MV British Splendour

MV British Splendour sometime during her career
History
Name	MV British Splendour
Owner	British Tanker Co., Ltd, London, England
Builder	Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron, Co. Ltd. Jarrow and Hebburn-on-Tyne
Launched	20 November 1930
Identification	United Kingdom Official Number 162546 Code Letters LGVD
Fate	Sunk 7 April 1942, off Ocracoke, North Carolina
General characteristics
Type	Oil tanker
Tonnage	7,138  GRT
Length	441 ft 2 in (134.47 m)
Beam	59 ft 7 in (18.16 m)
Depth	33 ft 0 in (10.06 m)
Propulsion	Diesel
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)

MV British Splendour ^[1] was a British oil tanker which was torpedoed and sunk on 7 April 1942 during World War II by U-552. British Splendour was making her way from Houston, Texas to ultimately meet a British bound convoy off of Nova Scotia and deliver 10,000 tons of gasoline. ^[2]

History

The ship was a steel-hulled oil tanker built in 1931 by Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Company for the British Tanker Company. She could travel at a speed of up to 11 knots. ^[3]

Wartime service

In 1939, British Splendour, along with her sister ships, was chartered by the British Government to transport fuel supplies for the armed forces.^{[ citation needed ]}

On 20 February 1941, she was bombed and damaged by enemy aircraft one mile off South Black Head, ^[4] having just left Falmouth. She was sunk 7 April 1942 by torpedo from U-552 off the coast of North Carolina. ^[5]

Sinking

The tanker was carrying 10,000 tons of gasoline, which caught fire quickly when the torpedo hit. ^[6] Out of the ship's 53 crew members, 12 died in the attack. ^[6] Captain John Hail ordered the crew to abandon ship and the 41 survivors escaped on lifeboats and a raft. ^[6] The trawler, HMS St Zeno, later rescued them from the sea and took them to Norfolk, Virginia. ^{[6] [5]}

Footnotes

1. Lloyd's Register 1931
2. "Wreck of the British Splendour" . Retrieved 6 September 2012.
3. "MV British Splendour (+1942)" . Retrieved 11 October 2012.
4. "Shipping Movements". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
5. "British Splendour". Uboat.net. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
6. "List of Casualties-British" . Retrieved 11 October 2012.

References

• Lloyds (1930–1931). "Lloyds register Steamers and Motorships" (PDF). Lloyd's of London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2012.

35°07′N75°19′W / 35.117°N 75.317°W / 35.117; -75.317