| Name: | SOUTHAMPTON DOCK |
| Type: | Floating Dock |
| Launched: | 02/05/1923 |
| Completed: | 1924 |
| Builder: | Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Ltd |
| Yard: | High Walker (also part from Low Walker) |
| Yard Number: | 990 |
| Dimensions: | Weight 18990tons, 960.0 x 170.0 x 20.5ft; lifting capacity 60000tons |
| Engines: | n/a |
| Engines by: | n/a |
| Propulsion: | n/a |
| Construction: | Steel |
| Reg Number: | n/a |
| History: | |
| 1924 | Southern Railway Co, Southampton |
| 28/03/1939 | The Admiralty; renamed AFD 11 |
| 1959 | Rotterdam Drydock Co; renamed PRINS BERNHARD DOCK (or NO 10) |
| 1984 | Fa van Rijn Dijk, Rotterdam |
| 1984 | Verolme Shipyard, Brazil |
| 24/12/1984 | Wrecked |
| Comments: | Ordered by the London & South Western Railway Co at a cost of £380,000 |
| 01/01/1923 : Company renamed Southern Railway Co | |
| Launched in sections from both the High & Low Walker Yards | |
| 1924: When completed it was the largest floating dock in the World | |
| It had an overall length 960ft, being made up of seven sections; Five middle sections 139.25ft long and two end sections 102.6ft long that had cantilevered platforms at their outer extremities. | |
| With a clear width inside between the side walls of 130.7ft, the total internal area of the deck was three and a half acres. The outside walls were 70ft high and the depth of water over the blocks when the dock was fully submersed was 38ft. | |
| Any one of the seven sections could be disconnected from the remainder and docked. By turning the sections through ninety degrees, they could pass between the side walls of the dock. | |
| The dock was fitted with four mechanically operated shores on each side for mutually adjusting the dock and the ship so that its centre line lined up accurately over the keel blocks. | |
| These shores were 63 feet long and made of 3ft by 2ft mild steel beams. They were actuated by cast steel racks and pinions, each shore exerting a pressure of 10 tons at a speed of one foot per minute. | |
| 27/02/1940: Moved to Portsmouth | |
| 1984: The sale to van Rijn Dijk was for scrapping or "further use outside of Europe" | |
| 17/12/1984: PRINS BERNHARD DOCK left Rotterdam in tow of the SMIT HOUSTON for Rio de Janeiro. The dock was loaded on 2 independent barges, one fwd & one aft, with a gap in between. | |
| 24/12/1984: During a storm in the Bay of Biscay, the high swell caused the dock to break into two sections. One part was wrecked on the coast south of La Corunna. |
Leaving the Tyne on 17/04/1924. Photo courtesy of Harry Cutter
The AQUITANIA in dry dock
The MAJESTIC in dry dock
The SEA-LAND RESOURCE (946ft) in PRINS BERHARD DOCK. Photo courtesy of Reinier van de Wetering
The FRISIA (855ft) in PRINS BERHARD DOCK. Photo courtesy of Reinier van de Wetering
The HOEGH LAUREL (777ft) in PRINS BERHARD DOCK. Photo courtesy of Reinier van de Wetering