Barges and Lighters

Three types of vessels of roughly the same size can be confused: ‘barges’, metal ‘lighters’ and ferroconcrete ‘lighters. This is compounded by the term ‘barge’ sometimes being used to describe a lighter.

Thames Sailing Barges

These have a sailing rig, or at least did when active. In the distant past, they partly evolved from wooden Thames lighters. ‘TSBs’ from the early twentieth century onward often have iron or steel hulls (iron pots), before this they were, of course, wooden. They are sailed by ‘sailormen’ but never by ‘bargees’ who are found on canals. TSBs are typically in the range of 80′ (24m) in length and 18′ (5.5m) beam’ although there are half-size barges such as Cygnet. See The Barge Collection.

Thames metal lighters

These are ‘dumb’ vessels for carrying bulk cargo, generally on the Thames or London River. Originally they were made of wood. Usually, they have a ‘swim head’ bow which is flat and slanting upwards, some have a stem head. There are many along the East Coast. These include retired lighters used as breakwaters, as in the Backwaters, abandoned hulks and conversions such as LBK6 (which did have an engine). During World War Two many were converted to Landing Craft. Steel Thames Lighters vary in dimension, although many are between 22m and 27m. Those in the Backwaters and at Bradwell are 26.2m/6.5m length/beam. The Open Barges forming the Horsey Breakwater are metal Thames lighters. Also, see Metal Lighter Hulk on the Stour.

Ferro Concrete Barges (FCBs)

According to www.thecretefleet.com, which is the definitive source on the topic, there were two hundred and ninety-four open ferro-concrete barges (FCBs), and two hundred, closed, petrol barges (PCBs) built during World War Two. These were originally intended mainly for use in the invasion of France.

It seems that none of the petrol barges were used for the Normandy landings as they did not perform well in a test and, in any case, better solutions were found. The open barges were utilised around the British coast. Both types had a range of uses after the War.

Most FCBs were’ Stem Head’, the Ritchie design is 81’9″/21’8″ or 25.9m/6.5m length/beam and the Mouchel design is 84’/22’6″ or 25.6m/6.7m length/beam. Both types were built initially but the Mouchel design was adopted. There were 50 built with a Swim Head. In total 294 FCBs were built, an initial batch of 40, then 255 more.

PCBs were adapted from the Mouchel design and had the same dimensions. There were 201 PCBs including the prototype.

These FCBs, despite their size, have a tendency to hide in plain sight and may not all bet yet located. The one at Titchmarsh is an example.

There are other ferro concrete structures in the Estuary such as Roughs Tower and the Pheonix unit on Maplin Sand.

Ferro Concrete Barges at Pin Mill
There are at least two Ferro Concrete Barges at Pin Mill on the Orwell. One is a stem head, used ...
About a mile and a half northwest of Harwich, in Ewarton Bay just West of Shotley, there is an open-type ...
An open-type FCB at Titchmarsh Marina is well disguised as a wooden bungalow by the marina car park. The fascinating ...
There is a Ferro Concrete Petrol Barge (PCB), or Lighter, in the Harwich area. These were originally built for use ...
Three types of vessels of roughly the same size can be confused: 'barges', metal 'lighters' and ferroconcrete 'lighters. This is ...
The fighting men who landed on D-Day needed to be fed so ten Landing Barge Kitchen (LBK) were built for ...
Sales Point at Bradwell in the Blackwater is protected by Ferro Concrete Barges or FCBs ...
Dummy Landing Craft were built at Waldringfield and moored on the Deben before D-Day to deceive the Nazis. These were ...
2010 Backwaters lighters 1200x900 (1) cr FI
A group of twenty dumb barges or lighters has protected the northeast of Horsey Island, by the entrance to Walton ...
Maplin Sands stretch from Shoebury to Foulness on modern charts. The late eighteenth-century John Chandler Chart, refers to the large ...

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