Fleet Updates
Warrior: A Dunkirk Little Ship with a Century of Service
operation dynamo
ww2 service
wartime vessels
Warrior’s record connects pre-war naval construction, Operation Dynamo service, and modern restoration of a nationally important small craft.
Published 16 December 2025
According to Warrior DLS history records, Warrior was commissioned in 1912 by the Admiralty as a naval pinnace and built by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport. The same account notes that early plans and records were later lost in wartime bombing, and that her naval records including Dunkirk-era material were also damaged during the war.
Warrior is linked to Operation Dynamo service in 1940 and later use as a coastal defence and training vessel, including navigation and seamanship instruction under Commander C.A. Lund RN at HMS King Alfred in 1942. That continuity from active wartime duty into post-war civilian life makes her a major reference point for understanding how working naval craft evolved across decades.
Her post-war ownership trail, Mediterranean and French-waterway years, and recovery from disrepair before restoration work in 2022-2023 reflect exactly the preservation challenge our association exists to support: identify significant wartime vessels, document their service history, and back practical pathways that keep them visible, afloat, and interpreted for future generations.
Read Warrior's history:
https://www.warriordls.co.uk/history