SS Empire Fowey

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For other ships with the same name, see SS Potsdam.
Potsdam
History
Name
  • Potsdam (1935–45)
  • Empire Jewel (1945–46)
  • Empire Fowey (1946–60)
  • Safina-E-Hujjaj (1961–1976)
NamesakePotsdam, River Fowey
Owner
  • Hamburg America Line (1935)
  • Norddeutsche Lloyd (1935–45)
  • Ministry of War Transport (1945–46)
  • Ministry of Transport (1946–60)
  • Pan-Islamic Steamship Co (1960–76)
Operator
  • Hamburg America Line (1935)
  • Norddeutsche Lloyd (1935–45)
  • Ministry of War Transport (1945–46)
  • Ministry of Transport (1946–60)
  • Pan-Islamic Steamship Co (1960–76)
Port of registry
BuilderBlohm & Voss
Launched16 January 1935
Completed27 June 1935
Maiden voyage5 July 1935
Out of service1976
Identification
  • Code Letters DOQS (1935–45)
  • United Kingdom
    Official Number
    180810 (1945–60)
  • Code Letters GMFW (1945–60)
  • IMO number: 5304891 ( –1976)
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Type
Tonnage
  • 17,528 GRT, 10,116 NRT (as built)
  • 19,121 GRT (as rebuilt)
Length184.28 m (604 ft 7 in)
Beam22.61 m (74 ft 2 in)
Depth12.37 m (40 ft 7 in)
Installed powerSteam turbines driving electric motors
PropulsionTwin screw propellers
Speed21 knots (39 km/h)
Capacity
  • 286 passengers (as built)
  • 1,636 passengers (after conversion)

Empire Fowey was a 19,121 

Blohm & Voss, Hamburg for the Hamburg America Line. She was sold before completion to Norddeutscher Lloyd. While owned by Norddeutscher Lloyd she was one of three sister ships operating the service between Bremen and the Far East. Her sister ships were SS Scharnhorst and SS Gneisenau
.

En route to the United States when war was declared, she managed to return to Germany.

Used as an accommodation ship and troopship during World War II, she was seized by the Allies in 1945 and renamed Empire Jewel. She was converted to a troopship in 1946 but her high-pressure boilers proved troublesome and the ship was rebuilt in 1947 and renamed Empire Fowey.

Sold to Pakistan in 1960 and renamed Safina-E-Hujjaj, she served until 1976 when she was scrapped at Gadani Beach, Pakistan.

Description

As built, the ship was 184.28 m (604 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 22.61 metres (74 ft 2 in). She had a depth of 12.37 metres (40 ft 7 in). She was assessed at 17,528 GRT, 10,116 NRT.[1] Accommodation for 286 passengers was provided.[2]

The ship was propelled by two

shp. They could propel her at 21 knots (39 km/h). Steam was supplied by four boilers.[3]

History

The ship was built in 1935 by

Code Letters DOQS were allocated. Her port of registry was changed to Bremen.[1]

Potsdam under construction, 1935.

Completed on 27 June 1935,

Palma–Barcelona–Genoa–Colombo–Shanghai–Yokohama.[11] Her maiden voyage was not without problems.[12]

Potsdam was en route to the United States when war was declared. She returned to Germany by sailing around the north coast of Scotland.[4] Requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine,[13] she was initially used as an accommodation ship at Hamburg.[4] Plans to convert her to an aircraft carrier were not carried through.[10] Work started in November 1942 as Project Elbe, but conversion was abandoned in February 1943 after little work had been done by Blohm & Voss.[3][14] Had she been converted, she would have carried 24 aircraft and been armed with 6 dual 4.1 inch Anti-Aircraft guns, 5 dual 3.7mm Anti-Aircraft guns and 24 to 32 20mm Anti-Aircraft guns.[3]

Potsdam was subsequently used as an accommodation ship at Gdynia, Poland.[10] She was subsequently used as a troopship serving Norwegian and Baltic ports. She participated in the Evacuation of East Prussia. She was seized on 13 May 1945 at Flensburg and was passed to the Ministry of War Transport. Potsdam was renamed Empire Jewel. She arrived at Kiel on 19 June and an armed guard was posted on board to stop the Germans using her to block the Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal. She then sailed to Brunsbüttel where the armed guard left. After three weeks with an all-German crew on board, she sailed on 20 July for Methil, Fife, United Kingdom.[4]

Empire Jewel was renamed Empire Fowey.

Alexander Stephens & Sons, Linthouse, Renfrewshire. It took three years to complete at a cost of £3 million.[16] Following the rebuild, she was assessed at 19,121 GRT.[17] She now had accommodation for 1,636 troops.[9]

In 1951,

Ministry of Transport. Empire Fowey was the first ship to fly this flag, which was a defaced Blue Ensign.[18] On 23 April 1955, she ran aground in the Suez Canal but was refloated after twelve hours.[17] In August 1955, there were complaints about the quality of the food served aboard Empire Fowey and also poor ventilation of the vessel.[19] The matter was raised in Parliament by Tom Iremonger, MP for Ilford North. A report by Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation John Boyd-Carpenter stated that ventilation on the lower decks had been improved and that there would be greater variety in the menu offered.[20] In June 1956, Empire Fowey was on a voyage from Singapore to Hong Kong when a passenger on board suffered a perforated duodenum. A surgeon and medical party were flown out the ship in a Royal Air Force Short Sunderland aircraft. They decided that an operation could not be carried out on board ship and she returned to Singapore to land the patient, who was taken to the Military Hospital for an emergency operation.[21]

Empire Fowey was withdrawn from service in February 1960.

Gadani ship-breaking yard on 22 November 1976 for scrapping.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lloyd's Register, Navires a Vapeur et a Moteurs" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Troopships. Those that took us out to the Suez Canal Zone, but better still, brought us back home again". Suez Veterans Association. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Toppam, Andrew. "World Aircraft Carriers List: Germany". Hazegray. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  4. ^
    ISBN 1-85044-275-4
    .
  5. ^ "New German liner launched". The Times. No. 46964. London. 17 January 1935. col E, p. 11.
  6. ^ "Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  7. ^ "German liner decisions". The Times. No. 46936. London. col D, p. 18.
  8. ^ "German shipping alliance". The Times. No. 46979. London. 4 February 1935. col D, p. 11.
  9. ^ a b c d e "S/S POTSDAM" (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d "Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL). North German Lloyd . NDL Page 3: 1915-1939". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  11. ^ "(advertisement)". The Times. No. 47039. London. 15 April 1935. col B, p. 2.
  12. ^ "New liners in 1936". The Times. No. 47260. London. 1 January 1936. col G, p. 9.
  13. ISBN 0-87021-790-9
    .
  14. ^ "Potsdam". German Nay. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  15. ^ "Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  16. ^ "New Troopship". The Times. No. 51642. London. 17 March 1950. col D, p. 9.
  17. ^ a b "Troopship refloated". The Times. No. 52303. London. 25 April 1955. col A, p. 11.
  18. ^ "New Transport Flag". The Times. No. 52044. London. 4 July 1951. col E, p. 3.
  19. ^ "Troopship food complaints". The Times. No. 53290. London. 4 August 1955. col E, p. 4.
  20. ^ "Troopship complaints corrected". The Times. No. 53388. London. 26 November 1955. col G, p. 4.
  21. ^ "Troopship turns back to save soldier". The Times. No. 53572. London. 2 July 1956. col F, p. 8.
  22. ^ a b "News in Brief". The Times. No. 54780. London. 25 May 1960. col B, p. 7.
  23. ^ "Ship sale or scrap?". The Times. No. 54713. London. 7 March 1960. col E, p. 11.
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