PS Waverley was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1899 and 1939. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during World War I and again in World War II, and was sunk while participating in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. The current PS Waverley, launched in 1946, was built as a replacement for this vessel.[6] Waverley was built for the North British Steam Packet Co. by A. & J. Inglis at their Pointhouse Shipyard on the Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland.[1][7] The ship was designed to be the flagship of the North British Steam Packet Co. fleet with the intention that it could be used for regular Clyde services but also to help the company expand their initial foray into excursions in areas around Bute, Arran, Kintyre and Loch Fyne.[1] Waverley was equipped with a compound engine, which was a first for ships employed on the Clyde which had up to this point only used single crank engines. But this was combined with a haystack boiler, which at the time was considered an older style of boiler, but being lighter than contemporary modern designs resulted in impressive speeds.[1][8][9] She was launched on 29 May 1899[2] and completed official trials on 8 July during which she achieved 19.73 knots over the measured mile.[5] After her trials she went downriver and around Bute before returning to Craigendoran.[5] She entered service on 10 July 1899.[1] In 1902, North British Steam Packet Co was dissolved and Waverley was transferred to the ownership of its parent company North British Railway operating a smaller range of routes that did not include Kintyre, Loch Fyne and the west of Arran.[1] With the outbreak of World War II she was brought briefly back into service to evacuate children from Glasgow to areas on the Clyde coast, and was then requisitioned by the Royal Navy to serve as the lead ship of the 12th Minesweeping Flotilla.[1][7] The flotilla consisted of five paddle steamers, was based at Harwich on the east coast of England, and tasked with sweeping the shipping lanes.[7] On 28 May 1940, this flotilla was given orders to stock up and sail south to take part in Operation Dynamo, the effort to evacuate Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk.[7] Having spent several hours attempted to tow off the beached HMS Oriole (PS Eagle), Waverley was intercepted by 12 German Heinkels while returning to England with 600 troops on board.[10] After avoiding their bombs for about 30 minutes, one struck the port side of the ship and opened a 6-foot hole in the bottom of the ship.[10] The ship sank near Kwint Bank Buoy with the loss of two crewmembers and about 150 troops.[7][11][10] 158 survivors were pulled from the water by the Cyclone, 285 by the PS Golden Eagle. A Dutch tugboat Java and two drifters picked up a few more.[12][13] 1 2 "Launches and Trial Trips". Glasgow Herald. 30 May 1899. Yesterday Messrs A. & J. Inglis launched a new passenger steamer for the North British Steam Packet Company named the 'Waverley'. This vessel is of larger dimensions than any other of the company's fleet, and is intended for the daily excursion around Bute, which proved so popular last season, and for the evening run to Kirn, Dunoon, and Rothesay. The Waverley has a spacious dining cabin under the main deck aft, a comfortable tea-room at entrance to deck saloon, and has accommodation for a large number of tourists. She will shortly be placed on the station in connection with fast trains to Craigendoran. 1 2 3 4 5 "Clyde-built heroines of Dunkirk". The Herald. 26 May 1990. Retrieved 13 August 2017. 1 2 3 Alan Newman (10 July 2005). "Dunkirk rescue: My Grandfather's True Survival Story". BBC. Retrieved 13 August 2017. ↑ Gardner, W.J.R. (29 June 2000). The Evacuation from Dunkirk: 'Operation Dynamo', 26 May–June 1940. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0714681504.