Name TID 164

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

TID 164 is one of only five surviving examples of a standard type of tug built in large numbers during wartime. Between 1942 and 1946 182 were built by order of the Ministry of War Transport to a simplified design to allow the construction of prefabricated sections by inland steel fabricators. They utilised a hard chine design involving a sharp change in angle in the hull’s cross section. The eight sections, each weighing up to six tons, were transported and welded together at a shipyard. 

TID 164 was one of 23 tugs assembled at the yard of William Pickersgill & Sons at Southwick, Sunderland. The boiler, engine and superstructure were all added after launching. She was completed on 28 November 1945. All TIDs were built with an open navigation platform, although many, including TID 164, later had enclosed wheelhouses fitted. All 182 TIDS were originally steam-powered; the first 90 were coal-fired, although later ones, including TID 164, were oil-fired. Many were subsequently converted to diesel; only three survive as steam-powered tugs. 

TID 164 was powered by a 2-cylinder compound steam reciprocating engine, generating 220 ihp through a single boiler and driving a single screw. Her bunkers accommodated 8.6 tons of oil and she was able to maintain a speed of 8.5 knots. Her boiler was of the Scotch Return Tube type, having been built by D. Rowan & Co Ltd in Glasgow in 1945. 

TID 164 is largely unchanged from her original design and build, although a cabin was fitted early on. Since 1999, the cabin has been refitted and the boiler has been retubed. In 2003, central heating was installed, and running pipes in cable trays were fitted to match the original wiring and hide radiators. A new freshwater tank was installed next to the sanitary tank forward of the wheelhouse, made of wood and resin.

In 2004 all valves attached to the hull were removed, grit blasted, re-machined and new tops fabricated where necessary. New studs and nuts were fitted and the insides coated with anti-corrosive paint. The wood of the rubbing strake was removed, the damaged metal cut away and renewed, and the lower metal strake replaced by individual brackets for each bolt. The hull was high-pressure water blasted and its thickness tested. Where plates were thin, patches were welded flush into the hull and the whole area finished with sprayed red oxide and gloss paint. TID 164 is subject to regular boiler and general surveys.

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

On completion TID 164 entered naval service at Port Edgar, on the Forth estuary, attached to HMS LOCHINVAR, the minesweeper base. In 1947 she was chartered by the Port of London Authority to work in the London Docks, returning the following year to the Firth of Forth to work at Rosyth Dockyard. In December 1962 she was placed in reserve at Rosyth, re-entering service there five years later. In June 1974 she was sold to the Medway Maritime Museum for preservation.

Between 1975 and 1978 she operated commercially on towage duties under the name HERCULES for International Towing Ltd, a commercial venture of the Medway Maritime Trust. This work took her to London, Rye, the Clyde, and the Caledonian Canal. In 1978 she reverted to her original name and, whilst berthed at Chatham, sank at her moorings when a drain plug in the bottom of her hull broke. In 2009, she again sank at her berth and was raised. 

Since the formation of The Friends of TID 164 in 2010, work has been ongoing to restore the vessel. However it is understood that the group have disbanded in late 2023.

TID 164 was recorded on the National Register of Historic Vessels in 1996 and is a member of the National Historic Fleet.

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

TID 164 was built for the wartime Ministry of War Transport as a mass-produced tug designed for a wide range of duties for both government service and charter to commercial operators. Her design meant that she could be prefabricated off-site and transported to a shipyard for assembly. Her design also meant that the boiler, engine, and superstructure could be constructed off-site and added to the vessel after launching. This enabled the rapid construction of TIDs. During peak production, one tug was turned out every four and a half days. 

Her powerful engine, her thick steel hull, and her basic superstructure enabled TID 164 to fulfil the wide range of duties she was called upon to perform. She was well-fitted for her intended purpose, and the nature of mass production meant that all features were extensively tried and tested. She required few modifications or adaptations during her working life.

TID 164 has now been in the hands of the Medway Maritime Museum and subsequent heritage bodies for nearly 50 years (since June 1974). She currently sits outdoors on a mudbank alongside Chatham Historic Dockyard exposed to all weathers. She was repainted prior to 2020.

Aesthetically, TID 164 is highly representative of her time, being one of a very large number in use during the war and beyond. She was built for practicality rather than aesthetic appearance. She illustrates an important part of the wartime naval story and is strategically located at a national naval museum. With her black hull, yellow superstructure, and tall yellow funnel she is an iconic symbol of British history during the Second World War. 

Sources: 

Paul Brown, Historic Ships: The Survivors (Amberley, 2010), 73-75.

Brouwer, Norman J, International Register of Historic Ships (Anthony Nelson, 1993), 128.

Steamboat Register: An illustrated Register of surviving steam vessels in the British Isles

(Steam Boat Association of Great Britain, 1994).