View source for MV Deucalion

{{Short description|British cargo ship that took part in two Malta convoys}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2023}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= StateLibQld 1 148035 Deucalion (ship).jpg
|Ship caption= ''Deucalion''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= [[United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|UK|civil}}
|Ship name= ''Deucalion''
|Ship namesake= [[Deucalion]]
|Ship owner= [[Blue Funnel Line|Ocean SS Co Ltd]]
|Ship operator= [[File:House Flag of the Blue Funnel Line.svg|22px]] [[Blue Funnel Line|A Holt & Co]]
|Ship registry= [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]]
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= [[R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company|Hawthorn, Leslie & Co]], [[Hebburn]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number= 568
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 29 July 1930
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship completed= December 1930
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification= *UK [[official number]] 162329
* until 1933: [[code letters]] LGQS
* {{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Quebec}}{{ICS|Sierra}}
* [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] GSWR
* {{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Sierra}}{{ICS|Whiskey}}{{ICS|Romeo}}
|Ship fate= Scuttled, 12 August 1942
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type= [[Reefer ship|refrigerated cargo ship]]
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|7740}}, {{NRT|4790}}, {{DWT|8880}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{cvt|460.0|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{cvt|59.4|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship depth= {{cvt|29.3|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks= 2
|Ship power= 1,307 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]], 8,600 [[Horsepower#Brake horsepower|bhp]]
|Ship propulsion= *2 × [[Propeller|screws]]
* 2 × four-stroke diesel engines
|Ship speed= {{cvt|16|kn|km/h}}
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=
|Ship armament= [[Defensively equipped merchant ship|DEMS]]
|Ship sensors= *by 1934: wireless [[direction finding]]
* by 1936: [[echo sounding]] device
|Ship notes= [[sister ship]]s: {{HMS|Agamemnon|M10|2}}, {{HMS|Menestheus||2}}, ''Memnon'', ''Ajax''
}}
|}

'''MV ''Deucalion''''' was a [[Blue Funnel Line]] [[Reefer ship|refrigerated cargo ship]] that was built in [[England]] in 1930 and sunk in the [[Second World War]] in 1942. She survived being damaged in the [[Liverpool Blitz]] in December 1940 and took part in two [[Malta convoys]] to relieve the [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Siege of Malta]]. She survived air attacks during the first of these, [[Operation Substance]], in July 1941 but was lost on her second Malta Convoy, [[Operation Pedestal]], in August 1942. This was the third of five Blue Funnel ships to be named after [[Deucalion]], a mythological king of [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessaly]] in [[Ancient Greece]].

==Five sister ships==
Between 1929 and 1931 Blue Funnel Line had a class of five cargo ships built to the same design by four UK shipyards. ''Deucalion'' was the third of the five. [[R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company]] built her in [[Hebburn]] on the [[River Tyne]] as yard number 568. She was launched on 29 July 1930 and completed that December.<ref name =TBS>{{cite web |url=http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/D-Ships/deucalion1930.html |title=Deucalion |work=Tyne Built Ships |publisher=Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

The first member of the class was {{HMS|Agamemnon|M10|2}}, built by [[Workman, Clark and Company]] in [[Belfast]] and launched in April 1929.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://shippingandshipbuilding.uk/view.php?&ref=204522 |title=Agamemnon |work=Shipping and Shipbuilding |publisher=Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> The second was {{HMS|Menestheus||2}}, built by [[Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company]] in [[Dundee]] and launched in August 1929.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=50687 |title=Menestheus |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> The others were ''Memnon'', launched by Caledon in Dundee in October 1930 and ''Ajax'', launched by [[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]] in [[Greenock]] in December 1930.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=50695 |title=Memnon |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=17154 |title=Ajax |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

==Description and identification==
''Deucalion''{{'}}s registered length was {{cvt|460.0|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|59.4|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|29.3|ft|abbr=on}}. Her [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|7740}}, {{NRT|4790}}{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1931, Vol II|loc=DET–DEW}} and {{DWT|8880}}.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1931, Vol I}}

''Deucalion'' was a twin-[[Propeller|screw]] [[motor ship]]. She had two eight-cylinder [[Burmeister & Wain]] [[Four-stroke engine|four-stroke]] [[Single- and double-acting cylinders|single-acting]] diesel engines. Her twin engines were rated at 1,307 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1931, Vol II|loc=DET–DEW}} The engines were [[Supercharger|supercharged]] on the [[Alfred Büchi|Büchi]] and [[Auguste Rateau|Rateau]] systems, which increased their [[Horsepower#Brake horsepower|bhp]] from 6,600 to 8,600.{{sfn|Le Fleming|1961|p=26}} This gave ''Deucalion'' a speed of {{cvt|16|kn|km/h}}.<ref name=Wrecksite>{{cite web |url= https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?30638 |title=MV Deucalion (+1942) |work=Wrecksite.eu |date=4 July 2018 |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

Blue Funnel Line [[Ship registration|registered]] ''Deucalion'' at [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]]. Her UK [[official number]] was 162329 and until 1933 her [[code letters]] were LGQS. Her [[Wireless telegraphy|wireless telegraph]] [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] was GSWR.{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1931|p=675}} Her navigation equipment included wireless [[direction finding]] by 1934 and an [[echo sounding]] device by 1936.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1934|loc=DET–DIA}}{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1936|loc=DES–DEV}}

==War service==
In the Second World War, ''Deucalion'' usually sailed independently. Only a few times did she have the protection of convoys.<ref name=Hague>{{cite web |url= http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/ports/index.html?search.php?vessel=DEUCALION~armain |last=Hague |first=Arnold |title=Port Arrivals / Departures |work=Arnold Hague Ports Database |publisher=Don Kindell, Convoyweb |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> Early in September 1940 she was in home waters. On 25 September she left Liverpool with Convoy OB 10 and then continued unescorted via [[Gibraltar]], the [[Suez Canal]], [[Port of Colombo|Colombo]], [[Port of Penang|Penang]], [[Port of Singapore|Singapore]], [[Port of Manila|Manila]], [[Port of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], [[Port of Shanghai|Shanghai]] and [[Port of Kobe|Kobe]] to [[Port of Yokohama|Yokohama]], where she arrived on 22 November. On 7 December she left Yokohama for home, calling at Kobe, Singapore, Penang, Colombo, Suez and Gibraltar. She reached London on 22 January 1940 and Liverpool on 30 January.<ref name=Hague/>

''Deucalion''{{'}}s next voyage began from Liverpool on 28 February 1940. She sailed via the Suez Canal, [[Jeddah]], [[Aden Colony|Aden]], Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai to [[Tianjin|Tientsin]], where she was in port from 23 to 26 April. She returned home via Singapore, Penang, Colombo, [[Port of Cape Town|Cape Town]] and [[Freetown]] in [[Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate|Sierra Leone]], reaching London on 29 June.<ref name=Hague/>

France had capitulated in the [[Armistice of 22 June 1940]], making the [[English Channel]] more dangerous for Allied shipping. ''Deucalion'' returned from London to Liverpool via the [[North Sea]] and around the north of [[Scotland]]. She left [[Southend-on-Sea]] on 8 July with Convoy FN 217, which took her as far as [[Methil]] on the [[Firth of Forth]]. From there she continued with Convoy OA 182, which took her to [[Swansea docks|Swansea]]. She returned unescorted to Liverpool, arriving on 21 July.<ref name=Hague/>

''Deucalion''{{'}}s next voyage began from Liverpool on 31 July 1940. She vailed via [[Cape Verde]], Cape Town, Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai to Kobe. She left Kobe on 8 October and returned via [[Cebu]], Singapore and Cape Town, reaching Liverpool on 7 December.<ref name=Hague/> From 20 to 22 December 1940 there were air raids on Liverpool that came to be called the [[Liverpool Blitz#Christmas Blitz|Christmas Blitz]]. ''Deucalion'' was in [[Gladstone Dock]], where she was damaged on the night of 21–22 December.{{sfn|Haws|1984|p=102}}

''Deucalion''{{'}}s next voyage began from Liverpool on 25 January 1941. She sailed via Cape Town, Singapore and Hong Kong to Shanghai, where she was in port from 12 to 14 April. She returned via Manila, Singapore and Cape Town, reaching Liverpool on 11 June 1941.<ref name=Hague/>

[[File:HMS Ark Royal h85716.jpg|thumb|left|[[Force H]]'s escort for Convoy GM 1 included air cover from {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|6}}]]
On 24 June ''Deucalion'' left Liverpool for Swansea, where she was prepared to take part in Operation Substance to relieve the Siege of Malta. She left Swansea on 11 July and became one of six merchant ships in Convoy WS 9C, which reached Gibraltar on 20 July. There the six merchant ships became part of Convoy GM 1, which left that day and reached Malta on 24 July, escorted by the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[Force H]].<ref name=Hague/>

Operation Substance was successful but as ''Deucalion'' left Malta on 26 August, a [[coastal artillery]] [[Artillery battery|battery]] inexplicably opened fire on her. She was undamaged but minutes later one of her [[Paravane (water kite)#Military applications|paravanes]] detonated a mine that damaged some of her plates. Later that day, [[SIAI-Marchetti|Savoia-Marchetti]] aircraft fired at least two torpedoes at her. By skilful manoeuvring, ''Deucalion'' evaded each torpedo, one by only {{cvt|3|ft|0}} and another scraped her side. One of the bombers was shot down. ''Deucalion''{{'}}s crew then sighted the periscope of a submarine, but an Allied [[destroyer]] and [[Short Sunderland]] arrived, enabling ''Duecalion'' to escape.{{sfn|Haws|1984|p=102}}{{sfn|Le Fleming|1961|p=31}} ''Deucalion'' reached Gibraltar under escort on 29 August and then continued unescorted to [[New York City|New York]], where she was in port from 15 to 27 September. She returned unescorted to Britain, arriving in the [[Firth of Clyde]] on 8 October.<ref name=Hague/>

[[File:Luchtopname. S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam, Bestanddeelnr 935-0065 (cropped).jpg|thumb|{{SS|Nieuw Amsterdam|1937|2}}, largest of the troop ships in Convoy WS 12Z]]
''Deucalion''{{'}}s next voyage began from the Clyde on 12 November 1941. She sailed via Freetown and [[Port of Durban|Durban]] to [[Mumbai Harbour|Bombay]] with Convoy WS 12Z, a large convoy that included several [[Troopship|troop ships]]. From Bombay she continued independently via [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]], [[Surabaya]] and [[Fremantle Harbour|Fremantle]] to [[Port Jackson|Sydney]], where she was in port from 10 March to 10 April. She returned to Britain via [[Port Chalmers]], [[Bluff, New Zealand|Bluff]] and the [[Panama Canal]], reaching the Clyde on 3 July.<ref name=Hague/>

===Operation Pedestal===
In August 1942 ''Deucalion'' took part in Convoy MW 12, part of Operation Pedestal to relieve Malta. MW 12 passed Gibraltar on 10 August and came under attack from 11 August. On 12 August five [[Heinkel He 111]] bombers attacked ''Deucalion''. One bomb penetrated her number 5 hold aft, exploded below the waterline and lifted the ship bodily in the water. Number 1 hold forward also flooded but ''Deucalion'' kept under way toward Malta. A few hours later, three bombers made a low-level attack but their bombs missed.{{sfn|Haws|1984|p=102}}{{sfn|Le Fleming|1961|p=31}}

[[File:Operation Pedestal, August 1942 A11188.jpg|thumb|''Deucalion'' after being damaged by a bomb. A destroyer, presumably {{HMS|Bramham}}, is standing by.]]
An aircraft launched a torpedo at her, hitting her starboard side in number 6 hold aft. The explosion broke her starboard propeller shaft and ignited high-[[octane]] spirit that was part of her cargo. A sheet of flame rose twice the height of her masthead, preventing crew members at her stern from reaching their boat stations. Crew members amidships launched life rafts for those crew members who were trapped astern. One badly-injured [[Defensively equipped merchant ship|DEMS]] gunner had been trapped by a falling raft but two apprentices freed him and lowered him into the water, where one of the apprentices, [[John Gregson (sailor)|John Gregson]], towed him a distance of about 600 yards to a rescuing destroyer.{{sfn|Haws|1984|p=102}}{{sfn|Le Fleming|1961|p=31}} Despite the severity of the attack, only one member of ''Deucalion''{{'}}s crew was killed.<ref name=Wrecksite/> The destroyer {{HMS|Bramham}} stood by and rescued survivors. Despite being seriously damaged ''Deucalion'' did not immediately sink and was [[Scuttling|scuttled]] by ''Bramham''.{{sfn|Haws|1984|p=102}}

===Honours===
On 10 November 1942 ''Deucalion''{{'}}s [[Master mariner|Master]], [[Sea captain|Captain]] Ramsay Brown, was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]] for his actions aboard ''Deucalion'',<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35780 |date=10 November 1942 |page=4880 |supp=y |city=London |title=The Distinguished Service Cross}}</ref> and the [[Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct|King's Commendation]] for his actions when {{Jsub|I-7||2}} sank a previous command of his, ''Glenshiel'', on 2 April 1942.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35778 |date=10 November 1942 |page=4874 |supp=y |city=London |title=Commendations}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/person/25927.html |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |title=Ramsay Brown |work=uboat.net |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> [[Lloyd's of London]] awarded [[Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea]] to Captain Brown, apprentice John Gregson,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/55/a8649255.shtml |last=de Neumann |first=Bernard |title=Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea (Part One) |work=WW2 People's War |publisher=BBC |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> and a Captain Percival Pycraft, OBE, DSC, [[Royal Naval Reserve|RNR]], who was also aboard ''Deucalion''.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/30/a8649930.shtml |last=de Neumann |first=Bernard |title=Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea (Part Two) |work=WW2 People's War |publisher=BBC |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

On 6 December 1942, Brown was a passenger on the [[Elder Dempster Lines|Elder, Dempster]] ship {{MV|Henry Stanley||2}} when {{GS|U-103|1940|2}} sank her. The passengers and crew abandoned ship in her four lifeboats, but none of the boats or its occupants was ever found.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/3168181/ramsay-brown/ |title=Civilian Ramsay Brown |publisher=[[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|CWGC]] |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

On 6 February 1943, Gregson was awarded the [[Albert Medal for Lifesaving]] for his part in freeing the trapped gunner and towing him to safety.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=2 February 1943 |issue=35886 |page=604 |supp=y |city=London}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |year=1931 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I.–Steamers and Motorships Under 300 Tons, Trawlers, Tugs, Dredgers, etc. Sailing Vessels, Shipowners, etc. |chapter=Alphabetical List of Cargo Steamers and Motorships of 500 tons Deadweight capacity and above, with approximate Deadweight and Cubic capacities |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=[[Southampton City Council]] |url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/31/31a0459.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1931, Vol I}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Haws |first=Duncan |year=1984 |title=Blue Funnel Line |series=Merchant Fleets |volume=6 |place=Burwash |publisher=Travel Creatours Ltd Publications |isbn=0-946378-01-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Le Fleming |first=HM |year=1961 |title=Ships of the Blue Funnel Line |location=Southampton |publisher=[[Adlard Coles Nautical|Adlard Coles Ltd]] |oclc=776899828}}
* {{cite book |year=1931 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons Gross and Over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/31/31b0327.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1931, Vol II}}}}
* {{cite book |year=1934 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons Gross and Over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/34/34b0243.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1934}}}}
* {{cite book |year=1936 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons Gross and Over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/36/36b0240.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1936}}}}
* {{cite book |year=1931 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |via=Crew List Index Project |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?year=1931&name=Deucalion&page=674&steamsail=Motor&gotopage=next |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1931}}}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Deucalion (ship, 1930)}}

{{August 1942 shipwrecks|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deucalion}}
[[Category:1930 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1942]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Tyne]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships of the Blue Funnel Line]]