British Splendour
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | MV British Splendour |
| Owner | British Tanker Co., Ltd, London, England |
| Builder | Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron, Co. Ltd. Jarrow and Hebburn-on-Tyne |
| Launched | 1931 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sunk by German submarine U-552, 7 April 1942, off Ocracoke, NC |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | tanker |
| Tonnage | 7,138 GT |
| 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 tanker which was torpedoed and sunk on 7 April 1941 during World War II by German submarine 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.
On 20 February 1941 she was bombed and damaged by enemy aircraft one mile off South Black Head.[4] She was sunk 7 April 1942 by torpedo from U-552,
Sinking
The tanker was carrying 10,000 tons of gasoline, which caught fire quickly when the torpedo hit.[5] Out of the ship's 53 crew members, 12 died in the attack.[5] Captain John Hail ordered the crew to abandon ship and the 41 survivors escaped on lifeboats and a raft.[5] The trawler St Zeno later rescued them from the sea and took them to Norfolk.[5]
References
- ^ Lloyds (1930–1931). "Lloyds register Steamers and Motorships" (PDF). Lloyds of London. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ^ "Wreck of the British Splendour". Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ^ "MV British Splendour (+1942)". Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c d "List of Casualties-British". Retrieved 11 October 2012.