In 1940, the German auxiliary cruiserAtlantis shelled her; captured her; took her crew prisoner; and scuttled her. The shelling killed at least two of City of Bagdad's crew, and wounded a number of others. The remainder were held as prisoners of war for at least eight months: three months aboard Atlantis, one month aboard the prize shipDurmitor, and four months in a PoW camp in Italian Somaliland. A number of City of Bagdad's crew died in captivity, either aboard Atlantis, or in Italian Somaliland. British or Empire troops liberated them in March or April 1941, when they invaded Italian Somaliland.
Geierfels was the third of a series of seven sister ships that Joh. C. Tecklenborg of Geestemünde in Bremerhaven built for DDG Hansa between 1915 and 1921. The others were Altenfels (later renamed Stolzenfels) launched in 1915; Treuenfels launched in 1916; Frauenfels launched in 1919; and Bärenfels, Marienfels, and Ockenfels launched in 1921.[1][2]
This was the first of two ships built for DDG Hansa that were named Geierfels. The second was a heavy-lift ship that was launched in 1930, completed in 1931, and sunk in 1940.[3][4]
Geierfels
Tecklenborg built the ship as yard number 277. She was launched on 8 November 1918 as Geierfels, and completed on 29 April 1920.[2] Her registered length was 470.3ft (143.3m), her beam was 58.2ft (17.7m), and her depth was 32.3ft (9.8m).[5] Her tonnages were 7,490GRT, 4,698NRT, and 11,400DWT. She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine that was rated at 3,600 ihp[2] or 347 NHP,[6] and gave her a speed of 12 knots (22km/h). She was designed for a crew of 55. DDG Hansa registeredGeierfels at Bremen. Her code letters were QLCS.[2]
By 1930 City of Bagdad had been fitted with a Bauer-Wach exhaust steam turbine, which was driven by steam from the low-pressure cylinder of her piston engine. The turbine drove the same shaft as the piston engine, via double-reduction gearing and a Föttingerfluid coupling.[5] It increased her total power to 4,800 ihp,[10] or 819 NHP.[5] Also by 1930, her call sign was GDKQ,[11] and by 1934 this had superseded her code letters. By 1935 she was equipped with wireless direction finding.[12] By 1936, Ellerman Lines had become her owners,[13][14] as Montgomerie and Workman had withdrawn from ship-owning.[9]
On 8 December 1939, City of Bagdad left Calcutta. She called at Colombo in Ceylon; Lourenço Marques; Cape Town; and Saint John, New Brunswick; and on 3 February 1940 reached Boston. She called at New York; Philadelphia; and Baltimore; and on 1 March reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she joined her first convoy, HX 26, which left Halifax on 9 March. HX 26 was bound for Liverpool, but City of Bagdad detached and continued to Portland, where she arrived on 26 March. From there she sailed via Southend, where she joined Convoy FN 123. This was a North Sea northbound convoy to Methil in Scotland, but City of Bagdad detached for Hull, where she arrived on 31 March.[15]
On 28 April 1940, City of Bagdad left either Hull or Immingham, and by 20 May she was leaving Middlesbrough to join Convoy FS 174. This was a North Sea southbound convoy coming from the River Tyne, which she joined to reach Southend. There she transferred to outbound convoy OA 153GF, which left Southend on 22 May, and became Convoy OG 31F on 25 May. She called at Dakar in Senegal on 26 June; and Lourenço Marques on 26–28 June 1940;[15] and was bound for Hong Kong.[16]
On the morning of 11 July, City of Bagdad was about 400 nautical miles (740km) west of Addu Atoll[9][17] when she sighted what appeared to be a Dutch cargo ship, at a range of about 3+1⁄2 nautical miles (6.5km). It was Atlantis in disguise, which closed on City of Bagdad, and then raised the German war ensign; raised signal flags ordering City of Bagdad to stop; and fired two warning shots. The British ship's Master, Captain J Armstrong White, disregarded the instruction, and ordered his wireless telegraphist to transmit the distress signal "QQQQ", meaning "A Q-ship is attacking me".[18]
Atlantis started transmitting with her more powerful radio, which jammed the latter part of City of Bagdad's distress signal. She also opened fire again. Her first salvo felled City of Bagdad's foremast, and with it her radio aerial. The second destroyed her radio room, wounding her wireless telegraphist.[19] Two lascars were killed.[20][21] Captain White gave the order to heave to and abandon ship. He also gathered City of Bagdad's confidential documents, to be destroyed or thrown overboard to prevent their capture. Atlantis ceased fire, and signalled City of Bagdad's crew to remain aboard their ship. In fear, the lascar crew disregarded the German order. Captain White interrupted dealing with the confidential documents in order to try to calm the crew, who continued to lower the lifeboats and abandon ship.[22]
A US Liberty ship, the Prudential Steamship Corporation's Eastern Guide, received City of Bagdad's incomplete signal. Her wireless telegraphist replied "Who shelled by?" Atlantis' wireless operator replied that all was well, but Eastern Guide's wireless telegraphist recognised that the reply was from a different transmitter. He told Atlantis to stop transmitting, and repeated the question. However, a shore-based radio station then interrupted, and ordered Eastern Guide to stop transmitting.[22]
City of Bagdad's crew were imprisoned aboard Atlantis for more than three months, and were joined by the crews and passengers of other ships that she captured and sank. City of Bagdad's cook died aboard Atlantis on 6 August.[26] On 22 October, Atlantis captured the neutralYugoslav cargo ship Durmitor, and kept her as a prize ship.[27] Four days later, the Germans transferred 250 Allied prisoners of war to the prize ship.[28] A prize crew of 12 German ratings, commanded by a Lieutenant Dehnel, sailed Durmitor to Italian Somaliland. She was low on coal, so it was not until 22 November that she reached Warsheikh.[29]
The crews were held in a prisoner of war camp in Italian Somaliland, where the Fifth Engineer died on 31 December 1940, and the Fourth Engineer died on 1 January 1941.[30][31] In March 1941, British, South African, and Somali troops invaded Italian Somaliland, liberated Allied prisoners of war held there, and evacuated them to Kenya.[32]
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Lloyd's Register of Shipping(PDF). Vol.II.–Steamers and Motorships over 300 tons. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1935 – via Southampton City Council.
Lloyd's Register of Shipping(PDF). Vol.II.–Steamers and Motorships over 300 tons. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1936 – via Southampton City Council.
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