 SSTobruk after the War | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Defence of Tobruk |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | William Gray & Co Ltd |
| Yard number | 1123 |
| Launched | 19 November 1941 |
| Completed | January 1942 |
| Commissioned | 30 January 1942 |
| Out of service | November 1967 |
| Identification | IMO Number 5616130 (-1968) |
| Fate | Scrapped June 1968 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 430 ft (131.06 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft 2 in (17.12 m) |
| Depth | 35 ft 2 in (10.72 m) |
| Propulsion | 1 x triple expansion steam engine |
| Speed | 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h) |
Tobruk was a 7,090 GRTcargo ship which was built in 1941 asEmpire Builder byWilliam Gray & Company Ltd for theMinistry of War Transport (MoWT). On completion she was handed over to thePolish government-in-exile (along with four others;Narwik,Bałtyk,Białystok andBorysław, which in 1950 was renamed toBytom) and renamedTobruk. She was a member of a number of convoys during theSecond World War. She was sold in 1951 to Polskie Linie Oceaniczne and served until 1967. She was scrapped in 1968.
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 atriple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of24+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]
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 renamedTobruk, after participation ofPolish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade indefence of Tobruk.[6] Her port of registry was changed toGdynia.[5]Tobruk was owned by the Polish government and operated under the management ofGdynia America Line, in charter of War Transport Administration.[6] The first captain was Bronisław Hurko.[6]
Convoy PQ 13 departedLoch Ewe on 10 March 1942 and arrived atMurmansk,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, andTobruk travelled alone since then.[8] On 30 March, near Murmansk, she was attacked by German bombersJunkers 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 AprilTobruk 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]
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 ofApatite. She departed Murmansk on 8 September bound forArchangelsk, 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, andTobruk had the thirteenth position in the convoy.[11]
Convoy SL 178 departedFreetown,Sierra Leone on 25 November 1944 and arrived at Liverpool on 15 December.Tobruk was on a voyage fromPepel toBarry, Glamorgan. She was carrying a cargo of iron ore and two passengers.[12] On 9 December, a deceased seaman fromTobruk was buried at sea.[13]
Postwar,Tobruk continued in Polish Government service. On 21 June 1946, the ship entered her homeportGdynia in Poland for the first time.[14] After disbanding of Gdynia Ameryka Line, from 1951 theTobruk became part ofPolish Ocean Lines fleet.[15] In 1950 during a storm in theBay 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 modernbulk carrier using a sail.[16] In June 1967Tobruk 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]
The wartime history of the ship has been portrayed in a novelS.S. Tobruk – w konwojach śmierci (SS Tobruk – in the convoys of death) by Jan Kazimierz Sawicki.[18]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
