SS Empire Austen

Last updated

SS Freecrest.jpg
SS Freecrest at Tilbury
History
Name
  • Empire Austen (1942-49)
  • Frinton (1949-51)
  • Freecrest (1951-55)
  • Fairwater (1955-61)
  • APJ Usha (1961-62)
Owner
  • Ministry of War Transport (1942-49)
  • Frinton Shipping (1949-51)
  • Crest Shipping (1951-55)
  • International Navigation Corporation, Liberia (1955-61)
  • Surrendra (Overseas) Private Ltd, Bombay (1961-62)
Operator
  • Honeyman & Co (1942-46)
  • Counties Ship Management (1946-51)
  • Ivanovic & Co, London (1951-55)
  • Tidewater Commercial Co Inc, Baltimore (1955-61)
  • Surrendra (Overseas) Private Ltd, Bombay (1961-62)
Port of registry
  • Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Greenock (1942-55)
  • Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia (1955-59)
  • Civil Ensign of India.svg Bombay (1959-62)
BuilderLithgow's, Port Glasgow
Yard number969
Launched24 March 1942
Identification
FateScrapped 1962
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length432 ft 2 in (131.72 m)
Beam56 ft 2 in (17.12 m)
Depth34 ft 2 in (10.41 m)
Propulsion1 triple expansion steam engine (J G Kincaid, Greenock) 520 hp (390 kW)

Empire Austen was a 7,027 ton cargo ship which was built in 1942. She was renamed Frinton in 1949, Freecrest in 1951, Fairwater in 1955 and APJ Usha in 1961. She was scrapped in 1962.

Contents

History

Empire Austen was built by Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow as yard number 969. She was launched on 24 March 1942 and completed in May. [1] She was built for the Ministry of War Transport and placed under the management of Honeyman & Co. [2]

War service

Empire Austen was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.

KMS 22

Convoy KMS 22 departed Gibraltar on 9 August 1943 and arrived at Port Said on 20 August. Empire Austen was on a voyage from Malta to Alexandria [3]

MKS 27

Convoy MKS 27 departed Gibraltar on 14 October 1943 and arrived at Liverpool on 28 October. Empire Austen was carrying a cargo of cotton and military stores bound for Manchester. [4]

OS 60

Empire Austen was listed as a member of Convoy OS 60 which departed Liverpool on 23 November 1943 and arrived at Freetown, Sierra Leone on 18 December. She did not sail with the convoy. [5]

KMS 35

Convoy KMS 35 departed Gibraltar on 22 December 1943 and arrived at Port Said on 1 January 1944. Empire Austen was bound for Algiers. [6]

Postwar

In 1946, management of Empire Austen passed to Counties Ship Management (CSM). [2] In 1949 she was sold to Frinton Shipping Ltd and renamed Frinton, operating under CSM's management. Frinton was sold to Crest Shipping Co Ltd in 1951 and renamed Freecrest. She operated under the management of Ivanovich & Co Ltd, London. In 1955, Freecrest was sold to the International Navigation Corporation, Liberia and renamed Fairwater, operating under the management of Tidewater Commercial Co Inc, Baltimore. In 1961, Fairwater was sold to Surrendra (Overseas) Private Ltd, Bombay and renamed APD Usha. She was scrapped in Bombay in 1962. [1]

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers.

Empire Austen had the UK Official Number 168983 and used the Code Letters BDTF [7]

Related Research Articles

Empire Almond was a 6,860 gross register tons (GRT) cargo ship that was built in 1941. She was renamed Marquita in 1946, Marsland in 1951, Huta Zgoda in 1960 and MP-Zozie-12 in 1969. She was scrapped in 1978.

Empire Baxter was a 7,024 GRT cargo ship which was built by Vickers Armstrongs Ltd, Barrow in Furness in 1941. Postwar she served as Paris City, Westford, Severn River and Hüseyin Kaptan before she was scrapped at Haliç, Turkey in June 1963.

SS <i>Ragnhild</i> (1941) Cargo ship built in 1941

Ragnhild was a 2,866 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1941 for the British Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Carey. In 1942 she was transferred to the Norwegian Government in exile and renamed Ragnhild. Her war service is very well documented, and serves to illustrate a typical tramp ship's service life during the Second World War.

Empire Copperfield was a 6,013 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1943 by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, United Kingdom. She was built for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), spending much of her war service in the Mediterranean. Towards the end of the war she was serving in the Indian Ocean. In 1946 she was sold into merchant service and renamed Graigwen. A sale to India in 1958 saw her renamed Jag Devi. She served until 1963, when she was scrapped.

USS Westport (ID-3548) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

SS Empire Comfort was a 1,333 GRT convoy rescue ship which was launched in 1944 as HMS York Castle a Castle-class corvette, but was renamed Empire Castle and converted for merchant service before completion by Ferguson Brothers Ltd., Port Glasgow as yard number 372. She was launched on 20 September 1944. The ship was 252 feet (76.81 m) long, with a beam of 36 feet (10.97 m) and a draught of 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 m).

Philips Wouwerman was a 7,091 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1942 as Empire Courage by Barclay, Curle & Co Ltd, Glasgow, United Kingdom. She was built for the Ministry of War Transport. in 1943, she was transferred to the Dutch Government and renamed Philips Wouwerman. In 1947, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Ceram. A further sale in 1953 saw her renamed Amsteltoren and then Amstelbrug. In 1959, she was sold to Greece and renamed Armathia. A further sale in 1965 saw her renamed Calliman. She served until scrapped in 1968.

Arietta was a 7,460 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1941 as Empire Cranmer by J L Thompson & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham, United Kingdom. She was built for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Empire Cranmer was transferred to the Greek Government in 1942 and renamed Thraki. In 1947, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Arietta. On 17 March 1960, she ran aground at Novorossiysk, Soviet Union. Although refloated on 1 April, she was declared a constructive total loss.

SS <i>Empire Darwin</i> British ship built in 1941

Empire Darwin was a British 6,765 GRT CAM ship built in 1941 by William Gray & Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Her Hawker Sea Hurricane was involved in the last action by an aircraft flown off a CAM ship, shooting down a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor on 28 July 1943.

Empire Deed was a 6,766 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1943 by Bartram & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham, United Kingdom the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1946, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Deed. In 1951, she was sold to Panama and renamed Doro. A sale to Greece in 1956 saw her renamed Leonidas Cambanis. In 1964, she was sold to Liberia and renamed Ever Fortune followed by a sale to Taiwan later that year and renaming to Ever Happiness. She served until 1967, when she was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Stakesby was a 4,026 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1930 by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham, United Kingdom. She was torpedoed by U-124 in 1940 and later sank. Raised in 1943, she was repaired, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Derwent. She was sold into merchant service in 1946 and renamed Swan Point, serving until she was wrecked in 1949.

Empire Driver was a 7,042 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1942 by William Gray & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool, Co Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1945, she was transferred to the French Government and renamed Radiotélégraphiste Biard. She was sold to an Italian company in 1950 and renamed Dea Mazzella. In 1956, she was renamed Maria Mazzella. Further sales in 1960 and 1964 saw her renamed Falzarego and Grazia Prima respectively. In 1965, she was sold to Liberia and renamed Missouri. She served until 1969 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.

Verna Paulin was a 7,046 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1942 as Empire Envoy by Short Brothers Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold into merchant service in 1946 and renamed Cheltenham. A further sale in 1952 saw her renamed La Orilla. A sale to a Swedish company in 1955 saw her renamed Stallberg. In 1958, she was sold to a Finnish company and renamed Verna Paulin. She served until 1969, when she was scrapped.

MV <i>Empire Faith</i> World War II merchant ship of the United Kingdom

Empire Faith was a 7,061 GRT CAM ship that was built in 1941 by Barclay Curle & Co, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Converted to a cargo ship in 1943, she was sold to a British company in 1946 and renamed Jessmore. In 1958, she was sold to a Panamanian company and renamed Antiope. A further sale in 1964 saw her renamed Global Venture. She served until 1971, when she was scrapped.

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.

Empire Flame was a 7,069 GRT CAM ship that was built in 1941 by Cammell Laird & Co Ltd, Birkenhead, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold in 1945 and renamed Dunkery Beacon. A further sale to Finland in 1955 saw her renamed Rissa. Following a sale in 1961, she was renamed Augusta Paulin. She served until 1969 when she was scrapped.

Clan Allan was a 7,043 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1942 as Empire Forest by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields, County Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold to Clan Line in 1946 and renamed Clan Allan. Sold in 1958 to Bullard, King & Co Ltd and renamed Umtali, she was sold back to Clan Line the following year and renamed Clan Allan. She was sold to Mullion & Co Ltd, Hong Kong in 1961 and renamed Ardsirod, serving until 1966 when she was scrapped.

Stad Schiedam was a 6,140 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1942 as Empire Fortune by John Readhead and Sons Ltd, South Shields, County Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was transferred to the Dutch Government in 1943 and was renamed Van Honthorst. She was sold to the Halcyon Lijn in 1945 and renamed Stad Schiedam, serving until she was withdrawn in 1961. She was scrapped in 1962.

Matelots Pillien et Peyrat was a 7,058 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1943 as Empire Friendship by Short Brothers Ltd, Sunderland, County Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Ownership was transferred to the French Government in 1945, when she was renamed Matelots Pillien et Peyrat She was sold to Compagnie Havraise de Navigation à Vapeur, Paris in 1948. She was driven ashore at Port-de-Bouc, Bouches-du-Rhône in October 1962. Declared a constructive total loss, she was scrapped.

References

  1. 1 2 Mitchell, W H; Sawyer, L A (1990). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press. p. 88. ISBN   1-85044-275-4.
  2. 1 2 "EMPIRE - A". Mariners-L. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  3. ↑ "CONVOY KMS 22". Warsailors. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  4. ↑ "CONVOY MKS 27". Warsailors. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  5. ↑ "Convoy OS.60/KMS.34". Convoyweb. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "Convoy KMS.35". Convoyweb. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  7. ↑ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.