History : Concrete Barges On The Thames

Concrete Barges On The Thames



These hulking objects are, in fact, the remains of concrete ships from the second world war. To be clear: not ships for transporting concrete, but ships made from concrete.

Dozens were constructed as part of the preparations for D-Day. Their hulls are formed from ferroconcrete — concrete reinforced with iron — a material that was relatively cheap to produce during wartime metal shortages. Despite appearances, they are lighter than the water they displace, and so can float.

The barges played a key, if poorly documented, role in the Normandy invasion of June 1944. They were used to transport fuel to other ships engaged in the invasion, and may have formed parts of the Mulberry harbours and pontoon bridges that helped move men and equipment to the shore.

Most of the concrete ships are long lost in the English Channel. These particular hulks were reportedly given a new lease of life in 1953, when they were towed back to the Thames and sunk, to shore up damaged flood barriers. They've sat here in the mud ever since, slowly rotting away as the tides wash over.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Fascinating!



😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Have you heard of this sunken WW2 American warship?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery

According to a BBC news report in 1970, it was determined that if the wreck of Richard Montgomery exploded, it would throw a 1,000-foot-wide (300 m) column of water and debris nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) into the air and generate a wave 16 feet (5 m) high. Almost every window in Sheerness (pop. circa 20,000) would be broken and buildings would be damaged by the blast. However, news reports in May 2012 (including one by BBC Kent) stated that the wave could be about 4 feet (1 m) high, which although lower than previous estimates would be enough to cause flooding in some coastal settlements.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

I suppose it has to just sit and decay naturally. Such a shame. They're an eyesore.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

No I had not until just now.

Interesting. Obviously they're not planning on doing anything about it, since it's been sitting there for (wait a minute, let me get my calculator), 75 years!



😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Here’s one reason….

One of the reasons that the explosives have not been removed was the unfortunate outcome of a similar operation in July 1967 to neutralize the contents of Kielce, a ship of Polish origin, sunk in 1946 off Folkestone in the English Channel. During preliminary work, Kielce exploded with a force equivalent to an earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale, digging a 20-foot-deep (6 m) crater in the seabed and bringing "panic and chaos" to Folkestone, although there were no injuries. Kielce was at least 3 or 4 miles (4.8 or 6.4 km) from land, sunk in deeper water than Richard Montgomery, and had "just a fraction" of the load of explosives.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Sounds like a good reason to me.



😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

One last thing. The Munsel Forts…



Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Interesting story. You know those ships could be considered a form of environmental pollution. I dunno. That Greta girl has me feeling guilty about pollution now.😞

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Apparently they’re home to migrating birds during the winter so the RSPB don’t seem to mind. The Thames is still pretty dirty so if it is a pollutant it’s not the most serious cause.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Apparently they’re home to migrating birds during the winter so the RSPB don’t seem to mind.

Well I saw a house sparrow eating the remains of a half eaten egg mc muffin that somebody threw on the sidewalk. Cannot be good for that bird. It's supposed to feed on insects or something not man made food trash.

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

The Thames has seen a lot of history go by!

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

Weren’t you born in that area before evolving into a New Zealander?

Re: Concrete Barges On The Thames

I sure was! Romford is my home town.
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