SS Atlantic Conveyor
Atlantic Conveyor approaching the Falklands. On or about 19 May 1982.
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Atlantic Conveyor |
Operator | Cunard Line |
Builder | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom |
Launched | 25 August 1969 |
Completed | March 1970 |
Identification | IMO number: 6926036 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Type | Container ship |
Tonnage | 14,946 GRT |
Length | 695 ft (212 m) |
Beam | 92 ft (28 m) |
Draught | 9,1 m[2] |
Propulsion | 4 steam turbines, 2 propellers[2] |
Speed | 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) |
Atlantic Conveyor was a British merchant navy ship, registered in Liverpool, that was requisitioned during the Falklands War.
She was hit on 25 May 1982 by two Argentine air-launched AM39 Exocet missiles, killing 12 sailors. Atlantic Conveyor sank whilst under tow on 28 May 1982.
The wrecksite is designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.[3]
History
Atlantic Conveyor was a 14,950 ton
Along with her sister ship,
The ships were used to carry supplies for the Royal Navy Task Force sent by the British government to retake the
One Chinook of B flight No. 18 Squadron RAF left Atlantic Conveyor to support operations on Ascension. With the aircraft stored she then set sail for the South Atlantic. On arrival off the Falklands in mid-May, all of the Harriers were off-loaded to the carriers; the GR.3s going to HMS Hermes while the Sea Harriers were divided amongst the existing squadrons on Hermes and HMS Invincible. With the additional aircraft on Hermes a Lynx HAS.2 helicopter was flown and parked on Atlantic Conveyor on 20 May 1982.
On 25 May 1982 (the same day as the loss of
Both Exocets struck Atlantic Conveyor on the port quarter of the ship. There are conflicting accounts on whether the warheads exploded after penetrating the ship's hull,
Because both fuel and ammunition were stored below decks, the incendiary effect of the unburnt propellant from the missiles caused an uncontrollable fire. When the fire had burnt out, the ship was boarded but nothing was recovered. While under tow by the requisitioned tug Irishman, Atlantic Conveyor sank in the early morning of 28 May 1982. Six Westland Wessexes, three Boeing Chinooks, and a Westland Lynx were destroyed by fire;[8] only one Chinook (ZA718 'Bravo November') and one Westland Wessex, were saved.[9] The loss of these helicopters meant that British troops had to march on foot across the Falklands to recapture Stanley.[10]
Twelve men died in Atlantic Conveyor,
The ship's replacement was built on Tyneside.
Crew
The vessel carried a Merchant Navy crew of 33. This included 12 officers (master, chief officer, second officer, third officer, radio officer, chief engineer, second engineer, two third engineers, fourth engineer, electrician and purser), 10 petty officers (bosun, four mechanics, two first cooks, second cook and baker, second cook and second steward) and 11 ratings (five seamen, three greasers and three assistant stewards). Of the 12 men killed in the sinking of Atlantic Conveyor six were from the
As the last resting place of the remains of those who died, the wreck is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
The officers' bar on M/V Atlantic Conveyor, built 1984 in Swan Hunter, Wallsend is named "The North Bar" after Captain Ian North.
Further reading
- Charles Drought – N. P. 1840 The Loss of the Atlantic Conveyor (2003) ISBN 1-901231-41-0
- Board of Inquiry into the Loss of SS Atlantic Conveyor
Notes and references
- ^ a b c Board of Inquiry (REPORT): Loss of SS Atlantic Conveyor (PDF). 21 July 1982. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ a b "SS Atlantic Conveyor [+1982]". www.wrecksite.eu. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- SI2008/950, Office of Public Sector Information, The National Archives. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- ^ a b Evans, Michael (11 December 2007). "Legal fears left Atlantic Conveyor defenceless". The Times. London.
- ^ "Argentine Aircraft in the Falklands". Britains-smallwars.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-84176-293-7.
- ^ "Prince Andrew talks of Falklands horror". Glasgow Herald. 14 November 1983. p. 2.
- ^ "British Aircraft lost – Falklands War 1982". www.naval-history.net.
- ^ Royal Air Force (2010). "Royal Air Force CH47 Chinook 'Bravo November'". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
- ^ "The Atlantic Conveyor – Think Defence". www.thinkdefence.co.uk. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ISBN 9781472846426. Retrieved 28 September 2021.