SS Winifred was a cargo and passenger Lake Victoria ferry in East Africa.

The Uganda Railway had begun shipping operations on the lake in 1901 with the launch of the 110-ton William Mackinnon, built by Bow, McLachlan and Company of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

She was a small general purpose vessel but the company wished to establish more substantial ferry operations.

Accordingly, even before William Mackinnon was launched the company ordered the much larger Winifred and her sister ship Sybil from the same builder.

In the First World War East African Campaign Winifred and Sybil were armed as gunboats.