merchant ship ww2

[49][50] Unlike the Armed Services in which every wartime death by whatever means was recorded and commemorated, the seamen of the Merchant Navy could only be remembered if their death could be proven to be attributable to enemy action. A count of the Merchant Navy casualties who are commemorated by the "CWGC", gives the figures below and a total of 36,749 dead. (Author) MUNCHING, L.L. It would also have electricians, an on-board hospital, a laundry, masters-at-arms to maintain order, a barber shop and so on. Traditionally it was a very open society, almost free of distinctions of class, race, religion, age or colour. Ship losses by month. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. The "MMO" was managed by a Mercantile Superintendent of the Civil Service and his team of clerks and messengers. NZ History – NZ Merchant Navy casualties. This section includes over 21.000 Allied Warships and over 11.000 Allied Commanders of WWII, from the US Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Australian Navy, The Polish Navy and others. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport, bringing responsibility for both shipping and land transport to a single department, and easing problems of co-ordination of transport in wartime. There were Third Engineers, Fourth Engineers, and so on, the number of them depending on the size of the vessel. [120] of the Merchant Navy who had ships sunk beneath him on three occasions before he was lost and received the award three times, on 23 October 1942,[121] 27 August 1943,[122] and finally Posthumously on 22 June 1945,[123] in addition to an Order of the British Empire (Officer) Civil Division on 2 June 1944.[124]. [59], Merchant seamen were dying within nine hours of the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 when U-30 torpedoed the passenger carrying ocean liner SS Athenia and then surfaced to attack the sinking ship with gunfire, destroying her radio room, she sank with the loss of 118 lives (including women and children, some being US Citizens). Yorkwood,[84] and Captain D. MacCallum of the SS. List of German merchant ships 1939 and their fate during World War II [provisional] description Object description. Ship's crews were highly compartmentalized and the different departments had little to do with each other and would not normally mix. This table takes a little time to upload but you will be pleased with the information provided about the Merchant Ships of World War II and is well worth the wait. Bur (Norway): World War II: The cargo ship was bombed and damaged in the Bristol Channel (52°12′N 5°52′W / 52.2°N 5.867°W / 52.2; -5.867). This is the only proven instance. Based on their own experience, abilities and hard work, any Able Seaman was eligible to progress from the most junior rating to firstly take the examination for a Second Mate certificate, then after sufficient sea-time, a First Mate and finally Master Mariner and it was not unusual for a former Deck Boy to become a master. [94][95][96][97], In the Far East, any merchant seamen held by the Japanese in prison camps fared as poorly as the other prisoners of war, particularly those held at Penang, Java or in the Japanese homeland where deaths due to disease or starvation were not unusual.[98]. Search for merchant and warships hit by U-boats during WWII. There was a Discharge Slip which specified the name of the ship on which they had served, the rating in which they sailed (e-g-., Able Seaman or Fireman) and the dates of their service aboard. Occasionally the ship's master or an officer might be taken aboard and would be sent to a prisoner of war camp when the U-boat returned to its base on the coast of occupied France or Norway. This list does not include individual ships that were part of a class. Additionally men from Commonwealth countries sailed aboard British ships as did many others from Scandinavia, the Netherlands and most countries of the world, including Germany and Japan. Portland to be transported back to Germany. Crews of HMS Manchester, HMS Havock, and SS Empire Pelican, Parracombe, and SS Empire Defender, held at El Kef, North Africa, plus other survivors from Rodney Star, Empire Guillomot, and Laconia. Merchant Seamen aboard British registered vessels during World War II were both male and female and might be registered with the British, Indian, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand Merchant navies, or the Fishing Fleet. The crew of a ship varied in direct relation to its size and handling requirements and the role of the vessel. Others broke out from their prison camps, on journeys to or from hospitals, or from railways while being transported between camps. Arakaka went down. Under this new order, a Merchant Navy Reserve Pool was established, which was to ensure that available seamen were allocated to ships which needed crew, it required seamen to continue to serve for the duration of the war, they were guaranteed a wage for that period including time spent in lifeboats or in captivity and it provided for two days paid leave earned per month served.[18]. Ship name: Like "Ark Royal" U-boat: Like "99" Convoy: Like "SC-7" Country : Grid: Grid is the area in question. The deck crew ate together and the engine-room crew ate by themselves. You can combine Ship name and Country in your searches. All would usually have completed an apprenticeship ashore in heavy engineering, often in power stations or similar and after going to sea would have gained a Second Class Certificate in Steam. [117], Some seamen received multiple Commendations, for example Captain E.G.B. Various merchant ship cards. They "signed on" to sail aboard a ship for a voyage or succession of voyages and after being "paid off" at the end of that time were free to either sign on for a further engagement if they were required, or to take unpaid "leave" before "signing on" aboard another ship or otherwise to settle and work ashore. whole: … The merchant marine was active in subsequent wars, from the Confederate commerce raiders of the American Civil War , to the assaults on Allied commerce in the First and in the Second World Wars . As you can see, at the moment railways and shipping seem to be about it, but I am a keen deltiologist (look it up!) [72], Some convoys were accompanied by "Rescue Ships" which literally steamed with the convoy to stop and rescue surviving merchant seamen from the water. Find locations of ports and ships using the near Real Time ships map. [10] Although sailing aboard different ships was not a failsafe solution, three sons of the Metcalf family from Sunderland were lost, three sons of the Nicol family from Edinburgh and three of the Stiff family from Barry, Glamorgan all died. It was quite normal for a master to take his wife to sea with him if they decided that the voyage included ports which she wished to visit. Lifeboats were often up-turned in heavy seas and had to be righted before survivors could get inside them. [33] Some British merchant ships were bought into the Royal Navy and commissioned as warships. [56], A review of a typical crew sailing aboard a typical British coal burning general cargo steamer in May 1940 revealed:- Gunners varied in number with the armament and could be as few as one or two or as many as 30 men.[30]. Search the MarineTraffic ships database of more than 550000 active and decommissioned vessels. [102] Other examples were the fate of the crew of SS Tjisalak. Typescript. [2][3] 36,749 seamen and women were lost to enemy action, 5,720 were taken prisoner and 4,707 were wounded, totaling 47,176 casualties, a minimum casualty rate of over 25 percent. [73][74] The Website for Merchant Ships during WW2. They lived in different parts of the ship and ate apart. MarineTraffic Live Ships Map. Each man might be provided one or two blankets at best and was expected to bring his own "donkey's breakfast" – a sack cloth bag containing straw which was to serve as a mattress. The Third Mate reported to the more senior mates and would usually hold a Second Mate's certificate and be studying for his First Mate's ticket. The deaths of 2,713 Naval and DEMS gunners and 1,222 gunners of the Maritime Regiment Royal Artillery are commemorated separately amongst the Armed Forces casualties. Merchant Logbooks. Large numbers of wounded or exhausted survivors did not manage this and died in the sea which could be covered in thick oil, which was sometimes burning. The British Merchant Navy was the biggest in the world and required more crew than Great Britain had merchant seamen, as a result large numbers of Indian, Chinese and West African seamen were engaged to crew ships which regularly traded from Great Britain to ports in those areas. 36,749 members of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleet are commemorated and could be counted.[66]. In March 1946 Sir William Elderton (statistical advisor to the Ministry of War Transport , reported 34,018 deaths aboard British registered vessels or ashore abroad. The British Merchant Navy of World War II, previously known as the "Merchant Service" or "Mercantile Marine" comprised the merchant shipping registered in Great Britain and independently operated by British commercial shipping companies. He was responsible to the master for the cargo, ensuring everything was properly stowed and discharged at the correct port. In the Shipping Federation the Chief Mates and Engineers of ships seeking crews would call to have the names and destinations of their ships chalked on large wall mounted blackboards along with their requirement for men. It was recognized in Parliament that insufficient recognition was available for the seamen of the Merchant Navy and raised unsuccessfully in the House of Commons on 8 September, 29 September and 7 October 1942 for the institution of a Merchant Navy Cross for Gallantry. Their construction at hundreds of shipyards throughout America was a significant achievement in engineering design for ma… Our largest series of these is the Merchant Marine Ship's Logs 1918 - 1941, in the Records of the US Maritime Commission (RG 178, NC-5 Entry 115, National Archives Identifier 574659). However, in a 1938 survey, it was found that 27 percent were either from India or China and another 5 percent were British domiciled Arabs, Indians, Chinese, West Africans or West Indians mainly resident in major UK ports such as Cardiff, Liverpool or South Shields. [15], Until May 1941, merchant seamen sailing aboard British vessels attacked and sunk by enemy action received no pay (wages) from the moment that their ship sank. Mason brought his tanker to Malta burning, due to leaking fuel, after being torpedoed by an Italian submarine which blew a hole 28 feet by 24 feet in her hull, after being bombed by Italian and German bombers, including the infamous Stuka, during which they shot down a Ju 87 Stuka which crashed on the deck of Ohio, being machine gunned by enemy aircraft and attacked by Italian motor torpedo boats. Viggo Hansteen. Young men trained as ships’ officers at the U.S. Some had a sail, others would merely drift with the ocean currents. They were normally divided into two groups, the Firemen and the Trimmers. Fresh eggs, fruit and vegetables might or might not be provided on arrival in port dependent on the budget held by the Chief Steward which was spent only with the permission of the Master who was there to ensure the success and profit of each voyage. Several ocean liners were "taken up from trade" by the Royal Navy to act as Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMCs), after having basic armament fitted. Records show that men from all British Commonwealth countries and most Scandinavian, Baltic and European countries served aboard British registered vessels and until the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor there were Japanese seamen amongst crews, several of whom were killed in U-boat attacks serving beside British colleagues,[58] and others such as Kenji Takaki were captured and interned with British seamen at Marlag-Milag. By the end of the war, 6,000 new officers had been trained. 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