| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Michael E |
| Owner: | Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd[1] |
| Operator: | Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London[2] |
| Port of registry: | London |
| Builder: | William Hamilton & Co, Port Glasgow[2] |
| Launched: | 1941 |
| Completed: | May 1941[2] |
| Out of service: | 2 June 1941[2] |
| Identification: | Code Letters BCKB United Kingdom Official Number 168165 |
| Fate: | Sunk by torpedo[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | 7,628 GRT 5,508 NRT |
| Length: | 421 ft 1 in (128.35 m) between perpendiculars 434 ft 5 in (132.41 m) overall |
| Beam: | 60 ft 4 in (18.39 m) |
| Draught: | 23 ft 2.25 in (7.07 m) |
| Depth: | 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m) |
| Propulsion: | Triple expansion steam engine |
| Crew: | 46 Merchant Navy men & officers, 12 RAF personnel, three Royal Navy gunners[2] |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 Hawker Sea Hurricane |
| Aviation facilities: | aircraft catapult |
SS Michael E was a 7,628 ton CAM ship which was built in 1941 and was sunk on her maiden voyage.
Contents |
Michael E was built by William Hamilton & Co Ltd, Port Glasgow. Launched in 1941, she was completed in May of that year. She was the United Kingdom's first CAM ship, armed with a catapult on her bow to launch a Hawker Sea Hurricane.[2]
Michael E was 421 feet 1 inch (128.35 m) long between perpendiculars (434 feet 5 inches (132.41 m) overall), with a beam of 60 feet 4 inches (18.39 m). She had a depth of 35 feet 8 inches (10.87 m) and a draught of 23 feet 2.25 inches (7.07 m). She was 7,628 GRT and 5,508 NRT.[3]
Michael E was powered by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 24 inches (61 cm), 39 inches (99 cm) and 68 inches (170 cm) diameter by 48 inches (120 cm) stroke. The engine was built by D. Rowan & Co Ltd, Glasgow.[3]
Michael E was owned by the Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd.[3] She was placed under the management of Counties Ship Management Ltd of London, an offshoot of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking company.[4] She was named after Michael E Kulukundis, a member of the Kulukundis family that had a major shareholding in her.[4] Michael E was allocated the Code Letters BCKB and the United Kingdom Official Number 163168. Her port of registry was London.[3]
On 28 May 1941 Michael E sailed in ballast on her maiden voyage from Belfast, Northern Ireland bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia with convoy OB 327.[2] The convoy was dispersed on 1 June and at 2043 hours on 2 June Michael E was in the North Atlantic several hundred miles southwest of Cape Clear when U-boat U-108 fired two torpedoes at her.[2] One missed but the other struck her in the stern killing a crew member and two gunners, and at 2221 hours she sank by the stern.[2] On 3 June the Dutch cargo ship Alcinous rescued Michael E's Master, 44 crew, two gunners and 12 RAF personnel.[2]
In September 1941 William Hamilton & Co completed a second CAM ship of the same class for CSM. She was launched as the Primrose Hill and effectively replaced the Michael E. The Primrose Hill survived until October 1942 when a German-operated submarine sank her by torpedo and shellfire.
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