Ship Cover covering various designs of horse boat constructed or purchased for the use of the War Department between January 1876 and January 1930, when the last ones extant were transferred to Admiralty control. These vessels comprise a mixture of purchased Thames open and sailing barges as well as specially commissioned craft built by contractors [both wood and metal]. The vast majority of the correspondence relates to the tenders put in by various firms, but a great deal of technical information is also present, including trials and stability data, hull construction and allocation of equipment. Additional paperwork gives details of planned wartime service and alterations between February 1915 and August 1917. Additionally, there is some material relating to the acquisition and fitting of store ships for the use of the War Department, most of it dating from the 1880s.