MV Putney Hill
Encyclopedia
MV Putney Hill was a cargo ship
completed by William Doxford & Sons
Ltd in Sunderland in 1940. She was owned by Putney Hill Steamships Co Ltd and managed by Counties Ship Management
Co Ltd of London (CSM), both of which were offshoots of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking
company.
when at 0544 hrs on 26 June 1942 U-203
hit her with one torpedo in her no. 3 hold. Two lifeboats were destroyed so the crew abandoned ship in the remaining two. A gunner and an assistant cook were lost. U-203 then surfaced and fired 53 rounds from her deck gun, sinking Putney Hill.
The survivors spent 10 days in the two lifeboats. The smaller boat had suffered damage to her rudder gear. The larger one took the smaller in tow, set sail and they tried to make for the West Indies. After seven days the fourth engineer died of extensive burns sustained when the torpedo hit Putney Hill. On the tenth day the Royal Navy corvette found the boats and rescued the survivors: the Master, 29 crew and five gunners. Saxifrage landed them at San Juan, Puerto Rico
, whence they were repatriated via Norfolk, Virginia
and New York.
SS Empire Celia and renamed her Putney Hill. In 1949 her name was changed again to Castle Hill. In 1950 she became London Statesman under a new Rethymnis & Kulukundis company, London & Overseas Freighters
Ltd (LOF). In 1951 LOF sold her to new owners who registered her under the Panama
nian flag of convenience
as Morella but then before the end of the year sold her on to Polskie Linie Oceaniczne (Polish Ocean Lines), who renamed her Jedność ("Unity"). She was scrapped in Hong Kong in 1966.
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
completed by William Doxford & Sons
William Doxford & Sons
William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a British shipbuilding company.-History:The Company was established by William Doxford in 1840. From 1870 it was based in Pallion, Sunderland, on the River Wear in Northeast England. The Company was managed by William Doxford's...
Ltd in Sunderland in 1940. She was owned by Putney Hill Steamships Co Ltd and managed by Counties Ship Management
Counties Ship Management
Counties Ship Management Co. Ltd. was an ocean-going merchant shipping company based in the United Kingdom. During the Second World War CSM merchant ships made a substantial contribution to supplying the British war effort, at a cost of 13 ships lost and 163 officers and men killed.-Founding of...
Co Ltd of London (CSM), both of which were offshoots of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking
Shipbroking
Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers and sellers of ships.Some brokerage firms have developed into large...
company.
Sinking
Putney Hill was sailing unescorted in the Atlantic about 450 miles east of Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
when at 0544 hrs on 26 June 1942 U-203
German submarine U-203
German submarine U-203 was a German Type VIIC submarine U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. Built as werk 632 of Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft AG in Kiel, U-203 served in eleven patrols with the first flotilla and is credited with sinking 21 ships for 94,270...
hit her with one torpedo in her no. 3 hold. Two lifeboats were destroyed so the crew abandoned ship in the remaining two. A gunner and an assistant cook were lost. U-203 then surfaced and fired 53 rounds from her deck gun, sinking Putney Hill.
The survivors spent 10 days in the two lifeboats. The smaller boat had suffered damage to her rudder gear. The larger one took the smaller in tow, set sail and they tried to make for the West Indies. After seven days the fourth engineer died of extensive burns sustained when the torpedo hit Putney Hill. On the tenth day the Royal Navy corvette found the boats and rescued the survivors: the Master, 29 crew and five gunners. Saxifrage landed them at San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, whence they were repatriated via Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
and New York.
Replacement ship
In 1948 Putney Hill Steamships bought the Empire shipEmpire ship
The Empire ships were a series of ships in the service of the British Government. Their names were all prefixed with "Empire". Mostly they were used during World War II by the Ministry of War Transport , who owned the ships but contracted out their management to various shipping lines. Some ships...
SS Empire Celia and renamed her Putney Hill. In 1949 her name was changed again to Castle Hill. In 1950 she became London Statesman under a new Rethymnis & Kulukundis company, London & Overseas Freighters
London & Overseas Freighters
London & Overseas Freighters Ltd. was an ocean-going merchant shipping company that for most of its history was based in the United Kingdom.-Counties Ship Management:...
Ltd (LOF). In 1951 LOF sold her to new owners who registered her under the Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian flag of convenience
Flag of convenience
The term flag of convenience describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships are registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the...
as Morella but then before the end of the year sold her on to Polskie Linie Oceaniczne (Polish Ocean Lines), who renamed her Jedność ("Unity"). She was scrapped in Hong Kong in 1966.