SS BRIGHTON
View of Brighton V on her acceptance trials
Derek Longly collection
Possibly a builders photo of the ship when new
Derek Longly collection
Brighton V arriving at Dieppe
Derek Longly collection
SS Brighton V - built 1933
By Derek Longly
Searching through the site recently I noted that there is little to be found concerning the 1933 built SS Brighton V. I found one photo of her departing Newhaven in rough seas and a painting of her as a Hospital Ship in WWII and that seems to be all.
Therefore I thought it appropriate to devote a short article to providing some background information about her, plus a couple more photos from my collection.
The ship was built by Messrs Denny Brothers of Dumbarton. Her Official Number was 160139 and she was launched on 30th November 1932, being completed on 22nd March 1933.
She had a gross tonnage of 2,391 tons and measurements of 298.1 foot length and 38.6 foot beam.
Propulsion was by two shaft three stage single reduction geared Parsons turbines
The vessel entered service with the Southern Railway and was similar in appearance to the earlier SS Worthing, although judging from the number of windows to be seen along her main deck in the photos it appears she may have provided more private cabins on that deck than her predecessor. A search for deck plans of the ship has unfortunately not been successful so this is only a supposition. (If anyone has any definite information as to the layout and fittings of the passenger accommodation aboard her I would be very interested to hear from them.)
Having served successfully on the Newhaven - Dieppe service from the time of her introduction until the outbreak of World War II the ship was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1940 and became a hospital ship.
It was in this capacity that she sadly met her end when on 24th May 1940 she was bombed by German aircraft at Dieppe and sunk, becoming a total loss.
Had she survived the war then maybe the route would never have had the services of the fine Brighton VI of 1949, as no doubt Brighton V and the Worthing plus Londres and Arromanches would have been the mainstay vessels on the route for many years.