SSCity of Oxford
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | SSCity of Oxford |
| Owner | Ellerman and Papayanni Lines |
| Builder | Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd.,Newcastle Upon Tyne[1] |
| Yard number | 1291 |
| Launched | 14 July 1926 |
| Completed | December 1926 |
| Fate | Sunk on 15 June 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 2,759GRT |
| Length | 102 m (335 ft) |
| Beam | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Draught | 6 ft 40 in (2.84 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 10knots(19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Crew | 44 |
SSCity of Oxfordwas asteam merchantship built in 1926 bySwan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd.,inNewcastle-upon-Tyneand sunk by a German submarine on 15 June 1942. Measuring 2,759 gross register tons she entered service with the Ellerman and Papayanni subsidiary ofEllerman Lines,and served during theSecond World War.
On her final voyage under Master Alfred Norbury, she was in "position No.54 in the convoy, being the last ship in the 5th column",[2]part ofConvoy HG 84[3]travelling fromLisbontoGarston,and had called atGibraltaron 9 June to join with the36th Escort Groupunder the command ofCaptain "Johnnie" Walker.She was carrying two thousand tons of iron ore and three hundred tons ofcork[4]
The convoy was sighted approximately 300 nautical miles (560 km) to the west ofCape Finisterreearly in the morning of 15 June 1942 byU-552,under KapitänleutnantErich Topp.Following a preliminary skirmish around 0400 hrs, Topp fired threetorpedoesat the convoy between 0432 and 0434 hrs.City of Oxfordwas the second of two ships to be struck[5];the first beingSSThurso.
According to an oral history recounted by Cpt. "Johnnie" Walker, followingThurso's sinking:
Darkness had time to close in tightly again before the SSCity of Oxfordshuddered to a standstill under the impact of an internal explosion caused when the torpedo pierced her hull and detonated inside a cargo hold. She sank while the ships following her were altering course round her heavily listing hulk.[6]
One crew member was lost in the sinking, the 43 survivors were picked up by the rescue shipCopelandbefore being transferred to thecorvetteHMSMarigold,and then theBittern-class sloopHMSStork[7]and landed at Liverpool.
References
[edit]- ^ "SS City of Oxford (1926)".www.tynebuiltships.co.uk.Retrieved8 May2017.
- ^ EXTRACT FROM REPORT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH THE MASTER,CAPTAIN WALDIE (SS Thurso).30 June 1942.
- ^ "Convoy HG 84".www.warsailors.com.Retrieved2 January2012.
- ^ "City of Oxford Cargo Ship 1926-1942".Retrieved2 January2012.
- ^ "City of Oxford (British Steam Merchant). Ships Hit By German U-Boats During WWII".Retrieved2 January2012.
- ^ "Captain John Frederick Walker: Splice the Mainbrace Part Three".An Archive of WW2 People's Memories - Written By the Public, Gathered By the BBC.Retrieved2 January2012.
- ^ "HMSStork,sloop ".Retrieved2 January2012.
43°41′N18°2′W/ 43.683°N 18.033°W
