber of Commerce. She was sold in 1902 to Howard Smith and renamed Alacrity for tug service in Port Phillip, Australia. In 1917, during World War I, she was purchased by the Royal Australian Navy for use as a patrol vessel, inspection vessel, and minesweeper based at Fremantle in Western Australia. She was never commissioned. After being sold in 1925, she was slated for breaking up and was moored in Jervoise Bay, until a fierce gale in Cockburn Sound wrecked her in 1931.

References

• Wilson, Michael; Royal Australian Navy 21st Century Warships, Naval auxiliaries 1911 to 1999 including Defence Maritime Services, Profile No. 4 – Revised Edition, Topmill Pty Ltd, Marrickville. ISBN 978-1-876270-72-8

External links

• Photo of Navy tug Alacrity
• Photos of Alacrity wreck c.1945.