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F r o m W i k i p e d i a , t h e f r e e e n c y c l o p e d i a
World War II merchant ship of the United Kingdom
History United Kingdom Name Empire Cross Owner Ministry of War Transport Operator
Port of registry
Builder Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland Yard number 765 Launched 28 June 1945 Completed November 1945 Identification UK official number 181112Fate
Exploded and sank 1946
Raised and scrapped 1952
General characteristics Type Oil tanker Tonnage
Length 353.5 ft (107.7 m ) Beam 48.3 ft (14.7 m ) Draught 21 ft 11 + 1 2 m ) Depth 26.5 ft (8.1 m ) Installed power 2,500 bhp Propulsion two-stroke diesel engine Sensors and
MV Empire Cross motor tanker that was built in England in 1945. She was launched as an Empire ship for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1946 she exploded and sank in Haifa in Palestine , killing 25 of her crew.
Building and specifications
[ edit ]
Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd built Empire Cross in its Deptford shipyard in Sunderland on the River Wear in County Durham . She was yard number 765. She was launched on 28 June 1945 and completed that November.[1]
Empire Cross was an "intermediate tanker" for the MoWT.[2] m ), her beam was 48.3 ft (14.7 m ) and her depth was 26.5 ft (8.1 m ).[3] tonnages were 3,738 GRT , 2,000 NRT and 5,110 DWT .
William Doxford & Sons built her engine. It was a three-cylinder single-acting two-stroke diesel [3] bhp .[1]
Empire Cross had the UK official number 181112.[1] call sign was GDYW[4] [5]
Career
[ edit ]
The MoWT appointed Hadley Shipping Co Ltd to manage Empire Cross . Hadley's registered her in Sunderland. In 1946 the MoWT transferred her management to Anglo-Saxon Petroleum , who transferred her registration to London .[1]
Anglo-Saxon is part of Royal Dutch Shell . In accordance with standard Shell practice, Anglo-Saxon planned to rename the ship after a genus of mollusc : in this case Balea [1]
Loss
[ edit ] HMS Venus
On 1 August 1946 Empire Cross arrived off Haifa[6] aviation spirit from Port Said in Egypt .[1] Royal Navy destroyers , HMS Venus and Virago Empire Cross ' s Master , John Banks, heard the explosion of depth charges dropped by the destroyers to deter Haganah frogmen from trying to attach limpet mines to ships.[7]
Empire Cross exploded and caught fire. Captain Banks gave the order to abandon ship. He dived overboard, swam under the flames until he lost consciousness, and was rescued by members of Haganah. Venus and Virago rescued other survivors.[7] [8] [9]
Four people were found dead and 21 were listed as missing.[10] Empire Cross ' s British officers, 12 of her Lascar crew and four local Palestinian Arab labourers.[11] [7]
Suspected causes
[ edit ] HMS Virago
A depth charge dropped by Virago was suspected of having caused the explosion. An inquest was held, at which the page in Virago ' s logbook for that day was found to be missing. However, the Admiralty dismissed the idea that a depth charge could have caused the explosion.[7]
The news correspondent Clare Hollingworth , who at the time was in Palestine reporting for the News of the World Empire Cross . A few days later a Haganah spokesman 'phoned the newspaper, denied the allegation, and accused Hollingworth of being "biased and motivated by hatred".[12]
Salvage
[ edit ]
In 1952 Empire Cross ' s wreck was raised and scrapped.[1]
References
[ edit ]
^ a b "Steamers and Motorships". Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF) . Vol. I. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1945 – via Southampton City Council .
^ "Balea" . Helderline . Retrieved 6 January 2022 .
^ Lettens, Jan. "MV Empire Cross (+1946)" . Wrecksite.eu . Retrieved 6 January 2022 .
^ "Tanker explodes" . The Sunday Times 17 . Retrieved 7 January 2022 .
^ a b c d Mitchell & Sawyer 1995 [page needed
^ "British tanker explodes in Haifa when unloading" The New York Times 8 . Retrieved 7 January 2022 .
^ "Burning Oil Tanker in Haifa Bay" . British Pathé . 1946.
^ "Haifa Tanker Explosion". The Times . No. 50521. London. 5 August 1946. col E, p. 3.
^ "Blown to safety" . Otago Daily Times 5 . Retrieved 7 January 2022 – via National Library of New Zealand .
^ Sharett 1946 [page needed
Bibliography
[ edit ]
t
e
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1946
Shipwrecks
1 Jan: USS Dorsey
2 Jan: U-516 U-2502
3 Jan: Empire Tigachi U-825 U-2336 U-2351
5 Jan: U-541 U-901 U-2506
6 Jan: U-1109 U-2356
7 Jan: U-1010 U-1023 U-2511
8 Jan: HMS Safari
14 Jan: USS Snowbell , USS Southard
28 Jan: Bluenose
30 Jan: Luray Victory
January (unknown date): Akagi Maru
2 Feb: U-764
3 Feb: I-505
5 Feb: U-1228
10 Feb: U-975
12 Feb: I-501 U-3514
14 Feb: Fulham VII
15 Feb: I-502 I-506
February (unknown date): U-1197
1 Mar: Sackett's Harbor
4 Mar: USS Extricate
6 Mar: George W. Norris
11 Mar: USS Roche
16 Mar: Karl Leonhardt
26 Mar: Z34
27 Mar: HM LST-405
1 Apr: Charles S. Haight Ha-103 Ha-105 Ha-106 Ha-107 Ha-108 Ha-109 Ha-111 Ha-201 Ha-202 Ha-203 Ha-208 I-36 I-47 I-53 I-58 I-156 I-157 I-158 I-159 I-162 I-366 I-367 I-402 Ro-50
4 Apr: USS S-35
5 Apr: Ha-207 Ha-210 Ha-216 I-202 Ro-31
8 Apr: USS Despatch
9 Apr: Empire Bridge
16 Apr: I-503 I-504
21 Apr: Empire Christopher
24 Apr: Alfios
30 Apr: Georgetown Victory I-121 Ro-68 Ro-500 USS Solar , HMS Stubborn , HMAS Tolga
1 May: HMS Tarantula
8 May: I-153 I-154 I-155
9 May: Ha-205
14 May: USS Bellona
21 May: I-203
23 May: I-201
24 May: DD-224 (ex-USS Stewart )
28 May: I-14
31 May: I-401
May (unknown date): Ro-62 Ro-63
4 Jun: I-400 Kunashiri
7 Jun: Kamikaze
8 Jun: Myōkō
9 Jun: USS Solar
1 Jul: USS Anderson , USS Carlisle , USS Gilliam , USS Lamson , Sakawa
25 Jul: USS Apogon , USS Arkansas , USS LSM-60 , USS Pilotfish , USS Saratoga , USS Skipjack
30 Jul: Nagato
2 Aug: Empire Cross
August (unknown date): I-372
19 Sep: Ohio
16 Oct: Cassius Hudson
17 Oct: HMAS Waree
19 Oct: Takao
13 Nov: U-977
20 Nov: Albany
27 Nov: Laksnes
2 Dec: HMCS Middlesex
6 Dec: N35
8 Dec: Liberté HMS Saltburn
16 Dec: Leipzig Z29
22 Dec: Prinz Eugen
24 Dec: Northeastern Victory
26 Dec: Brigadier General M. G. Zalinski
31 Dec: Monte Pascoal Schwabenland
Unknown date: Claus Von Bevern HMS Truant , Yu 1007
Other incidents
1945 1947 December 1945
R e t r i e v e d f r o m " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MV_Empire_Cross&oldid=1214506812 " C a t e g o r i e s : ● 1 9 4 5 s h i p s ● E m p i r e s h i p s ● M a r i t i m e i n c i d e n t s i n 1 9 4 6 ● M e r c h a n t s h i p s o f t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m ● S h i p f i r e s ● S h i p s b u i l t o n t h e R i v e r W e a r ● S h i p s o f A n g l o - S a x o n P e t r o l e u m ● S h i p w r e c k s i n t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a ● T a n k e r s o f t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m H i d d e n c a t e g o r i e s : ● W i k i p e d i a a r t i c l e s n e e d i n g p a g e n u m b e r c i t a t i o n s f r o m J a n u a r y 2 0 2 2 ● A r t i c l e s w i t h s h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n ● S h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n m a t c h e s W i k i d a t a ● E n g v a r B f r o m M a r c h 2 0 1 7 ● U s e d m y d a t e s f r o m M a r c h 2 0 1 7 ● S h i p i n f o b o x e s w i t h o u t a n i m a g e ● C S 1 H e b r e w - l a n g u a g e s o u r c e s ( he ) ● P a l e s t i n e a r t i c l e s m i s s i n g g e o c o o r d i n a t e d a t a ● A l l a r t i c l e s n e e d i n g c o o r d i n a t e s ● A r t i c l e s m i s s i n g c o o r d i n a t e s w i t h o u t c o o r d i n a t e s o n W i k i d a t a
● T h i s p a g e w a s l a s t e d i t e d o n 1 9 M a r c h 2 0 2 4 , a t 1 1 : 0 6 ( U T C ) . ● T e x t i s a v a i l a b l e u n d e r t h e C r e a t i v e C o m m o n s A t t r i b u t i o n - S h a r e A l i k e L i c e n s e 4 . 0 ;
a d d i t i o n a l t e r m s m a y a p p l y . B y u s i n g t h i s s i t e , y o u a g r e e t o t h e T e r m s o f U s e a n d P r i v a c y P o l i c y . W i k i p e d i a ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e W i k i m e d i a F o u n d a t i o n , I n c . , a n o n - p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n . ● P r i v a c y p o l i c y ● A b o u t W i k i p e d i a ● D i s c l a i m e r s ● C o n t a c t W i k i p e d i a ● C o d e o f C o n d u c t ● D e v e l o p e r s ● S t a t i s t i c s ● C o o k i e s t a t e m e n t ● M o b i l e v i e w
United Kingdom
