SS Aenos (1910)
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner | |
| Operator | F&W Ritson (until 1930)[1] |
| Port of registry |  Sunderland[1]
 Argostoli[2] |
| Builder | Bartram & Sons Ltd, South Dock, Sunderland[1] |
| Launched | 21 June 1910 |
| Completed | 1910[1] |
| In service | 1910 |
| Out of service | 17 October 1940 |
| Renamed | |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sunk by torpedo, 17 October 1940[6] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type |
|
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 390.5 feet (119.0 m)[5] |
| Beam | 51.0 feet (15.5 m)[5] |
| Depth | 21.3 feet (6.5 m)[5] |
| Installed power | 434 NHP[5] |
| Propulsion | triple-expansion steam engine; single screw[5] |
| Sail plan | 3-masted schooner (until 1930)[1] |
| Crew | 29[6] |
SS Aenos, formerly SS Cedar Branch, was a British-built cargo steamship. She was completed in England in 1910 and sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1940.
As Cedar Branch
[edit]Bartram & Sons Ltd of South Dock, Sunderland built the ship, completing her as Cedar Branch in 1910.[1] She was a three-masted schooner that also had a triple-expansion steam engine.[1] By 1932 Lloyd's Register no longer listed her as a schooner,[4] suggesting that by that time her rigging and sails had been removed, her masts had been reduced in height (see photo) and she ran solely under steam power.
As Aenos
[edit]In her 30-year career the ship passed through various owners and more than one manager. In 1930 she belonged to Nautilus Steam Shipping Co and was registered in Sunderland,[1] but then she was sold to A. Lusi, who changed her name from Cedar Branch to Aenos and registered her in the port of Argostoli in Cephalonia.[2] In about 1936–37 her owner changed to "Zephyros" Steam Ship Company Ltd, but she continued to be registered in Argostoli.[3]
In October 1940 Aenos loaded a cargo of 6,276 tons of wheat at Sorel in Canada to take to Manchester, England. Her Master was Dionisios Laskaratos.[6] She sailed from Sorel to Sydney, Nova Scotia where she joined Convoy SC 7 which was to take her as far as Liverpool.[7] SC 7 left Sydney on 5 October 1940, initially with only one escort ship, the Hastings-class sloop HMS Scarborough. A wolf pack of U-boats found the convoy on 16 October and quickly overwhelmed it, sinking many ships over the next few days.
Aenos was straggling behind the main convoy[7] and first to be sunk. On the morning of 17 October she was about 80 nautical miles (150 km) north-northeast of Rockall when the German submarine U-38 sighted her, fired one G7e torpedo at her at 0957 hrs but it missed.[6] The submarine then surfaced and fired on Aenos with her 105 mm deck gun until the ship sank at 1052 hours.[6] Out of a complement of 29, four crew members were killed.[6] Another straggler, the Canadian cargo ship Eaglescliffe Hall, rescued 25 survivors including Captain Laskaratos, and landed them at Gourock in Scotland the next day.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1930. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1931. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1937. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ a b c Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1932. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1934. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2013). "Aenos". Ships hit by U-boats. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ a b Hague, Arnold. "Convoy SC.7". SC Convoy Series. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
59°0′N 13°0′W / 59.000°N 13.000°W
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1940 | |
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| Other incidents |
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