Following the success of the Scottish puffers as supply vessels during World War I, their design was used as
the basis for similar purpose-designed craft in the second. A further VIC series expanded on the original 66ft design by lengthening the hull and providing accomodation for larger crews as well as simplifying construction by specifying that the hull plates be curved in one plane only, lending this variation a characteristic slab-sded appearance. Many of this later type eventually entered commercial service after the war, though VIC 56 remained in Admiralty service at Rosyth in Scotland right up to the end of her working life in 1975 before being sold in 1978 and moved to England for preservation.
Based originally on the Thames in East London, she has been berthed at Chatham Historic Dockyard since 2005, and is represented here as she appeared at the Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012.
Тип: scenery