MV Anshun (1930)
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The MV ''Anshun'' was a motor vessel built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited,
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 ...
in 1930 for
The China Navigation Company The China Navigation Company Limited (CNCo) is a London-based holding company of merchant shipping companies Swire Shipping Pte Ltd and Swire Bulk Pte Ltd, both of which are headquartered in Singapore. CNCo is part of the Swire group and who ...
for the Chinese coastal passenger service.


Wartime service

With the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the ''Anshun'' was requisitioned by the Admiralty as a stores ship at Freetown, returned to her owners in 1940. The ship was damaged by a bomb on 10 December 1941 at
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, Philippines. She was diverted to Australia and taken for operation under 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 ...
for wartime service and in May–June 1942 allocated for operation under
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
control. On 2 September 1942 ''Anshun'' and the Dutch steamer escorted by and , later joined by out of
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
, left
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
as convoy "Q2" bound for
Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...
with supplies for the garrison there. ''Anshun'' and ''Arunta'' entered the bay on the morning of 6 September and berthed at the pontoon jetty at Gili Gili to begin unloading with intentions to put to sea for safety during the night but orders were given by local authorities to continue unloading under her cargo lights through the night while ''Arunta'' departed to join ''s Jacob'' and ''Swan'' holding at sea to the south. Shortly after 10 p.m. she came under fire from the Japanese cruiser and destroyer during the
battle of Milne Bay The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942), also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese naval infantry, known as ''Kaigun ...
. ''Anshun'' was hit by the fire from the cruiser taking ten hits settling by the head before rolling onto her side. Two of her American gunners were killed and one American and one ship's gunner were wounded. Useful cargo that had not been unloaded before the action was identified by diver John Johnstone, who had salvaged gold from , and then salvaged through holes cut in the ship's side but cases of beer allegedly aboard and of some interest to the troops ashore was not found. She was left on her side until late 1944 when she was salvaged, raised, patched and towed to Sydney. During preparations to advance from Buna toward
Lae Lae (, , later ) is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River on the northern coast of Huon Gulf. It is at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is ...
and
Salamaua Salamaua () was a small town situated on the northeastern coastline of Papua New Guinea, in Salamaua Rural LLG, Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland. The c ...
marking of channels for safe passage of the amphibious forces in the dangerous waters between Milne Bay and Buna was constrained by shortage of material with the steaming and side lights of ''Anshun'' salvaged and used in the effort to make Buna a twenty-four-hour port. ''Anshun'' was later salvaged and in 1944 towed to Sydney where she was laid up.


Postwar service

She was acquired by James Patrick & Company Pty Limited, underwent repairs at
Cockatoo Island Dockyard The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role ...
and was renamed MS ''Culcairn''. ''Culcairn'' operated on the Australian East Coast trade from 1946 to 1962.


Citations


References

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External links


Australian War Memorial records search result (photos)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anshun 1930 ships Ships built on the River Clyde 1942 in Papua New Guinea World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean South West Pacific theatre of World War II Maritime incidents in September 1942