Engineering:MV Nottingham (1941)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
| |
| Name: | Nottingham |
| Namesake: | Nottingham |
| Owner: | Federal Steam Nav Co |
| Port of registry: | London |
| Builder: | Alexander Stephen & Sons |
| Yard number: | 576 |
| Launched: | 12 August 1941 |
| Completed: | November 1941 |
| Identification: |
|
| Fate: | Sunk by torpedo, 7 Nov 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | refrigerated cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | 8,532 GRT, 5,022 NRT |
| Length: | 457.5 ft (139.4 m) |
| Beam: | 60.3 ft (18.4 m) |
| Draught: | 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m) |
| Depth: | 35.6 ft (10.9 m) |
| Decks: | 3 |
| Installed power: | 1,294 NHP |
| Propulsion: | single-acting two-stroke diesel |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Crew: | 56 crew + 6 DEMS gunners |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
|
| Notes: | sister ship: Gloucester |
MV Nottingham was a refrigerated cargo motor ship that was built in Scotland in 1941 for the Federal Steam Navigation Co. On her maiden voyage a u-boat torpedoed her, sinking her with all hands.
She was the first of two ships of this name in the Federal Steam fleet. The second Nottingham was a motor ship that was launched in 1949 and scrapped in 1971.[1]
Building
In 1941 Alexander Stephen and Sons of Linthouse, Glasgow built a pair of refrigerated cargo ships for Federal Steam. Gloucester was launched on 3 March 1941 and completed that July.[2] Her sister ship Nottingham was launched on 12 August and completed at the beginning of November.[3]
Each ship had a registered length of 457.5 ft (139.4 m), beam of 60.3 ft (18.4 m) and depth of 35.6 ft (10.9 m). Each had a single screw driven by a Barclay, Curle & Co six-cylinder, single-acting, two-stroke diesel engine. Nottingham's engine was rated at 1,294 NHP[4] and gave her a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h).[5]
Loss
At the beginning of November 1941 Nottingham left Glasgow on her maiden voyage. She was bound for New York with a general cargo that included Scotch whisky.[6] Her Master was Captain Francis Cecil Pretty, who in 1917 had been awarded the DSC when he was a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve,[7] and in February 1941 had been made an OBE for keeping control of his ship after she was damaged by enemy action.[8]
On the night of 7 November U-74 engaged Nottingham in mid-Atlantic about 550 nautical miles (1,020 km) southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland. Nottingham tried to ram the U-boat, but missed. The U-boat fired a torpedo from one of its stern tubes, which hit Nottingham in the stern at 2234 hrs. Nottingham stopped, and at 2250 hrs U-74 fired a spread of two torpedoes, both of which missed. At 2259 hrs a further torpedo from the U-boat hit Nottingham, sinking her.[9]
U-74 saw Nottingham's crew abandon ship in her lifeboats. But none of the boats was seen again, and all of Nottingham's 56 crew and six DEMS gunners were lost.[9]
References
- ↑ "Nottingham (1949)". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. http://clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=3476&vessel=NOTTINGHAM.
- ↑ "Gloucester". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. http://clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=17325&vessel=GLOUCESTER.
- ↑ "Nottingham (1941)". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. http://clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=17338&vessel=NOTTINGHAM.
- ↑ "Ships & Motorships". Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1941. https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/42/42b0646.pdf. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ↑ Claes, Johnny; Vleggeert, Nico. "MV Nottingham (+1941)". Wrecksite. https://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?31838.
- ↑ "British ship with whisky sunk". The New York Times. 15 November 1941. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/11/15/87689878.html?pageNumber=4.
- ↑ No. 29997. 23 March 1917. p. 2951. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29997/supplement/2951
- ↑ No. 35064. 31 January 1941. p. 687. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35064/supplement/687
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "Nottingham". u-boat.net. https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1198.html.
[ ⚑ ] 53°24′N 31°51′W / 53.4°N 31.85°W
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