HMTS/CS ALERT (4)
Built in 1961 by Fairfield Ship Building & Engineering
Length 417 ft Breadth 54.7 ft Depth 22.6 ft Gross
tonnage 6413
-As-built_s.jpg)
CS Alert
as built |
Owned by the General Post Office, and so carried the
prefix HMTS. In 1969 when the GPO ceased to be a Government department
the prefix was changed to CS. The ship was transferred to British Telecom
Marine when privatised. Based at Southampton for maintenance of Atlantic
cables. Fitted with three cable tanks capable of holding 58000 cubic feet
of cable.
-After-refit_s.jpg)
CS Alert after refit |
Cable handling machinery was supplied and fitted
by the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company and consisted of
two forward paying out-picking up machines. One standard aft gear was
fitted which was replaced in 1971 with a Dowty linear engine when the
vessel underwent a refit. A Voith-Schneider bow propeller was fitted which
could be controlled from the bridge, bow or stern. Bow sheaves of 8.0
ft diameter were fitted and a gantry for laying rigid repeaters was also
provided. Scrapped in 1995 when Cable & Wireless (Marine) Ltd. took
over the assets of British Telecom Marine.

CS Alert laying an STC repeater, 1974
Image courtesy of David Watson |

A view from Alert (whose bow is visible in the foreground)
of the Canadian icebreaker Labrador, clearing a passage
off St John's, Newfoundland, 1969-70.
Image courtesy of George Smith |
George Smith, who served on the ship as 3rd engineer from January 1967 to October 1973, notes that Alert was the first cableship to use the cable plough, developed so that shore-end cable could be trenched into the sea bed for protection against hazards such as ship anchors and fishermen's trawls. Use of the plough is now common practice.
See also George's technical note on the Flume Tank used to stabilize the Alert when at sea.

Commemorative plaque for CS Alert
Image courtesy of Mark Bridger |
CABLE WORK
1961 |
CANTAT B Corner Brook NL - Grosses Roches PQ, Canada
section |
1962 |
Lancaster - Colwyn Bay (UK) |
1962 |
SCOTICE Gairloch, Scotland - Thorshavn, Faroe
Islands - Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland |
1962 |
The Ships of the Clyde site has a record of Alert loading telephone cable for the route Scotland - Donaghadee in October 1962, but there is no record for this cable. |
1963 |
Covehithe, England - Katwijk, Holland |
1963 |
TAT 3: Tuckerton, New Jersey - Widemouth Bay,
England |
1966 |
St Thomas, US Virgin Islands - Maiquetie, Venezuela |
1968 |
Covehithe, England - Katwijk, Holland |
1968 |
Inverary - Loch Gair, Scotland |
1969 |
MED 3 Catanzaro, Italy - Lekhaina, Greece |
1969 |
Sesimbra, Portugal - Goonhilly, England (shore ends)
CS Monarch (4) laid the main cable |
1970 |
Goonhilly, England - Algorta, Spain |
1971 |
Winterton, England - Fedderwarden, Germany |
1971 |
Scotland - Shetland Islands |
1972 |
Aldeburgh, England - Domburgh, Holland No 7 |
1972 |
Broadstairs, England - Ostende, Belgium |
1972 |
Tuckerton Bridge, England - St Peter Port, Guernsey |
1972 |
West Palm Beach, Florida - Brandie Point, Grand
Bahama Island - Goodman Bay, Bahamas |
1973 |
CANTAT 2 Beaver Harbour, Canada - Widemouth Bay,
England UK shore ends |
1973 |
Scarborough, England - Thisted, Denmark |
1975 |
Broadstairs, England - Domburg, Holland |
1975 |
TELPAL: Palo, Italy – Tel Aviv, Israel |
1977 |
England - Belgium |
1981 |
TAT 7 Surveyed route |
1986 |
Broadstairs, England - Ostende, Belgium No 5
(First commercial fibre optic cable) |
1988 |
TAT 8 UK shore end and intermediate cable |
1989 |
Brighton, England - Dieppe, France No 3 |

Alert at the GPO cable depot in the Gare Loch.
This was situated about 200 yards before the entrance
to
what is now the nuclear submarine base at Faslane.
Image courtesy of George Smith |
The next group of photographs came in a small album titled:
St. Thomas - Venezuela Telephone Cable
June 30 - July 7, 1966
H.M.T.S. Alert
The photographs were not captioned, but George Smith, whose service on the ship began the following year, has provided descriptions where possible. Thanks also to Mark Bridger for additional identifications on pictures 14 and 24.
1966/Alert4-1966-01_s.jpg)
1. Alert at sea |
1966/Alert4-1966-02_s.jpg)
2. Working cable on the main deck. The man on the left is standing between, and possibly operating, the remote engine controls. Red for the port screw, green for starboard. The repeaters/ indicators for the controls are housed in the large round fittings at his feet. They will show what he is asking for and what the engines are actually giving. If they don't agree you have a major disaster in the making. |
1966/Alert4-1966-03_s.jpg)
3. Close up of the signal pennants, two round balls separated by a diamond: "Keep clear I'm engaged in underwater operations" |
1966/Alert4-1966-04_s.jpg)
4. Mike Landis, 2nd Officer, taking a bearing on the bridge, probably for a shore end. Mike was Polish by birth. |
1966/Alert4-1966-05_s.jpg)
5. Cable work on deck.The man at the right foreground wearing a grey shirt is the bosun, Jimmy Logie. It looks like they have started taking off, or are replacing, the steel wire armouring round the cable.
2012 update:
Martin Bridges, who worked on Alert as an assistant cable jointer at this time, notes that the bosun's name was Bob Westwood. To his left, bending over the cable, is Bob Strachan. |
1966/Alert4-1966-06_s.jpg)
6. Cable being paid out. I think a repeater is about to come along, the red ball is an indicator. |
1966/Alert4-1966-07_s.jpg)
7. Aft cable engine |
1966/Alert4-1966-08_s.jpg)
8. Another view of the cable engine |
1966/Alert4-1966-09_s.jpg)
9. Unidentified man in the "laying office" I forget the offical name for the place. It was off the starboard side of the centre castle. |
1966/Alert4-1966-10_s.jpg)
10. Inside the test room |
1966/Alert4-1966-11_s.jpg)
11. Repeater opened up for adjustment/calibration inside the clean room. This was air conditioned and sterile. |
1966/Alert4-1966-12_s.jpg)
12. Repeater about to go over the stern. The man in the whites is Captain John Ruddock. I think he is speaking into a hand held mike, maybe to the bridge? |
1966/Alert4-1966-13_s.jpg)
13. Cable going over the stern. Man in black shorts is Mike Landis, white shorts Captain Ruddock, unknown between. As the cable is showing as polythene and not "armoured" it must be going over in deep water. |
1966/Alert4-1966-14_s.jpg)
14. Captain Ruddock and bosun Jimmy Logie.
2012 update:
Martin Bridges, who worked on Alert as an assistant cable jointer at this time, notes that the bosun's name was Bob Westwood. |
1966/Alert4-1966-15_s.jpg)
15. Repeater coming aft, man in white is Captain Ruddock. |
1966/Alert4-1966-16_s.jpg)
16. Captain Ruddock watching a repeater going over. |
1966/Alert4-1966-17_s.jpg)
17. Shore end being floated ashore. The cable will be suspended beneath the orange floats on short lengths of hemp rope. Once in position a cable hand in a launch will cut the ropes, allowing the cable to fall onto the sea bed. |
1966/Alert4-1966-18_s.jpg)
18. Captain Ruddock in the centre castle having his hair cut by the donkeyman, Bill Currie. |
1966/Alert4-1966-19_s.jpg)
19. Officers in the lounge; Mike Landis drinking a pint. |
1966/Alert4-1966-20_s.jpg)
Detail
20. Group photo, man on the left in shorts is called Chisolm (I think). I believe he was normally Chief Officer on the Monarch. Captain Ruddock is wearing long white trousers and short sleeved shirt.. |
1966/Alert4-1966-21_s.jpg)
Detail
21 |
1966/Alert4-1966-22_s.jpg)
22 |
1966/Alert4-1966-23_s.jpg)
23 |
1966/Alert4-1966-24_s.jpg)
24. Captain Ruddock in uniform (second from left), Victor (Withold) Kimoke 3rd engineer (fourth from left, in background), rest unknown. |
1966/Alert4-1966-25_s.jpg)
Detail
25. Shore end buoyed off, ready to be cut free from its floats. They were also known as "pebbles" |
1966/Alert4-1966-26_s.jpg)
Detail
26. View of the shore end landing |
1966/Alert4-1966-27_s.jpg)
27. View of the shore end landing |
1966/Alert4-1966-28_s.jpg)
28. View of the shore end landing |
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