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SS Tobruk

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SS Tobruk after the War
History
Name
  • Empire Builder (1941–42)
  • Tobruk (1942–68)
NamesakeDefence of Tobruk
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
BuilderWilliam Gray & Co Ltd
Yard number1123
Launched19 November 1941
CompletedJanuary 1942
Commissioned30 January 1942
Out of serviceNovember 1967
IdentificationIMO Number 5616130 (-1968)
FateScrapped June 1968
General characteristics
Tonnage
  • 7,090 GRT (Empire Builder)
  • 7,048 (Tobruk)
  • 5,050 NRT (Empire Builder)
  • 4,977 NRT (Tobruk)
  • 10,400 DWT (Tobruk)
Length430 ft (131.06 m)
Beam56 ft 2 in (17.12 m)
Depth35 ft 2 in (10.72 m)
Propulsion1 x triple expansion steam engine
Speed9.5 knots (17.6 km/h)

Tobruk was a 7,090 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1941 as Empire Builder by William Gray & Company Ltd for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). On completion she was handed over to the Polish government-in-exile (along with four others; Narwik, Bałtyk, Białystok and Borysław, which in 1950 was renamed to Bytom) and renamed Tobruk. She was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War. She was sold in 1951 to Polskie Linie Oceaniczne and served until 1967. She was scrapped in 1968.

Description

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Empire Builder was built by William Gray & Sons Ltd, West Hartlepool.[1] She was yard number 1123. Empire Builder was launched on 19 November 1941 and completed in January 1942.[2]

The ship was 430 feet (131.06 m) long, with a beam of 56 feet 2 inches (17.12 m) and a depth of 35 feet 2 inches (10.72 m). She was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 24+1⁄2 inches (62 cm), 42 inches (110 cm) and 70 inches (180 cm) bore by 48 inches (120 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool.[3] It could propel her at 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h)[4] Empire Builder was listed on Lloyds Register as having a GRT of 7,090 and a NRT of 5,050.[3] Tobruk was listed on Lloyds Register as having a GRT of 7,048 and a NRT of 4,977.[5] Her DWT was 10,500.[4]

Career

[edit]

Empire Builder's port of registry was West Hartlepool.[3] On completion, she was handed over to the Polish Government on 30 January 1942 and renamed Tobruk, after participation of Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade in defence of Tobruk.[6] Her port of registry was changed to Gdynia.[5] Tobruk was owned by the Polish government and operated under the management of Gdynia America Line, in charter of War Transport Administration.[6] The first captain was Bronisław Hurko.[6]

PQ 13

Convoy PQ 13 departed Loch Ewe on 10 March 1942 and arrived at Murmansk, Soviet Union on 31 March having lost six ships to enemy action. A further two were sunk at Murmansk after the convoy's arrival.[7] The convoy dispersed in a snow storm on 25 March, and Tobruk travelled alone since then.[8] On 30 March, near Murmansk, she was attacked by German bombers Junkers Ju 88 and was credited with shooting down one bomber and one probable.[8] She was hit by one bomb, which luckily pierced a deck and went out through a board, exploding in a water, instead of in a cargo hold with explosives.[8] However, on 3 April Tobruk was sunk by a pier in Murmansk by enemy bomb, which flooded stern holds.[8] On 24 April she was refloated, towed away and stranded.[8] Thanks to a dedication of the crew, the ship was kept partly afloat for several months, and provisionally repaired in Murmansk dock by September only.[8] The repairs were hampered by enemy bombings, which killed one crewman.[8]

QP 14

Convoy QP 14 departed Murmansk on 13 September 1942 and arrived at Loch Ewe on 26 September, having lost four ships to enemy action.[9] Tobruk was carrying a cargo of Apatite. She departed Murmansk on 8 September bound for Archangelsk, from where she joined the convoy.[10] Tobruk arrived safely, although with leaks due to depth charges.[8] Crew members were joking later that the convoy departed on the 13th day of the month, the trip lasted 13 days, and Tobruk had the thirteenth position in the convoy.[11]

SL 178

Convoy SL 178 departed Freetown, Sierra Leone on 25 November 1944 and arrived at Liverpool on 15 December. Tobruk was on a voyage from Pepel to Barry, Glamorgan. She was carrying a cargo of iron ore and two passengers.[12] On 9 December, a deceased seaman from Tobruk was buried at sea.[13]

Postwar

Postwar, Tobruk continued in Polish Government service. On 21 June 1946, the ship entered her homeport Gdynia in Poland for the first time.[14] After disbanding of Gdynia Ameryka Line, from 1951 the Tobruk became part of Polish Ocean Lines fleet.[15] In 1950 during a storm in the Bay of Biscay in order to prevent the ship from crashing into the local reefs the crew improvised a sail, saving the ship; this is the only known example of a modern bulk carrier using a sail.[16] In June 1967 Tobruk was transferred to other Polish state-owned operator, Polska Żegluga Morska (Polsteam), but was stricken already in November 1967.[17] She was scrapped at Gdynia by June 1968.[2]

[edit]

The wartime history of the ship has been portrayed in a novel S.S. Tobruk – w konwojach śmierci (SS Tobruk – in the convoys of death) by Jan Kazimierz Sawicki.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Mitchell, W H, and Sawyer, L A (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b "5616130". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Tobruk". Polish Ocean Lines. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  5. ^ a b "LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTEURS" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  6. ^ a b c Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999), pp. 315–316.
  7. ^ "Convoy PQ 13". Warsailors. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999), pp. 320–324.
  9. ^ "The Arctic Convoy's". Toys out of the Pram. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  10. ^ "Report of Senior British Naval Officer (extracts) – September 1942". Halcyon-class. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  11. ^ Jan Piwowoński (1989). Flota spod Biało-Czerwonej. Nasza Księgarnia. p. 90. ISBN 978-83-10-08902-1. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  12. ^ "Convoy SL.178 / MKS.69". Convoyweb. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  13. ^ The National Archives (UK), ref ADM 217/591 Retrieved 29 December 2009
  14. ^ Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999), pp. 342.
  15. ^ Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999), pp. 347.
  16. ^ Jan Piwowoński (1989). Flota spod Biało-Czerwonej. Nasza Księgarnia. p. 92. ISBN 978-83-10-08902-1. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  17. ^ Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999), pp. 357.
  18. ^ Jan Kazimierz Sawicki (1990). S/s "Tobruk" w konwojach śmierci. Graf. ISBN 978-83-85130-24-6. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  • Miciński, Jerzy; Huras, Bohdan; Twardowski, Marek (1999). Księga statków polskich 1918–1945. Tom 3 [Polish ships book 1918-1945. Vol. 3] (in Polish). Gdańsk: Polnord Wydawnictwo Oskar. ISBN 83-86181-45-1.
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