As Time Goes By – SS Mahseer Gun

On October 18, 1941, a cargo ship, the SS Mahseer, struck a magnetic mine in the Barrow deeps in the Thames estuary. The explosion broke the back of the SS Mahseer, and she sank in two parts. The 97 crew members were saved. Bound for London, the SS Mahseer was carrying a large cargo that included 300 tons of copper and over 1,000 tons of steel.

After the Second World War, the wreck site was dispersed by the Admiralty with most of the copper salvaged by 1950. In the early 1990’s, there was a second salvage operation to salvage metal from the wreck site. Raised from the wreck site is this four-inch gun with a length of 16 feet. The gun has been on display nearby the dry dock at the Ramsgate inner harbour since 2007 and has been a feature ever since.

Written by:
Councillor Tony Ovenden,
Sir Moses Montefiore Ward