''Wallsend'' was a cargo ship which was built in 1943 as ''Empire Buttress'' for 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). Completed in July 1943, she was sold postwar and renamed ''Wallsend''. In 1959 she was sold to Liberia and renamed ''Bordagain'', a further change of ownership in 1967 saw her renamed ''Daring''. She served until 1976, when she was scrapped.

Description

''Empire Buttress'' was built by William Gray & Co Ltd,

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

for the MoWT. She was yard number 1150. ''Empire Buttress'' was launched on 6 May 1943 and completed in July 1943. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She 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 he ...

which had cylinders of , , and bore by stroke. The engine was built by North East Marine Engine Co (1938) Ltd,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

Career

''Empire Buttress'' was operated under the management of Martyn, Martyn & Co Ltd of

Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest ...

. Her port of registry was West Hartlepool. She was a member of a number of convoys during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. ;JW 59 Convoy JW 59 departed

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

on 15 August 1944 and arrived at the

Kola Inlet Kola Bay (russian: Кольский залив) or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta ...

on 24 August. ''Empire Buttress'' had orders to sail to

Archangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

and

Molotovsk Severodvinsk ( rus, Северодвинск, p=sʲɪvʲɪrɐdˈvʲinsk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the river delta, delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, ...

, where she was not expected. Her eventual destination was

Murmansk Murmansk ( Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. " Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ ...

. ;SC 141 Convoy SC 141 departed 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 ...

on 3 September 1943 and arrived at

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 ...

on 17 September. ''Empire Buttress'' was to have sailed with this convoy, but sailed with the next convoy. ;SC 142 Convoy SC 142 departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 15 September 1943 and arrived at Liverpool on 29 September. ''Empire Buttress'' was carrying a cargo of steel and

pulpwood Pulpwood is timber with the principal use of making wood pulp for paper production. Applications * Trees raised specifically for pulp production account for 15% of world pulp production, old growth forests 9% and second- and third- and more gener ...

bound for Glasgow. In 1946, ''Empire Buttress'' was sold to the Burnett Steamship Co Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne and was renamed ''Wallsend''. Her port of registry was changed to Newcastle upon Tyne. On 11 October 1955, ''Wallsend'' ran aground at

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland ( nl, Hoek van Holland, ) is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was the word in use before the word ''kaap'' – "cape", from Portuguese ''cabo'' – became Dutch. The English t ...

, Netherlands. She was refloated by 13 October. In 1959, ''Wallsend'' was sold to the Bordagain Shipping Co Ltd,

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

and was renamed ''Bordagain''. She was operated under the management of Ramon de la Sota Jr,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. In 1967, ''Bordagain'' was sold to the Compania de Navegacion Pinares SA,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and was renamed ''Daring''. She served until 1976, when 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, entertain ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, in May of that year.

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to

IMO Numbers IMO or Imo may refer to: Biology and medicine * Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland * Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies * Isomaltoolig ...

. ''Empire Buttress'' and ''Wallsend'' had the United Kingdom

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their 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 have sometimes ...

168959. ''Bordagain'' and ''Daring'' had the Liberian

1475. ''Empire Buttress'' and ''Wallsend'' used the

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

BFKP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallsend 1943 ships Ships built on the River Tees Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of Liberia Merchant ships of Liberia Maritime incidents in 1955