OA-05

SS Lord Kelvin Vintage Life Ring Buoy

The British SS Lord Kelvin was a cable-laying ship which served during the Second World War. Initially owned by the Anglo-American Telegraph Company, Lord Kelvin was completed in 1916. During the Second World War, Lord Kelvin was leased to the Western Telegraph Company.On 27 September 1942, while southwest of Anticosti Island, she was performing cable work when the Canadian Bangor-class minesweeper Chedabucto was ordered to escort her to Rimouski, Quebec. Chedabucto was running in a blacked-out state, and at 05:55, Lord Kelvin rammed the minesweeper in its side, near the wardroom. One member of Chedabucto's crew was killed in the collision. The collision left a 20-foot (6.1 m) hole in the side of Chedabucto. Most of Chedabucto's crew were transferred to Lord Kelvin as it became apparent that the hole was too big to be patched on the spot. Chedabucto sank while under tow.Lord Kelvin was repaired and resumed service. The ship spent the rest of her life laying cables until taken out of service in 1963 and broken up in 1967. England.

height
4.25 in. (10.8 cm)
diameter
29.5 in. (74.93 cm)

Circa 1916