| History | |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | |
| Name | SS Marietta E |
| Owner | Leith Hill Shipping Co Ltd [1] |
| Operator | Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London [1] [2] |
| Builder | William Hamilton & Co, Port Glasgow [1] [2] |
| Completed | June 1940 [2] |
| Out of service | 4 March 1943 [2] |
| Identification | UK official number 167596 [1] |
| Fate | Sunk by torpedo [2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 421.1 ft (128.4 m) [1] p/p |
| Beam | 60.4 ft (18.4 m) [1] |
| Draught | 28 ft 2+1⁄2 in (8.60 m) |
| Depth | 35.8 ft (10.9 m) [1] |
| Installed power | 520 NHP [1] |
| Propulsion | triple-expansion steam engine; single screw [1] |
| Crew | 45 [2] |
| Notes | sister ships: SS Kingston Hill, SS Lulworth Hill, SS Michael E, SS Primrose Hill |
SS Marietta E was a British cargo ship completed by William Hamilton & Co in Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde in June 1940. [1] She had a single 520 NHP triple-expansion steam engine built by David Rowan and Company of Glasgow, [1] that drove a single screw. She had eight corrugated furnaces heating two 225 lbf/in2 single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 7,643 square feet (710 m2), plus one auxiliary boiler. [1]
She was owned by Leith Hill Shipping Co Ltd and managed by Counties Ship Management Co Ltd of London [1] (CSM), both of which were offshoots of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking company. [3] She was named after Marietta Eustathiou, a member of Nicholas Eustathiou shipping concerns that had a major shareholding in her. [3]
Marietta E was a sister ship of SS Michael E, SS Lulworth Hill and SS Primrose Hill, which also were managed by CSM and owned by companies associated with R&K.
Sinking
Early in 1943 she sailed from New York, bound for Alexandria in Egypt via Durban and Aden. [2] She was laden with a cargo of government and commercial stores and deck cargo of eight LCPL landing craft. [2] In Durban she joined convoy DN-21 to Alexandria via Aden. [2] At 0346 hrs on 4 March in the Indian Ocean east of East London, German submarine U-160 fired two torpedoes at the convoy, one of which sank the Marietta E killing four crew and one DEMS gunner. [2] South African Navy rescue launch R8 rescued the Master, 33 crew and six DEMS gunners and landed them at Durban. [2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lloyd's Register, Steam Ships and motorships (PDF). Lloyd's Register. 1943. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2010). "Marietta E." uboat.net. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ a b Fenton, Roy (2006). "Counties Ship Management 1934-2007". LOF-News. p. 1. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
Further reading
- Sedgwick, Stanley; Kinnaird, Mark; O'Donoghue, K.J. (1993) [1992]. London & Overseas Freighters, 1948-92: A Short History. World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-68-1.
- Sedgwick, Stanley; Sprake, R.F. (1977). London & Overseas Freighters Limited 1949-1977. World Ship Society. ISBN 0905617037.
31°29′S 31°07′E / 31.49°S 31.11°E
