Name Caretta

1.      What is the vessel’s ability to demonstrate history in her physical fabric?

Evidence for designs, functions, techniques, processes, styles, customs and habits or uses and associations in relation to events and people.  How early, intact or rare these features are may impact on significance.

CARETTA was built as a 37 foot sailing pinnace fitted with two steam engines to drive her twin screws.  She was twin-funneled, but was also fitted with a sailing rig to help stabilize her in rough conditions. As a sailing pinnace CARETTA was part of a new breed of small armed boats that were designed to protect the fleet at anchor and provide armed patrols. She was fitted with a 'bow chaser' gun that was mounted in the middle of her fore deck.  For service during the First World War she had her bow chaser removed, and her gun mount transferred to the fore peak. She was then fitted with a Maxim machine gun to give her a higher rate of firepower and allow her to cover troops landing on the beaches at Gallipoli. Her gun mount is still on board today and is situated under the galley worktop.  After the First World War, the Navy tried fitting CARETTA with several internal combustion engines, but the results were unsatisfactory.  In 1929, she was converted into a private motor yacht and fitted with two Thorneycroft DB2 handy billy engines christened 'Samson' and 'Delilah' which remain with the vessel today.  In 2015, she was being re-caulked and there was evidence that the stem, some deck timbers, rudder and cabin roof needed replacement.

2.      What are the vessel’s associational links for which there is no physical evidence?

Associations with people or places.  Off-ship research.

CARETTA has associations with the Devonport area where she was launched in 1898.  She has international significance being a rare survivor from the Boer War (1899-1902) where she served as a river patrol boat and also part of the fleet landing troops at the Dardanelles during the First World War in 1915.  CARETTA went on to serve during the Second World War and it is believed she was seized by the Admiralty for use in Operation Dynamo (the 1940 evacuation from Dunkirk), with her masts removed prior to departure. Nothing is known about her role in the Operation, but afterwards she was collected from Ramsgate where her port engine was found to be seized and so she was taken out of commission or the rest of the War. She is not listed on the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships Register and so her service at Dunkirk has not been confirmed.  She has been recorded on the National Register of Historic Vessels since 2009.

3.      How does the vessel’s shape or form combine and contribute to her function?

Overall aesthetic impact of the vessel, her lines, material she was built from and her setting.  Does she remain in her working environment?

CARETTA is a bluff bowed pinnace with a raked straight stem and two masts, designed as a fighting vessel suitable for use in shallow waters.  An image of her at Gallipoli in 1915 indicates that her hull lines remain unchanged since her original function, with the exception of the loss of two curved trim strips at the transom.  These would have been removed during her conversion to a yacht when a plank rubbing strip was fitted instead.  However, her cabin and superstructure reflect her subsequent role as a private yacht.  CARETTA is undergoing further conservation work and is intended to remain in operational use.

Source: NHS-UK team, 02 November 2016. 

This statement was developed as part of the Heritage Lottery funded First World War project. http://www.ww1britainssurvivingvessels.org.uk/