SS ''Scoresby'' was a British cargo steamship that was built in 1923, sailed in a number of transatlantic

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 ...

in 1940, and was sunk by a

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

that October.

Building

Robert Thompson & Sons Ltd of Bridge Dockyard,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

built ''Scoresby''. She was launched on 18 December 1922 and completed in January 1923. ''Scoresby'' had eight corrugated furnaces with a combined grate area of that heated two 180 lb_f/in² single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of . The boilers fed a three-cylinder

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 ...

that was rated at 436 NHP and drove a single screw. The engine was built by the North Eastern Marine Engineering Co, Ltd, also of Sunderland. ''Scoresby'' owner was Rowland and Marwood's Steam Ship Co, Ltd, who registered her in

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

. She was managed by another Rowland and Marwood's company, Headlam & Sons.

Second World War career

By January 1940 ''Beatus'' was sailing in convoys. That month she 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 ...

with Convoy OB 77 as far as the coast of Canada, whence she continued to San Domingo. In March she returned to the UK with a convoy of sugar, sailing ''via'' Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

where she joined Convoy HX 28 that reached Liverpool on 2 April. In May 1940 ''Scoresby'' crossed the North Atlantic from Britain to

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

. She sailed with Convoy OA 150G from

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

, which merged with Convoy OA 150G off

Land's End Land's End ( or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

to form Convoy OG 30 to

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 ...

. In June she returned to the UK with a 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, sailing ''via'' Halifax, Nova Scotia where she joined Convoy HX 53 that reached Liverpool on 10 July. ''Scoresby'' spent the rest of July and August in home waters, sailing in short-haul convoys around Britain. Then on 31 August she sailed from

Methil Methil () is a coastal town in Fife, Scotland. Methil has ancient origins: two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as over 8,000 years old. The town was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to ...

in Scotland with Convoy OA 207 to Canada.

Convoy SC 7 and sinking

''Scoresby'' sailed from

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,316 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrado ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

with a cargo of of pit props bound for the Clyde in Scotland. She sailed ''via'' St. Francis Harbour, Nova Scotia and

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 dissolv ...

, where she joined

Convoy SC 7 Convoy SC 7 was the name of a large Allied convoy in the Second World War comprising 35 merchant ships and six escorts. The convoy sailed eastwards from Sydney, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool and other British ports on 5 October 1940. While cro ...

. Her

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

was Lawrence Zebedee Weatherill, and she carried the Convoy Vice-Commodore. SC 7 left Sydney on 5 October. At first the convoy had only one escort ship, the sloop . A wolf pack of

s found the convoy on 16 October and quickly overwhelmed it, sinking many ships over the next few days. At 0553 hrs on 17 October SC 7 was about northwest of

Rockall Rockall () is a high, uninhabitable granite islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is west of Soay, St Kilda, Scotland; northwest of Tory Island, Ireland; and south of Iceland. The nearest permanently inhabited place is North Uist, east in ...

when , commanded by

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

Heinrich Bleichrodt Heinrich Bleichrodt (21 October 1909 – 9 January 1977) was a German U-boat commander during the World War II, Second World War. From October 1939 until retiring from front line service in December 1943, he was credited with sinking 25 ships for ...

, fired three torpedoes at the convoy. Two ships were hit and sunk: ''Scoresby'' and the French tanker . Captain Weatherill and his entire crew successfully abandoned ship, were rescued by the , and on 20 October were landed at

Gourock Gourock ( ; ) is a town in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a resort town, seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its ma ...

in Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scoresby 1923 ships Maritime incidents in October 1940 Ships sunk with no fatalities Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Wear World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean