Wooden barge
SB Ena
Ena lying on the mud at Hoo, 2018
|
| History |
|---|
| United Kingdom |
|---|
| Name | Ena |
| Owner |
- R & W Paul Ltd (1906–2001)
- Luke Deards (2001–?)
|
| Builder | McLearon, Harwich, Essex, UK |
| Launched | 1906 |
| Identification |
- Official Number 122974
- National historic ship 199
|
| Status | Lying in the marshes |
| General characteristics |
|---|
| Class and type | Thames sailing barge |
| Tons burthen | 73 |
| Length | 88.13 ft (26.86 m) |
| Beam | 20.6 ft (6.3 m) |
| Draught | 2 ft (0.61 m)approx |
| Depth of hold | 6.89 ft (2.10 m)approx |
| Propulsion |
- Sail (1906–1948)
- Ruston diesel engine (1948–1974)
- Sail and auxiliary Gardner diesel (1974–2001)
|
| Sail plan | mulie rig sprit mainsail, topsail, mizzen, gaff rigged with boom. |
| Capacity | 150 tonnes |
| Complement | 2 |
| Notes | Served in both World War I as an ammunition barge, and in World War II in the Dunkirk evacuation. Focus of 2002, first series of the Salvage Squad.[2] |
The Ena is a wooden Thames sailing barge constructed in Harwich in 1906 that is resting on the flats adjacent to Stargate Marina in Hoo, Kent. She is a notable Dunkirk little ship reputed to have rescued 100 men.[3]
In 2002, Ena was the focus of an episode of the Channel 4 TV series Salvage Squad.[2][4]
History
The barge was built speculatively by W B McLearon at the Navy Yard slip, Harwich in 1906. R & W Paul Ltd, the grain and agricultural merchants bought her in 1907 to use in the grain trade. This was the second barge they had bought from W B McLearon's Navy Yard, as they has bought the Thalatta. They rigged her as a mulie in their own Dock End Shipyard.
First World War service
Ena served in the First World War, delivering supplies across the Channel to troops in France. Her shallow draught allowed her to operate in waters too shallow for the enemy U-boats.
Dunkirk evacuation
Thirteen Thames sailing barges made the crossing, six from R & W Paul Ltd's fleet. On the Dunkirk beaches, her crew were ordered to abandon her. She was beached but then refloated by Lt Colonel W G Mc Kay and men of the 19th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and taken back to Kent, notable as none of them was a sailorman.
