SS ''Assyrian'' was a cargo ship that was built in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

for German owners in 1914, transferred to British owners in 1920 as war reparations and sunk by a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

in 1940. She was launched as MS ''Fritz'', and when she changed owners in 1920 she was renamed MS ''Assyrian''. She had been built as a

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

but in 1925 she was converted to a steamship and became SS ''Assyrian''.

From MS ''Fritz'' to SS ''Assyrian''

Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Linn Blohm (born 1992), Swedish hand ...

built the ship, completing her as MS ''Fritz'' in August 1914 for

Woermann-Linie The Woermann-Linie was a German shipping company that operated from 1885 to 1942. History It was founded on 15 June 1885 by Adolph Woermann and developed as one of the leading shipping companies between Europe and Africa. From 1899 the company ...

, who registered her in

. In 1919 she was designated for

war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. ...

and in 1920 she was acquired by the British Ellerman and Papayanni Lines, who renamed her ''Assyrian'' and registered her in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. In 1925 Ellerman's had her converted from diesel to steam propulsion with a pair of three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines built by Cooper and Greig of Dundee, Scotland and rated at a combined power output of 280 NHP. Steam came from a pair of 180 lb_f/in² single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of , heated by a total of six corrugated furnaces with a combined grate area of .

Second World War career

Within weeks of the UK entering the Second World War, ''Assyrian'' was sailing in

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

, starting with Convoy OA 7 in September 1939 which assembled off the coast of

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

and dispersed in the North Atlantic. ''Assyrian'' continued to Gibraltar, where she joined Convoy Green 4. Green 4 was bound for

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, but ''Assyrian'' sailed with it only as far as

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. From December 1939 until May 1940 she worked between Gibraltar and Liverpool, making outward voyages from Liverpool to Gibraltar in

Convoy OG 15 A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

in January and

Convoy OG 24 A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

in April. ''Assyrian'' was then transferred to transatlantic convoys between the UK and Canada, starting with Convoy OB 162 from Liverpool in June 1940 and returning the next month in Convoy HX 55 from Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

. In August she went to the US, sailing with

Convoy OB 195 A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

from Liverpool until it dispersed at sea.

Final voyage and sinking

In September 1940 ''Assyrian'' loaded 3,700 tons of grain and sailed from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

, where she joined Convoy BHX 77 to Halifax. There BHX 77 joined

Convoy HX 77 A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

to Liverpool, but ''Assyrian'' went to

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and disso ...

where she joined

Convoy SC 7 SC 7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II convoy of 35 merchant ships and six escorts, which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool and other United Kingdom ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, ...

, which left for Liverpool on 5 October. ''Assyrian''s

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

was Reginald Kearon and she carried the

convoy commodore Convoy commodore also known as commodore, convoys was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a seni ...

, retired vice admiral Lachlan Mackinnon. At first the convoy had only one escort ship, the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

. A wolf pack of

s found the convoy on 16 October and quickly overwhelmed it, sinking many ships over the next few days. On 19 October, as the convoy was in the

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

, a U-boat was sighted 100 yards ahead of ''Assyrian''. She went full ahead to ram her, making for the first time in her career. She chased the enemy ship for 40 minutes but her main gun was astern and she was unable to bring any of her small guns to bear. The U-boat eventually escaped, leaving ''Assyrian'' ahead of the convoy and unescorted. , commanded by Fritz Frauenheim, sighted ''Assyrian'' west by north of

Barra Head Barra Head, also known as Berneray ( gd, Beàrnaraigh; sco, Barra Heid), is the southernmost island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only r ...

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

. At 0122 hours ''U-101'' fired three bow

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

es at the convoy, followed two minutes later by a stern torpedo. Frauenheim later reported four hits and four ships sunk. In fact two of the bow torpedoes missed, but one hit ''Assyrian'' on her

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which a ...

side, stopping her engines and putting out her lights. ''U-101''s stern torpedo hit the cargo ship . Both of ''Assyrian''s lifeboats were damaged in the explosion and most of the surviving crew took to the life-rafts. A sinking merchant ship drifted down upon ''Assyrian'', her cargo of

pit prop A pit prop or mine prop (British and American usage, respectively) is a length of lumber used to prop up the roofs of tunnels in coal mines. Canada traditionally supplied pit props to the British market. As coal mining declined in importance and ...

s rolling off and further damaging ''Assyrian'' and sinking one of the life-rafts. A small party including Captain Kearon, his Chief Officer and Admiral Mackinnon were stranded aboard the sinking ship. They made a raft from whatever they could find and launched it as ''Assyrian'' sank. The raft disintegrated as it hit the water, but most of the occupants managed to cling to pieces of wreckage. Out of a complement of 51, 17 were killed: 15 crew members and two

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

personnel. The rescued 34 survivors: her Master, the Commodore, three Royal Navy personnel, 20 crew members and nine passengers and landed them at Liverpool. Captain Kearon was awarded

Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea The Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea is one of the four Lloyd's Medal types bestowed by Lloyd's of London. In 1939, with the coming of the World War II, Second World War, Lloyd's set up a committee to find means of honouring seafarers who perfo ...

and the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assyrian 1914 ships Maritime incidents in October 1940 Ships built in Hamburg Ships of the Ellerman Lines Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Steamships of the United Kingdom World War I merchant ships of Germany World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean