Despite the title on this image it is believed to be SS Berg; ashore at Redcar 9th November 1914. As details in Redcar Shipwrecks list give the vessel as SS Berg, perhaps there was a typographical slip? Derick Pearson advises: “In the days of sailing ships, the term SS stood for “Sailing Ship”. Steam ships are termed SS which stands for “Steam ship” because they are powered by steam. If the vessel is powered by a internal combustion motor such as diesel engine or a gas turbine unit, the vessel’s name has MV (“Motor Vessel”) denoting the type of propulsion the vessel has. Now SSRF causes a problem here as SSRF stood for Small Scale Raiding Force which was set up during the early 1940s to undertake “pinprick” raids on the coast of Northern France and the Channel Islands. The raids were designed to gather information and to take prisoners for interrogation while locally having a demoralising effect on the German troops. More generally the unpredictability of the SSRF activities were designed to tie up enemy resources that would otherwise be used on other fronts. Often small boats were used and designated SSRFs.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Derick Pearson for the details.
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