MV Harpa

Last updated

History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameMV Harpa
Operator Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, London
Builder Hawthorn, Leslie & Co. Ltd., Hebburn
Yard numberBuild number 575
Launched5 December 1930
Identification
FateSunk 27 January 1942
General characteristics
Class and type Oil tanker
Tonnage3,007  GRT
Length93.14 m (305.58 ft)
Beam15.26 m (50.07 ft)
Draught5.87 m (19.26 ft)
PropulsionTwo 6-cylinder Hawthorn oil engines, twin screw
Crew41 Merchant Navy plus 2 DEMS gunners

MV Harpa was an oil tanker of the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company (later Royal Dutch/Shell) and was in service with the British Merchant Navy during World War II.

Contents

World War II

It was bombed on 22 December 1941 at the beginning of the Malayan Campaign at Port Swettenham, with the loss of 4 men.

The remains were buried at the site of what would later become the Cheras War Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur.

Sinking

It was sunk by a British seamine in Main Strait, Singapore† en route to Batavia with a full cargo of aviation spirit on 27 January 1942 with the loss of 7 British officers, 2 Royal Navy DEMS gunners and 25 Chinese crew.

†Tom Simkins MBE, Chief Radio Officer of SS Pinna, stated the sinking to be in the Rhio Strait (now Riau Strait, between Batam and Bintan Islands).

Sources

"Harpa and Pinna". Mercantile Marine. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2010.

"Another Door Part 1: War in the Far East". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2019.

"Naval Events, January 1942, Part 2 of 2, Thursday 15th – Saturday 31st". Naval History. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.

1°15′N104°00′E / 1.25°N 104°E / 1.25; 104


Related Research Articles

HMAS <i>Burnie</i>

HMAS Burnie (J198/B238/A112), named for the city of Burnie, Tasmania, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built for the Admiralty but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Maryborough</i> (J195)

HMAS Maryborough (J195/B248/A122), named for the city of Maryborough, Queensland, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 20 built on Admiralty order but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was the first naval vessel built in Queensland for the Royal Australian Navy during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britannia Royal Naval College</span> Initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy

Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, England. Royal Naval officer training has taken place in Dartmouth since 1863. The buildings of the current campus were completed in 1905. Earlier students lived in two wooden hulks moored in the River Dart. Since 1998, BRNC has been the sole centre for Royal Naval officer training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean Fleet</span> Formation of the Royal Navy, active from 1654 to 1967

The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654. The Fleet was in existence until 1967.

Japanese destroyer <i>Fubuki</i> (1927) Fubuki-class destroyer

Fubuki was the lead ship of twenty-four Fubuki-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world. They served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, and remained formidable weapons systems well into the Pacific War. Fubuki was a veteran of many of the major battles of the first year of the war, and was sunk in Ironbottom Sound during the Battle of Cape Esperance in World War II.

HMAS <i>Bendigo</i> (J187)

The first HMAS Bendigo (J187/B237/A111) was a Bathurst-class minesweeper, a group commonly known as corvettes and including escort and patrol duties along with minesweeping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hector Waller</span> Royal Australian Navy officer (1900–1942)

Hector Macdonald Laws Waller, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). His career spanned almost thirty years, including service in both world wars. At the helm of the flotilla leader HMAS Stuart in the Mediterranean from 1939 to 1941, he won recognition as a skilful ship's captain and flotilla commander. He then transferred to the South West Pacific as captain of the light cruiser HMAS Perth, and went down with his ship during the Battle of Sunda Strait in early 1942.

HMS <i>Tenedos</i> (H04) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Tenedos was an Admiralty 'S' class destroyer. Laid down on 6 December 1917, she was constructed by Hawthorn Leslie of Tyne, and was completed in 1918. She was commissioned in 1919 and served throughout the interwar period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Royal Australian Navy</span>

The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time.

HMS <i>Sturgeon</i> (73S) Submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS Sturgeon was an S-class submarine that entered service with the Royal Navy in 1932. Ordered in 1930, she was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in January 1931 and launched on 8 January 1932. Commissioned on 27 February 1933, Sturgeon was assigned to the 2nd Submarine Flotilla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Hezlet</span>

Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Richard Hezlet, nicknamed Baldy Hezlet, was a decorated Royal Navy submariner. He became the Royal Navy's youngest captain at the time – aged 36 – and its youngest admiral, aged 45. In retirement he became a military historian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Burrell (admiral)</span> Royal Australian Navy chief

Vice Admiral Sir Henry Mackay Burrell, was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). He served as Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 1959 to 1962. Born in the Blue Mountains, Burrell entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1918 as a 13-year-old cadet. His first posting at sea was aboard the cruiser HMAS Sydney. During the 1920s and 1930s, Burrell served for several years on exchange with the Royal Navy, specialising as a navigator. During World War II, he filled a key liaison post with the US Navy, and later saw action as commander of the destroyer HMAS Norman, earning a mention in despatches.

HMAS <i>Goorangai</i> Auxiliary minesweeper of the Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Goorangai was a 223-ton auxiliary minesweeper of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built in 1919 for the Government of New South Wales, then sold in 1926 to the fishing company Cam & Sons. The trawler was requisitioned for military service following the outbreak of World War II, converted into a minesweeper, and assigned to Melbourne. She was sunk in an accidental collision with MV Duntroon in 1940, becoming the RAN's first loss of World War II, and the first RAN surface ship to be lost in wartime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Indies Fleet</span> Former naval fleet of the Royal Navy

The Eastern Fleet, later called the East Indies Fleet, was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952.

HMCS <i>Spikenard</i> Flower-class corvette

HMCS Spikenard was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for the Spikenard flower.

HNLMS <i>Java</i> (1921) Dutch Java-class light cruiser

HNLMS Java was a Java-class cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She was sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942.

Japanese submarine <i>I-156</i> Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3B sub-class

I-56, later I-156, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3B sub-class commissioned in 1929. During World War II, she supported Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya in December 1941, the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942, and the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Except for brief service in the Aleutian Islands campaign in 1943, she subsequently served on training duties until selected for use as a kaiten manned suicide torpedo carrier in 1945. She surrendered to the Allies in 1945 after the end of the war and was scuttled in 1946.

Japanese submarine <i>I-60</i> Ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy

I-60 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3B sub-class commissioned in 1928. In 1939, she was involved in a collision that sank her sister ship I-63. She served in World War II, supporting Japanese forces during the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942 until she was sunk by a British destroyer on 17 January 1942 during her first war patrol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Sea and Canal Area</span> Military unit

The Red Sea Station was a military formation of the Royal Navy. At various times it has also been referred to as Egypt Division and Red Sea and later the Red Sea and Canal Area. The Royal Navy had distinct formations for the Red Sea at intervals from 1846 until circa 1944-45.

I-66, later I-166, was a Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD5 sub-class completed for the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1932. She served during World War II, supporting the Japanese invasion of Malaya and the invasion of Sarawak, taking part in the Battle of Midway, and conducting numerous war patrols in the Indian Ocean before was sunk in July 1944.