SS City of Flint (1919)
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | City of Flint |
Owner | United States Shipping Board (1920—1943)[note 1][1] |
Port of registry | Philadelphia[2] |
Builder | American International Shipbuilding[3] |
Yard number | 1510[1] |
Launched | 28 December 1919[4] |
Completed | 28 February 1920[3] |
Identification | |
Fate | Sunk by U-575, 23 January 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Design 1022[6] |
Tonnage | |
Length | 390 feet (118.9 m)[2][7] |
Beam | 54.2 feet (16.5 m)[2][7] |
Depth | 27.8 feet (8.5 m)[2] |
Propulsion | Oil fuel steam turbine[5] |
Speed | 11.5 knots (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h)[4] |
Crew | 40[2] |
The SS City of Flint was a
The ship was sold to the Southgate Nelson Co., American Hampton Roads Line in 1930, but reverted to the USSB by 1935.[1][7][8] By 1940 the USSB had been replaced by the United States Maritime Commission as owner and the ship was being operated as a Maritime Commission cargo vessel.[9][10] During World War II City of Flint was being operated by United States Lines allocated to Army cargo requirements.[10][11]
City of Flint was the first American ship captured by Nazi Germany during World War II.
The Athenia
The City of Flint, under the command of Captain
The Captain of HMS Electra, Lt Cdr Sammy A. Buss, took charge as senior officer present. He sent the destroyer
Seizure
In October 1939, City of Flint was carrying a cargo of tractors, grain and fruit to Britain. On 9 October, the German pocket battleship Deutschland seized the City of Flint, declaring her cargo to be contraband and the ship a prize of war. A German prize crew was put on board the ship to sail her back to Germany.[13][14]
To avoid ships of the Royal Navy and obtain water, the ship headed for Tromsø on the north coast of Norway, arriving on 20 October 1939.[15] Norway, neutral at the time and disturbed by the sinking of the merchant ship SS Lorentz W. Hansen, refused entry to the Germans, giving them 24 hours to leave.[15] The Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Sleipner escorted the City of Flint out of Norwegian territorial waters at 1620hrs the next day.[16]
The prize crew then sailed for
In the several weeks that elapsed, the United States ordered many US merchant ships to register with other countries, so as to continue supporting the Allies without violating the US's nominal neutrality. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy began closing on the captured ship.[citation needed]
The prize crew then tried Norway again, proceeding to the port of Haugesund. The Norwegian government again refused entry, describing the German crew as kidnappers.[citation needed] The approaching Royal Navy left the prize crew no choice, though; on 3 November the City of Flint entered the harbor.[citation needed]
The ship anchored in Norway, and no one could claim the crew was making her right for passage. In consequence the Norwegian Admiralty dispatched the minelayer
City of Flint continued in service in the Atlantic until she was sunk on 23 January 1943 by the German submarine U-575.
Footnotes
- ^ McKellar notes the ship was sold to Southgate Nelson Co. in 1930 but reverted to the USSB.
References
- ^ a b c d McKellar, Part II, Contract Steel Ships, p. 588.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fifty-Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1920, p. 84.
- ^ a b c Colton: American International Shipbuilding.
- ^ a b c d American Marine Engineer (January 1920), p. 30.
- ^ McKellar, Part II, Contract Steel Ships, p. 584.
- ^ a b McKellar, Part II, Contract Steel Ships, pp. 584, 588.
- ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register 1931–32.
- ^ Lloyd's Register 1935–36.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register 1940–41.
- ^ Grover 1987, pp. 38, 44.
- ^ a b Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939, p. 3 September 1939.
- ^ Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939, p. 9 October 1939.
- ISBN 82-990969-3-6.
- ^ a b Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939, p. 21 October 1939.
- OCLC 186039825.
- ^ Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939, p. 23 October 1939.
- ^ Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939, p. 24 & 27 October 1939.
- ^ Cressman, Official Chronology, Chapter I: 1939, p. 28 October 1939.
Bibliography
- American Marine Engineer (1920). "Atlantic Coast Notes". The American Marine Engineer. 15 (January 1920). Norfolk, Virginia: National Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- Colton, T. (22 July 2010). "American International Shipbuilding (AISC)—Hog Island Shipyard, Philadelphia PA". T. Colton. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- Cressman, Robert J. (1999). "The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II, Chapter I: 1939". Contemporary History Branch, Naval Historical Center (now Naval History & Heritage Command). Retrieved 19 March 2015 – via HyperWar.
- Grover, David (1987). U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II. LCCN 87015514.
- Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1931–32" (PDF). Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 20 March 2015 – via Southampton City Council.
- Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1935–36" (PDF). Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 20 March 2015 – via Southampton City Council.
- Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1940–41" (PDF). Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 20 March 2015 – via Southampton City Council.
- McKellar, Norman L. (1962). "Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921, Contract Steel Ships, Part II" (PDF). The Belgian Shiplover. 90: 588. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2015 – via Shipscribe.
- Fifty-Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1920. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. 1920. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- Naval History and Heritage Command (22 June 2016). "Joseph Aloysius Gainard, 11 October 1889 – 23 December 1943". Naval History and Heritage Command. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
External links
- "Voyage of the Flint" (LIFE Magazine, 4 March 1940: Article by Captain Joseph A. Gainard)
- Joseph Freer and Raymond Trumpe Papers, 1927–1988 (bulk 1939–1943) MS 244 held by Special Collection & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy