SS Clan Macwhirter was a British cargo steamship. She was built in 1918 as Ypresville in the First World War and sunk by enemy action in 1942 in the Second World War. In her 24-year career she also carried the names Halizones and Willcasino.
Convoy OA 178 was an Atlantic convoy of 14 ocean-going ships and local coasters, comprising 53 ships. The convoy sailed from Southend-on-Sea in the Thames Estuary on 3 July 1940 via the English Channel, where local traffic dispersed to south coast ports. The convoy was dissolved on 6 July 1940 as its surviving ocean-going ships joined convoys to transatlantic destinations. On 4 July, Portland Harbour and the convoy were attacked by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers, followed by Schnellboote attacks on the remnants of the convoy, during the night of 4/5 July. No support was forthcoming from RAF Fighter Command and in the aftermath, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was critical of the lack of protection afforded to the convoy. Henceforth OA convoys were routed northabout Scotland but local Coastal East and Coastal West coal convoys continued and suffered more attacks from the combination of Stukas and E-Boats.
Mparmpa Petros was a 7,067 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1943 as Empire Crown by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, County Durham. She spent much of the Second World War sailing in the Mediterranean. In 1945, she was transferred to the French Government and renamed Capitaine G Lacoley. She served until sold to Greece in 1961 and was renamed Mparmpa Petros. She was wrecked in 1963.
British Diplomat was a 6,498 GRT tanker that was built in 1926 by J Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, United Kingdom for the British Tanker Co Ltd. Relegated to use as a depot ship in Algeria by the time the Second World War stated, she was returned to the United Kingdom and transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) in 1940, renamed Empire Diplomat. War service was spent in home waters. She served until 1946 when she was scrapped.
Habib Marikar was a 7,067 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1943 by Short Brothers Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham as Empire Duchess for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold into merchant service in 1949 and renamed Braemar Castle. A further sale in 1950 saw her renamed King James.
Norlom was a 6,326 GRT Design 1105 cargo ship that was built in 1919 as Editor by Skinner & Eddy Corporation, Seattle, Washington, United States for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), which became the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) in 1937. In 1941, she was transferred to the British Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Dunlin. She was transferred to Norway in 1942 and renamed Norlom. She served until 2 December 1943 when she was bombed and sunk at Bari, Italy.
Pengreep was a 8,806 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1914 by Irvine's Shipbuilding and Drydock Co Ltd, West Hartlepool, Co Durham, United Kingdom for a British company. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty on completion and returned to her owners in 1920. She was seized in June 1940 by Vichy French forces and renamed Ste Jacqueline. In 1942, she was seized by British forces, being renamed Pengreep in 1943. She was passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) later that year and renamed Empire Fal. In July 1945, she was scuttled with a cargo of gas bombs.
Convoy HX 65 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was the 65th of the numbered series of merchant convoys run by the Allies from Halifax to Liverpool. The convoy was attacked by German U-boats and aircraft, losing eight of its 51 ships sunk and a further three damaged. One U-boat was damaged.
SS Gasfire was a British steam collier of the Gas Light and Coke Company (GLCC). She was built in Sunderland in 1936, survived severe damage from being torpedoed in 1940 and was sunk by a mine in the North Sea in 1941.
SS Umona was a British cargo liner. She was built at Sunderland on the River Wear in 1910, survived the First World War and was sunk by enemy action off Sierra Leone, West Africa in 1941.
SS Maasdam was a Dutch turbine steamship that was launched in 1920 and sunk in 1941. She was the third Holland America Line ship to be named after the village of Maasdam in South Holland.
Flaminian was a 2,699-gross register ton (GRT) cargo ship that was built in 1917 by W Harkness & Sons Ltd, Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, United Kingdom for Ellerman & Papayanni Lines. She was sold in 1944 to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) in 1944, converted to a cable storage hulk for Operation Pluto and renamed Empire Flaminian. Renamed Flaminian in 1946, she was used as a stevedore training ship from 1947, serving until scrapped in 1950.
Graigaur was a 7,047 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1941 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom, as the CAM ship Empire Foam for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold in 1946 to Graigaur Shipping Co Ltd and renamed Graigaur. She was sold in 1957 to Marinos & Frangos Ltd and renamed Maltezana. She was sold to the Great Southern Steamship Co Ltd., Hong Kong in 1958 and renamed Johore Bahru, serving until she was scrapped in 1963.
SS Benlomond was a British cargo steamship that was built in 1922 as Cynthiana, changed owners and names a number of times, and was sunk by a U-boat in 1942, with the loss of all but one of her 53 ship's company. The sole survivor, Poon Lim, drifted on a raft for 133 days before being rescued.
Empire Fusilier was cargo ship which was built as Mincio in 1921 by Cantiere Cerusa, Voltri, Italy for Pietro Ravano Fu Marco, Genoa. She was seized as a prize of war in 1940, passing to the Ministry of Shipping and renamed Empire Fusilier, serving until torpedoed and sunk by U-85 in 1942.
SS Florian was an Ellerman Lines cargo steamship that was launched in 1939 and completed in 1940. A U-boat sank her with all hands in 1941 in the Battle of the Atlantic.
SS Algarve was a Danish cargo steamship that was built in 1921 for DFDS. After Germany invaded Denmark in April 1940 Algarve was transferred to the UK Ministry of War Transport. In 1941 an E-boat sank her with all hands in the North Sea.
The SS Trebartha was a 4,597 GRT cargo carrying steamship built in 1920 by John Readhead & Sons Ltd of South Shields for the Hain Steamship Company. She was attacked by German aircraft on the 11th November and sank on the 12th November 1940.
Operation Northern Mark was a sortie by a German flotilla of two battleships and a heavy cruiser against British merchant shipping between Norway and Shetland from 18 to 20 February 1940. The sortie was intended as a riposte to the Altmark incident, to create confusion to help German blockade-runners reach home and as a prelude to more ambitious operations in the Atlantic. The flotilla was spotted by the British early on, who held back a Norway-bound convoy.
SS St. Elwyn was a cargo steamship that was built in England in 1938 and owned by the South American Saint Line. A German U-boat sank her in the Atlantic Ocean in 1940, with the loss of 24 of her crew.
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