SS Kielce

Last updated

History
Name
  • Edgar Wakeman (1943–44)
  • Kielce (1944–present)
NamesakeCity of Kielce, Poland
Owner War Shipping Administration (1943–1944), Żegluga Polska (1944–onwards)
Builder Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc, Beaumont, Texas
LaunchedSeptember 1943
Completed1943
In service11 March 1944
Out of service5/6 March 1946
FateSunk after collision with the steamer Lombardy
General characteristics
Class and type Type N3-S-A2
Tonnage
Length250 ft (76 m)
Beam41.3 ft (12.6 m)
Draft20 ft 9 in (6.32 m)
Depth20.4 ft (6.2 m)
Decks1
Installed power1,300 SHP
Propulsion6-cylinder steam engine
Speed10.2 knots (18.9 km/h)
Range4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km)
Crew26 (in Polish service)
Sensors and
processing systems

SS Kielce was a Polish-operated cargo ship. She was a Type N3-S-A2 steamship, built in the United States in 1943 as SS Edgar Wakeman.

Contents

In 1946, while laden with a cargo of munitions, she sank in the English Channel after colliding with the British or French steamer Lombardy. [1]

In 1967, an attempt to salvage her wreck inadvertently detonated some of her cargo, the resulting explosion was measured to be equivalent to a minor earthquake.

History

Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc built Edgar Wakeman at Beaumont, Texas, and completed her in 1943. She was an oil-burning steamship, a variant of the Type N3 design built at the request of the UK Government.

In 1944, the US War Shipping Administration bareboat chartered her to the Polish government-in-exile, [2] who renamed her after the city of Kielce in Małopolska. In April 1944, Kielce sailed in Convoy HK 217 from Galveston to Key West, [3] Convoy KN 308 from Key West to New York, and Convoy HX 289 [4] from New York to Liverpool. [5] From then until April 1945, she took part in short-distance convoys in UK home waters. [6]

On 5 March 1946, Kielce was in the English Channel off Folkestone, carrying a cargo of munitions from Southampton to Bremerhaven, when she collided with the steamer Lombardy. Kielce sank about four miles offshore, in water about 90 feet (27 m) deep. [7] Fortunately, there were no casualties, and all crew members were rescued by Lombardy.

Explosion

In 1966, the Folkestone Salvage Company was contracted to clear the wreck, and disperse her explosive cargo. In 1967, the salvage company tried to dismantle part of the hull by setting explosive charges. On 22 July 1967, the third of these charges detonated some of her cargo. The resulting explosion damaged ceilings and chimneys, and dislodged roof slates in Folkestone. A few windows were broken when their frames shifted due to the blast. Despite the immense amount of force that was generated by the explosion, nobody was injured. [7] [8] [9]

There are claims that the explosion “brought panic to Folkestone’s town, and chaos to the beaches,” and a few sources alleged that it caused a “tidal wave.” In fact, two employees of the salvage company that were in a small boat located only about 400 yards (370 m) from the wreck witnessed only “a small ripple and some spray,” and it has been calculated that the resulting sea wave could not have been more than 2 feet (0.6 m) high. [7]

The explosion was recorded by 25 seismic recording stations, some of them up to 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away. From their recordings, the explosion was estimated to have been about 4.5 on the Richter scale. It left a crater on the seabed 153 feet (47 m) long, 67 feet (20 m) wide, and 20 feet (6 m) deep. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Ceramic</i>

SS Ceramic was an ocean liner built in Belfast for White Star Line in 1912–13 and operated on the Liverpool – Australia route. Ceramic was the largest ship serving the route until P&O introduced RMS Mooltan in 1923.

SS Castilian was a British cargo steamship and is now a dangerous wreck in the Irish Sea off the coast of North Wales. She was built in 1919 to a standard First World War design. In 1943 while carrying munitions she struck rocks off The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey and sank.

SS <i>Clan Campbell</i> (1937)

SS Clan Campbell was a British cargo steamship. She was built for Clan Line Steamers Ltd as one of its Cameron-class steamships. She was launched at Greenock in 1937, served in the Second World War and was sunk in the Mediterranean in 1942.

SS <i>Clan Macwhirter</i> (1918) British cargo steamship sunk during World War II

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.

SS <i>Clan Fraser</i> (1938) British cargo ship

SS Clan Fraser was a British cargo steamship. She served in the Second World War and was bombed and sunk in Greece in 1941.

SS Assyrian was a cargo ship that was built in Hamburg for German owners in 1914, transferred to British owners in 1920 as war reparations and sunk by a U-boat in 1940. She was launched as MS Fritz, and when she changed owners in 1920 she was renamed MS Assyrian. She had been built as a motor ship but in 1925 she was converted to a steamship and became SS Assyrian.

SS Beatus was a British cargo steamship that was built in 1925, sailed in a number of transatlantic convoys in 1940 and was sunk by a U-boat that October.

SS <i>Somersby</i> British cargo steamship sunk during World War II

SS Somersby was a British cargo steamship that was built in 1930, sailed in a number of convoys in the Second World War and was sunk by a U-boat in 1941.

SS <i>Soesterberg</i> Dutch cargo steamship

SS Soesterberg was a Dutch-owned cargo steamship that was built in Belgium in 1927 and sunk by a U-boat in 1940 in the Battle of the Atlantic.

SS <i>Fiscus</i>

SS Fiscus was a UK cargo steamship that was built in 1928, served in the Second World War and was sunk by a U-boat in 1940.

SS <i>Scoresby</i>

SS Scoresby was a British cargo steamship that was built in 1923, sailed in a number of transatlantic convoys in 1940, and was sunk by a U-boat that October.

SS Tregenna was a cargo steamship that was launched in England in 1919 and sunk by a U-boat in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1940 with the loss of 33 of her 37 crew. She was laid down as War Bulldog, but the Hain Steam Ship Co bought her before she was completed and renamed her Tregenna.

HMS <i>Hilary</i> (1940) Amphibious warfare ship of the Royal Navy

SS Hilary was a British steam passenger liner that was built in 1931 and scrapped in 1959. She spent much of her career on a scheduled service between Liverpool in England and Manaus in Brazil.

SS <i>Oropesa</i> (1919) British ocean liner sunk during World War II

SS Oropesa was a British steam turbine ocean liner of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNC). She was built on Merseyside in 1920 and operated between Liverpool and South America. In 1941 the German submarine U-96 sank her in the Western Approaches, killing 106 people aboard.

SS Clan Macarthur was a British refrigerated cargo steamship. She was built for Cayzer, Irvine and Company's Clan Line Steamers Ltd as one of its Cameron-class steamships. She was launched in Greenock in 1936 and sunk in the Indian Ocean by enemy action in August 1943.

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 Nailsea Meadow was a UK cargo steamship. She was launched in 1936 in Sunderland, England, and sunk by a U-boat in the Indian Ocean in 1943.

SS Llanashe was a UK cargo steamship. She was launched in 1936 in Sunderland, England, and sunk by a U-boat in the Indian Ocean in February 1943.

SS Nailsea Court was a UK cargo steamship. She was launched in 1936 in Sunderland, England. She was named after Nailsea Court in Somerset, England, which is an historic Elizabethan manor house. A U-boat sank her in the North Atlantic in March 1943. 45 men died and only four survived.

SS Tregarthen was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland for the Hain Steam Ship Co in 1936. She was sunk with all hands by a U-boat in 1941 in the Battle of the Atlantic.

References

  1. ↑ Wrecksite - Kielce Cargo Ship
  2. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1945. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. ↑ Hague, Arnold. "Convoy HK.217". HK Convoy Series. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Hague, Arnold. "Convoy KN.308". KN Convoy Series. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. ↑ Hague, Arnold. "Convoy HX.289". HX Convoy Series. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Hague, Arnold. "Ship Movements". Port Arrivals/Departures. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Report on the Wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery (PDF). Southampton: Maritime and Coastguard Agency. November 2000. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  8. ↑ Sherlock, Peter (28 June 2013). "Does WWII wreck SS Richard Montgomery threaten Thames airport?". BBC News . Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  9. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (14 February 2020). "Bombs dumped in Irish Sea make bridge plan 'too dangerous'". The Guardian . Retrieved 4 March 2020.
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.