HMS Empire Battleaxe

History
Name	Cape Berkeley (1943); Empire Battleaxe (1943-44); HMS Empire Battleaxe (1944-46); HMS Donovan (1946); Empire Battleaxe (1946-48); Cape Berkeley (1948); Hai C (1948-50); Empire Battleaxe (1950-66);
Owner	War Shipping Administration (1943-46); United States Maritime Commission (1946-66);
Operator	Cunard White Star Line (1943-46); Royal Navy (1946);
Port of registry	Los Angeles (1943); London (1943-44); Royal Navy (1944-46); London (1946-47); United States (1947-66);
Builder	Consolidated Steel Corporation, Wilmington, California
Launched	12 July 1943
Completed	October 1943
Identification	UK Official Number 169016 (1943-44); Pennant Number F161 (1946); UK Official Number 169016 (1946-47); Code Letters KYFJ (1943); ; Code Letters MYMN (1943-44); ;
Fate	Scrapped May 1966
General characteristics
Tonnage	6,711 GRT (Cape Berkeley, 1943); 7,177 GRT;
Length	396 ft 5 in (120.83 m)
Beam	60 ft 1 in (18.31 m)
Depth	25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) (Cape Berkeley, 1943); 35 ft (10.67 m);
Propulsion	Two steam turbines (Westinghouse Electrical & Manufacturing Co, Essington, California) double reduction geared driving one propellor.
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h)
Boats & landing ; craft carried	18 x Landing Craft Mechanized (Empire Battleaxe, HMS Empire Battleaxe, HMS Donovan)
Capacity	1,000 troops (Empire Battleaxe, HMS Empire Battleaxe, HMS Donovan)
Armament	1 × 4 in gun; 1 × 12 pdr gun; 12 × 20 mm guns (Empire Battleaxe, HMS Empire Battleaxe, HMS Donovan);

Empire Battleaxe was a British ship of the

Landing Ship, Infantry named Cape Berkeley she then saw merchant service as Empire Battleaxe before being commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Empire Battleaxe and then Donovan. After she was decommissioned she returned to merchant service as Empire Battleaxe and was returned to the USA where she was renamed Cape Berkeley once again. A proposed sale in 1948 to China

and renaming to Hai C fell through and she was scrapped in 1966.

Career

Cape Berkeley was built by

Wilmington, California as a Type C1-S-AY1 Landing Ship, Infantry.^[1] She was launched on 12 July 1943 and completed in October 1943 as Empire Battleaxe.^[2] Cape Berkeley was 6,711 GRT^[3] but Empire Battleaxe was 7,177 GRT.^[4]

Empire Battleaxe was transferred under the terms of

E-boats.^[7] Among those she carried to Normandy was the actor David Niven.^[9] After landing her troops, Empire Battleaxe returned to the United Kingdom to collect a second wave of troops. Empire Battleaxe was then commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Empire Battleaxe.^[7]

In August 1944, HMS Empire Battleaxe was sent to the

ex-PoWs, arriving at Sydney, Australia on 19 March. HMS Empire Battleaxe departed Sydney on 11 April 1945, bound for Falmouth where she was to be refitted.^[7]

In 1945 she was renamed HMS Donovan, under which name she served out the remainder of the war.

Mediterranean. In July 1946, the crew were told that on arrival at Naples, Italy from Alexandria, Egypt, the ship would sail for Liverpool, United Kingdom. However, on arrival at Naples, orders were received to make another return trip to Alexandria. About three-quarters of her crew refused to sail. The British Consul in Naples visited the ship to warn the strikers of the consequences of their actions. After he had departed, new orders were issued to sail to Liverpool. The explanation given was that the original orders had been issued because it was thought that ships being sent to relieve Empire Battleaxe would not reach Naples in time. Once it was realised that the relief would arrive in time, the order was cancelled.^[11]

She was returned to the

James River, Virginia.^[10] Empire Battleaxe was scrapped at Kearny, New Jersey in May 1966.^[12]

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Cape Berkeley used the

Official Number 169703 and used the Code Letters MYMN.^[4]

Notes

^ "United States Maritime Commission C1 and C1-M Type Ships used in World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War". usmm.org. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
^ "169703". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
^ ^a ^b "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS" (PDF). Retrieved 11 May 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS" (PDF). Retrieved 11 May 2009.
^ ^a ^b Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 113.
^ "HX 251 through HX 300". Warsailors. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "HMS EMPIRE BATTLEAXE - 1943 to 1945". combinedops.com. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
^ "Arthur Henry Nions, D-Day Landings In Normandy June 6th 1944" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
^ Fowler. David Niven. p. 16.
^ ^a ^b ^c Finch, Ted (2001). "EMPIRE - B". THE 'EMPIRE' SHIPS. mariners-l.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
^ "Refusal to Sail by Troopship Crew". The Times. No. 50526. London. 10 August 1946. col G, p. 4.
^ ^a ^b Mitchell & Sawyer. The Empire Ships. p. 426.

References

ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8
.

Fowler, Karin J (1995). David Niven: A Bio-bibliography. Greenwood Publishing Group.
ISBN 0-313-28044-4
.

Sawyer, L A; Mitchell, W H (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd.
ISBN 1-85044-275-4
.

External links

Combined Ops

[C1-1] "United States Maritime Commission C1 and C1-M Type Ships used in World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War". usmm.org. Retrieved 11 May 2009.

[Miramar-2] "169703". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 11 May 2009.

[Berkeley-3] "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS" (PDF). Retrieved 11 May 2009.

[Battleaxe-4] "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS" (PDF). Retrieved 11 May 2009.

[Colledge-5] Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 113.

[HX297-6] "HX 251 through HX 300". Warsailors. Retrieved 11 May 2009.

[Navy-7] "HMS EMPIRE BATTLEAXE - 1943 to 1945". combinedops.com. Retrieved 12 May 2009.

[Nions-8] "Arthur Henry Nions, D-Day Landings In Normandy June 6th 1944" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.

[Niven-9] Fowler. David Niven. p. 16.

[mariners-10] Finch, Ted (2001). "EMPIRE - B". THE 'EMPIRE' SHIPS. mariners-l.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2008.

[Times100846-11] "Refusal to Sail by Troopship Crew". The Times. No. 50526. London. 10 August 1946. col G, p. 4.

[Ships-12] Mitchell & Sawyer. The Empire Ships. p. 426.

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v t e Empire ships
By suffix, Empire x
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See also: Fort ship, Liberty ship, Park ship, Ocean ship, Victory ship.

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For MoWT	1940 SS Pasteur 1941 SS Empire Barracuda 1940 MV Empire Audacity 1943 SS Empire Battleaxe 1943 SS Empire Broadsword 1945 MV Empire Ettrick
Years indicate year of entry into Cunard service.