MS Brahe

Kristina Brahe in her civilian state in Savonlinna, 2008.
History
United Kingdom
Name	Kilchrenan
Builder	Pullman-Standard Car Company, Chicago, Illinois
Laid down	24 December 1942
Launched	13 June 1943
Commissioned	31 August 1943
Stricken	1947
Identification	IMO number: 5345065 MMSI number: 259167000 Callsign: LEJP
Fate	Returned to U.S. Navy custody, December 1946 Sold to Norway, 1947
Status	in active service, as of 2010^[update]
General characteristics as PCE[1]
Class and type	PCE-842-class patrol craft
Displacement	640 long tons (650 t)
Length	180 ft 6 in (55.02 m)
Beam	33 ft (10 m)
Draft	9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
Propulsion	2 × 1,800 bhp (1,342 kW) General Motors 12-567A diesel engines Falk single reduction gear 2 shafts
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	100
Armament	1 × 3"/50 caliber gun 3 × 40 mm guns 5 × 20 mm guns 2 × Depth charge tracks 4 × Depth charge projectors 2 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars
General characteristics as cruise ship[2]
Tonnage	1,105 gross register tons (GRT)
Length	56.8 m (186 ft 4 in)
Beam	10.08 m (33 ft 1 in)
Draft	3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)
Decks	4
Propulsion	2 × Caterpillar, 1,275 kW (1,710 hp)
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) cruising 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) maximum
Capacity	45 passenger cabins
Crew	18

USS PCE-830 was a U.S.-built Patrol Craft Escort (PCE) vessel launched on 13 June 1943 by the Pullman-Standard Car Company of Chicago, Illinois. It was transferred to the Royal Navy and given the name HMS Kilchrenan in August 1943. As of 2020 it operates as the cruise ship MS Sunnhordland in Norway.[3]

Service history

World War II, 1943–1946

A sister-ship, PCE-872

Kilchrenan spent the Second World War based at Gibraltar patrolling west Africa and taking part in convoys. Returned to U.S. Navy custody in December 1946, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1947.[1]

In commercial service, 1947–present

She was purchased by Norwegian Hardanger Sunnhordlandske Dampskipsselskap (HSD) in 1947, rebuilt as a passenger ship and given the name Sunnhordland. She ran for several years in western Norway.

The ship was sold to Finland in 1974 as Kristina Brahe and until 2010 operated as a passenger ship by Kristina Cruises of Kotka, Finland, making short cruises in the Baltic Sea and Lake Saimaa.[4] The Kristina Brahe was sold to Saimaan Matkaverkko Ltd in August 2010. Her name was shortened to simply Brahe.[5] In 2015 she was sold again, and brought back to western Norway where she operates as a cruise ship. Her name was changed back to Sundhordland.[3]

See also

• List of cruise ships
• List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy

References

1. "Patrol Craft Escort Chaser : HMS Kilchernan (BEC 4) ex-PCE-830". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
2. "Kristina Cruises – M/S Kristina Brahe / Specifications". www.kristinacruises.com. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
3. "Home".
4. "Kristina Cruises – M/S Kristina Brahe / Introduction and history". www.kristinacruises.com. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
5. Saimaan Page

External links

Media related to IMO 5345065 at Wikimedia Commons