During a recent filming trip in County Leitrim in north-west Ireland we happened upon what we believe to be a 1953 German-built riverine patrol boat of the Belgian Navy. And what was most unusual was the U.S.N. 10 markings on the hull.
We had a closer look at this interesting vessel and as there was no one on board that day to ask about her origins, we left none the wiser.
To confirm its identity, we sought help from the ‘USN P22 Trust’ in Sandwich, Kent, who have a similar fully operational P22 American naval patrol boat from 1952, designed for Cold War Rhine River patrols.
Speaking to Shane Thompson from the P22 trust, he was able to confirm was that U.S.N. 10 is a Belgian riverine patrol boat, constructed 1953–54 at the Theodor Hitzler Shipyards in Lauenburg, Germany. Between 1953 – ’56 the Hitzler shipyard constructed ten similar-sized riverine patrol boats in three separate classes the “Lys” (similar in size to the P22), “Congois” and “Liberation”.
Shane also told us that an accurate identification of the U.S.N. 10 patrol boat was challenging as apart from comparing chassis plates and engine numbers there are only subtle differences between the different classes and the key identification method was the size (15cm to 1m) and distance apart of the stern windows.
Operational efficiency and space optimisation guided the vessel’s layout, with bunks, bridge, captain’s cabin and an open-air fly-bridge forward. Aft lay heads, engine room, a kitchenette and open-air seating.
U.S.N. 10 would have had seven crew members – Captain, helmsman, telegraph operator, two covering sailors and two mechanics.
The real question arising from this article is how a 1953 German-built patrol boat, formerly of the Belgian Navy, with the designation U.S.N. 10 came to be on the River Shannon, Ireland in 2023?
Can anyone help us out?
Information sources:
The USN P22 Trust
www.mwm.net
www.reintjes-gears.de
