''Empire Beatrice'' was a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

which was built by Lithgows Ltd,

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...

in 1942. She was owned by the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

(MoWT) and managed by David Alexander & Sons. Although badly damaged during the war, she was repaired and sold into merchant service after the war ended. She served with various shipping companies as ''Beatrice N'', ''Mary K'', ''Winchester Prowess'' and ''Grazia Bottigliere'', eventually being scrapped in 1966.

Description

''Empire Beatrice'' was built for the MoWT by Lithgows Ltd,

. She was yard number 978. The ship was launched on 23 February 1942 and completed in April that year. She had a GRT of 7,046, NRT of 4,286 and a DWT of 10,750. ''Empire Beatrice'' was propelled by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) cylinder, then having given up heat ...

which had cylinders of 24½ inches (62 cm), and diameter and stroke. It was built by J G Kincaird Ltd, Greenock and developed . The ship was capable of .

Wartime career

After completion, ''Empire Beatrice'' was placed under the management of David Alexander & Sons. Her port of registry was

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. ''Empire Beatrice'' was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War ;KMS 14 Convoy KMS 14, sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 5 May 1943 and arrived at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

on 17 May. ''Empire Beatrice'' had commenced her voyage in the Clyde and was bound for

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, carrying a cargo which was to form part of a boom defence. ;MKS 20 Convoy MKS 20 sailed from Gibraltar on 31 July 1943 and arrived at Liverpool on 10 August. ''Empire Beatrice'' was carrying a cargo of

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

s and was bound for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. ;MKS 50 Convoy MKS 50 departed

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

on 20 May 1944 bound for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. ''Empire Beatrice'' joined the convoy at

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

. On 27 July 1944, ''Empire Beatrice'' was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

ed in the

Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows, is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, and separating Great Britain from continental ...

() by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

E-boats E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat"; plural ''Schnellboote'') of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a pat ...

. She was beached at

Dungeness Dungeness (, ) is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the ham ...

where temporary repairs were made to make her fit enough for the forward section of the ship to be towed by the

tugs A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...

Empire Betsy Suffix beginning with B ''Empire Baffin'' was a 6,978 GRT cargo ship that was built by Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow. She was launched on 28 August 1941 and completed in October 1941. In May 1942 she was a member of Convoy PQ 16. Damaged by ...

'' and '' Empire Humphrey'' to

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

, from where she was later towed to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

for permanent repairs including a new stern. On 23 April 1945, ''Empire Beatrice'' was being towed by tugs '' Empire Larch'' and ''Thames'' off

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

when she was attacked by ''U-2326''. HMT ''Macbeth'' sailed southwards from

to escort the towing ships. This was the voyage that returned ''Empire Beatrice'' to the Clyde for repairs. Following the provision of the new stern, the ship was fitted with a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 23½ inches (60 cm), 37½ inches (95 cm) and by stroke. It was built by John Brown & Co Ltd,

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

. Those lost whilst serving on ''Empire Beatrice'' during the war are commemorated at the

Tower Hill Memorial The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seaf ...

, London.

Postwar career

In 1946, ''Empire Beatrice'' was sold to Cheriton Shipping Co Ltd and renamed ''Beatrice N''. She was placed under the management of P B Pandelis Ltd, London. In 1952 she was sold to N G Kyrikades Shipping Ltd and renamed ''Mary K''. In 1964, she was sold to Winchester Shipping Co Ltd and renamed ''Winchester Princess'', operated under the management of G O Till, London. In 1966, she was sold to B Bottigliere di Giuseppe, Naples and renamed ''Grazia Bottigliere''. She was scrapped at

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, in March 1966. A section of the original stern can be found in of water off Dungeness.

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official numbers were a forerunner to

IMO Numbers The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is us ...

. ''Empire Beatrice'' had the UK

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

168994 and used the Code Letters BFDN. Her wireless call sign was MAIS

References

External links

Photo of ''Mary K''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Beatrice 1942 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Italy Steamships of Italy Maritime incidents in July 1944