SS Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher

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History
Name
  • Empire Call (1944-45)
  • Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher (1945)
Owner
  • Ministry of War Transport (1944-45)
  • Ministère de la Marine Merchande (1945)
Operator
  • Gibbs & Co Ltd (1944-45)
  • Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (1945)
Port of registry
  • Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Greenock (1944-45)
  • Flag of France.svg Marseilles (1945)
BuilderWilliam Hamilton & Co Ltd
Yard number462
Launched10 February 1944
CompletedJuly 1944
Out of service21 November 1945
Identification
  • United Kingdom Official Number 169509 (1944-45)
  • Code Letters GCWK (1944-45)
  • ICS Golf.svg ICS Charlie.svg ICS Whiskey.svg ICS Kilo.svg
  • Code Letters FPPK (1945)
  • ICS Foxtrot.svg ICS Papa.svg ICS Papa.svg ICS Kilo.svg
FateRan aground 1945, scrapped in situ 1947.
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length433 ft 5 in (132.11 m)
Beam56 ft 2 in (17.12 m)
Depth34 ft 2 in (10.41 m)
Installed powerTriple expansion steam engine
PropulsionScrew propeller

Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher was a 7,067 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1944 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Call. In 1945 she was sold to the French government and renamed Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher. In November 1945, she ran aground on Stromboli and broke in two. Declared a total loss, she was scrapped in 1947.

Contents

Description

The ship was built by William Hamilton & Co Ltd, Port Glasgow. [1] Yard number 462, [2] she was launched on 10 February 1944 and completed in July. [1]

The ship was 433 feet 5 inches (132.11 m) long, with a beam of 56 feet 2 inches (17.12 m) and a depth of 34 feet 2 inches (10.41 m). She had a GRT of 7,067 and a NRT of 4,759. She was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 24+1⁄2 inches (62 cm), 39 inches (99 cm) and 70 inches (180 cm) diameter by 48 inches (120 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Harland & Wolff, Glasgow. [3]

History

Empire Call

Empire Call was built for the MoWT. She was operated under the management of Gibbs & Co Ltd. She was allocated the United Kingdom Official Number 169509 and used the Code Letters GCWK. Her port of registry was Greenock. [3]

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

SC 159

Convoy SC 159 departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 18 October 1944 and arrived at Liverpool on 2 November. Empire Call was carrying a cargo of flour, destined for Cardiff. [4]

ONS 97

Convoy ONS 97 departed Belfast Lough on 29 November 1944. Empire Call was bound for New York. [5]

Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher

In 1945, Empire Call was sold to the French government, [1] who renamed her Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher and placed her under the control of the Ministère de la Marine Merchande. She was operated under the management of Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. Her Code Letters were changed to FPPK and her port of registry to Marseilles. [6] The ship was named in honour of a French engineer who had been shot by the Germans during the Second World War. [7]

On 18 November 1945, Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher departed Marseilles bound for Saigon, French Indo-China. On 20 November. she ran aground on Stromboli, Italy in fog. The tug Hippopotame was despatched from Bizerte on 26 November, followed by the Camille Porch from Marseilles on 28 November. Camille Porch was carrying divers and pumping equipment. On 3 December, work started to unload the ship's cargo into barges brought from Messina, but during the evening of 4 December a storm blew up. The ship was abandoned at 02:15 on 5 December and later broke in two. She was declared a total loss. Ingénieur Général Haarbleicher was scrapped in situ in 1947. [7]

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SS <i>Yelkenci</i> Cargo ship

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Empire Candida was a 2,908 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1942 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold in 1947 and renamed Burdale and resold in 1948 and renamed Peldale. In 1954, she was sold to Norway and renamed Statius Jansen. A further sale to Hong Kong in 1959 saw her renamed Sunny. In 1961, she was sold to Indonesia, serving until she was scrapped in 1969.

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

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British Cavalier was a 9,891 GRT tanker that was built in 1942 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Cavalier. In 1945, she was sold to the British Tanker Co Ltd and renamed British Cavalier, serving until 1959 when she was scrapped.

Letchworth was a 2,873 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1942 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Caxton. In 1945 she was sold and renamed Letchworth. In 1956 she was sold and renamed Peterland. In 1959, she was sold to Greece and renamed Pamit, being renamed Christos when sold again in 1962. She served until 1967 when she ran aground and then sank.

SS Empire Chamois was a 5,864 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1918 by Ames Shipbuilding and Drydock Co, Seattle. She was ordered by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique but was requisitioned by the United States Navy and commissioned as USS West Mount with the pennant number ID-3202 in 1918. She was decommissioned in May 1919 and passed to the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as SS Westmount. In 1927 she was sold to the Dimon Steamship Corporation and renamed SS Pacific Redwood. She returned to the USSB in 1932 and passed to the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) in 1937. In 1940, she was passed to the Ministry of Shipping, passing to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941 and being renamed SS Empire Chamois. She was sold to Astral Shipping Co Ltd in 1946 and renamed SS Granview. In 1949 she was sold to the Compagnia Maritime del Este, Panama and renamed SS Chamois, serving until 1958 when she was scrapped. She was the last Ames-built ship afloat.

SS <i>Inkosi</i> (1937)

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Empire Clive was a 7,069 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1941 by Cammell Laird & Co Ltd, Birkenhead for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). During the Second World War, she served as a CAM ship, armed with a Hawker Hurricane aircraft. In 1946 she was sold and renamed Charlebury. In 1958, she was sold to Hong Kong and renamed Isabel Erica. She served until 1969 when she was scrapped.

Empire Conrad was a 7,009 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1942 by Charles Connell & Co Ltd, Clydebank for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold to a French company in 1952 and renamed Franta and then resold later that year and renamed Nia. In 1954, she was sold to a Panamanian company and renamed Eugenia. She served until 1967, when she was scrapped.

Norjerv was a 5,583 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1919 as West Islip by Ames Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co, Seattle, Washington, United States for the United States Shipping Board (USSB). In 1928, she was sold and renamed Golden Rod. A further sale in 1935 saw her renamed Willhilo. She was renamed Indianan after a sale in 1937. In 1940, she was transferred to the Ministry of Supply (MoS) and renamed Empire Eagle, passing later that year to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1942, she was transferred to the Norwegian Government and renamed Norjerv, serving until June 1944 when she was transferred to the British Government. In July 1944, she was sunk as a blockship at Juno Beach, Calvados, France to reinforce Gooseberry 4.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mitchell, W H, and Sawyer, L A (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. ISBN   1-85044-275-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ "Launched 1944: ss EMPIRE CALL". Clydesite. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. 1 2 "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "CONVOY SC 159". Warsailors. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "ONS Convoys – 1943-1945, Convoy ONS 1 through ONS 51". Warsailors. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  6. ↑ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTEURS" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  7. 1 2 "cargo INGéNIEUR GéNéRAL HAARBLEICHER" (in French). French Lines. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
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