SS City of Cairo
Encyclopedia
The SS City of Cairo was a British passenger steamer. She was sunk in the Second World War with heavy loss of life.
She was built by Earle’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd
, Hull
in 1915 for Ellerman Lines Ltd
of London
. She was 450 feet (137.2 m) long, had two decks, two masts and measured 8,034 tons.
She was homeported in Liverpool
.
. Her last voyage, under the command of her Master, William A. Rogerson, was to take her from Bombay, which she departed on 1 October 1942 to the UK, via Durban
, Cape Town
and Pernambuco
, Brazil
.
City of Cairo departed Cape Town at 06:00 on the morning of 1 November, carrying 101 passengers, of which 28 women and 19 children. Also onboard were 10 D.E.M.S. (Defence Equipped Merchant Ships) Gunners from the Army and Royal Navy
. Among the total complement were two spare Lascar crews recruited in India
for service on British ships. She was carrying 7,422 tons of general cargo, including pig iron, timber, wool, cotton, manganese ore and 2,000 boxes of silver coins. She travelled north for 800 miles (1,287.5 km), zig-zagging during the day and keeping about 45 miles (72.4 km) off the African coast, before turning westwards across the South Atlantic towards Brazil and her next port of call. She was unescorted and only capable of 12 knots (23.5 km/h). Her problems were exacerbated by the excessive smokiness of her engines which increased her visibility.
U-68 under the command of Karl-Friedrich Merten
. At 21.36 hours U-68 fired a torpedo at the lone merchant. The torpedo struck the City of Cairo abreast of the after-mast. The master gave order to abandon ship and all the women and children left the ship safely, only six people, two crew and four passengers, being lost in the evacuation. The ship, still underway, had stabilised but she was slowly settling by the stern. A distress call was made, which was acknowledged by the U-68, who provided the callsign of the Walvis Bay
station in South Africa
.
Merten fired a second torpedo 20 minutes after the first, which caused the ship to sink by the stern about 480 miles (772.5 km) south of St Helena. One of the two crew lost in the sinking, Chief Radio Officer Harry Peever, was killed in this strike. He had remained in the wireless room to send distress signals. Once the City of Cairo had sunk, U-68 surfaced alongside the six lifeboats that had been launched. Merten spoke to the occupants of No.6 boat, asked the ship's name, cargo and whether it was carrying prisoners of war. He then gave a course for the nearest land, which by now was either the Brazilian coast, approximately 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) away, Africa was 1000 miles (1,609.3 km) and St Helena was 500 miles (804.7 km). Merten then left them, with the words "Goodnight, and sorry for sinking you". He privately thought that they had little chance of survival.
, but there was only one sextant
among them. These, along with Master William Rogerson's Rolex
watch, would be needed for navigation, and this would require the boats to remain together. The survivors hoped to reach St Helena within two or three weeks and water was rationed at 110 ml a day per person, despite the tropical heat. Over the next three weeks, most of the boats lost contact with each other, and numerous occupants died. Rogerson had hoped to prevent a fragmentation of the boats for as long as possible, but as the situation worsened he was compelled to allow one of the faster boats which was short of supplies and taking on water, to press on ahead. The boats also suffered damage, with rudders or masts being broken, causing some to lag behind. Eventually most of the boats had lost sight of each other and were proceeding alone.
, en route to St Helena. The survivors reported that there were three other boats at sea, but by now were unsure where they were. After fruitless searches the Clan Alpine landed the survivors at St Helena, though more would die after being transferred to the hospital. Later in the evening of 19 November another boat with 47 survivors was rescued by the SS Bendoran, and taken to Cape Town. These four boats had been at sea for 13 days before being rescued. Of those picked up, one man later died aboard the Bendoran, two aboard the Clan Alpine, and another four died in hospital in St Helena.
One boat with 17 people on board, having not sighted St Helena by 23 November, decided that they must have overshot it. Several of the occupants were already dead and rather than trying to search the area for the island, decided to head west to the coast of South America
1500 miles (2,414 km) to the west. On 27 December, after a voyage of 51 days, only two survivors, the City of Cairo’s third officer and a female passenger, remained alive when their boat was spotted and picked up by Brazilian Navy
minelayer
Caravelas. They had got within 80 miles (128.7 km) of the Brazilian coast and were landed at Recife. The third officer
was awarded the MBE
and was repatriated on the SS City of Pretoria
. He was killed when the City of Pretoria was torpedoed and sunk by U-172 on 4 March, 1943. The female survivor, Margaret Gordon, was awarded the BEM
and refused to cross the Atlantic until the war was over.
Another three survivors were picked up by the German merchant and blockade runner
Rhakotis, which was travelling from Japan
to Bordeaux
, on 12 December, 1942. They had spent 36 days at sea. One of the survivors then died aboard the Rhakotis. The Rhakotis was intercepted by the cruiser HMS Scylla
on 1 January 1943, who torpedoed and sank the merchant off Cape Finisterre
. The two remaining survivors from the City of Cairo managed to make it into different lifeboats and survive their second sinking. One was picked up the next day by U-410
and landed at Saint-Nazaire
three days later. The submarine was almost destroyed en route, when she was detected and attacked by British bombers. The other City of Cairo survivor's lifeboat eventually landed in Spain
.
Out of a total of 311 people aboard the City of Cairo 104 had died, including 79 crew members, three gunners and 22 passengers, with 207 surviving. Six are known to have died in the sinking, 90 in the boats, and seven after being rescued. Some of the names of those lost are inscribed on the Tower Hill Memorial
.
She was built by Earle’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd
Earle's Shipbuilding
Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932.-Earle Brothers:...
, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
in 1915 for Ellerman Lines Ltd
Ellerman Lines
Ellerman Lines was a cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late nineteenth century, and continued to expand with the acquisition of smaller shipping lines until it became one of the largest shipping...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She was 450 feet (137.2 m) long, had two decks, two masts and measured 8,034 tons.
She was homeported in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Last voyage
She was requisitioned during the Second World War to bring supplies to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Her last voyage, under the command of her Master, William A. Rogerson, was to take her from Bombay, which she departed on 1 October 1942 to the UK, via Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and Pernambuco
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
City of Cairo departed Cape Town at 06:00 on the morning of 1 November, carrying 101 passengers, of which 28 women and 19 children. Also onboard were 10 D.E.M.S. (Defence Equipped Merchant Ships) Gunners from the Army and Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Among the total complement were two spare Lascar crews recruited in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
for service on British ships. She was carrying 7,422 tons of general cargo, including pig iron, timber, wool, cotton, manganese ore and 2,000 boxes of silver coins. She travelled north for 800 miles (1,287.5 km), zig-zagging during the day and keeping about 45 miles (72.4 km) off the African coast, before turning westwards across the South Atlantic towards Brazil and her next port of call. She was unescorted and only capable of 12 knots (23.5 km/h). Her problems were exacerbated by the excessive smokiness of her engines which increased her visibility.
Torpedoed
On 6 November, the smoke trail was sighted by the U-boatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U-68 under the command of Karl-Friedrich Merten
Karl-Friedrich Merten
Captain Karl-Friedrich Merten was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He is credited with the sinking of 27 ships for a total of of allied shipping. For this achievement he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves...
. At 21.36 hours U-68 fired a torpedo at the lone merchant. The torpedo struck the City of Cairo abreast of the after-mast. The master gave order to abandon ship and all the women and children left the ship safely, only six people, two crew and four passengers, being lost in the evacuation. The ship, still underway, had stabilised but she was slowly settling by the stern. A distress call was made, which was acknowledged by the U-68, who provided the callsign of the Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay , is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies...
station in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Merten fired a second torpedo 20 minutes after the first, which caused the ship to sink by the stern about 480 miles (772.5 km) south of St Helena. One of the two crew lost in the sinking, Chief Radio Officer Harry Peever, was killed in this strike. He had remained in the wireless room to send distress signals. Once the City of Cairo had sunk, U-68 surfaced alongside the six lifeboats that had been launched. Merten spoke to the occupants of No.6 boat, asked the ship's name, cargo and whether it was carrying prisoners of war. He then gave a course for the nearest land, which by now was either the Brazilian coast, approximately 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) away, Africa was 1000 miles (1,609.3 km) and St Helena was 500 miles (804.7 km). Merten then left them, with the words "Goodnight, and sorry for sinking you". He privately thought that they had little chance of survival.
Journey
Six lifeboats had been successfully launched after the sinking. The larger ones, Lifeboats 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 held 54, 54, 55, 57 and 55 people respectively, whilst the smaller Lifeboat 2 held 17 people. After assessing the situation, it was decided to attempt to reach the nearest land, St Helena, despite the danger of overshooting the small island and becoming lost. There were 189 people in six boats, each of which had a compassCompass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
, but there was only one sextant
Sextant
A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the altitude. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight...
among them. These, along with Master William Rogerson's Rolex
Rolex
Rolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...
watch, would be needed for navigation, and this would require the boats to remain together. The survivors hoped to reach St Helena within two or three weeks and water was rationed at 110 ml a day per person, despite the tropical heat. Over the next three weeks, most of the boats lost contact with each other, and numerous occupants died. Rogerson had hoped to prevent a fragmentation of the boats for as long as possible, but as the situation worsened he was compelled to allow one of the faster boats which was short of supplies and taking on water, to press on ahead. The boats also suffered damage, with rudders or masts being broken, causing some to lag behind. Eventually most of the boats had lost sight of each other and were proceeding alone.
Rescue
Three of the boats, consisting of the Master and 154 survivors were eventually rescued on the morning of 19 November, by the SS Clan AlpineSS Clan Alpine (1918)
SS Clan Alpine was a British cargo steamer owned by Clan Line Steamers Ltd. Launched in 1918 she was the third ship to carry this name. She was torpedoed and sunk in the Second World War whilst carrying materiel to aid the British campaigns in Africa....
, en route to St Helena. The survivors reported that there were three other boats at sea, but by now were unsure where they were. After fruitless searches the Clan Alpine landed the survivors at St Helena, though more would die after being transferred to the hospital. Later in the evening of 19 November another boat with 47 survivors was rescued by the SS Bendoran, and taken to Cape Town. These four boats had been at sea for 13 days before being rescued. Of those picked up, one man later died aboard the Bendoran, two aboard the Clan Alpine, and another four died in hospital in St Helena.
One boat with 17 people on board, having not sighted St Helena by 23 November, decided that they must have overshot it. Several of the occupants were already dead and rather than trying to search the area for the island, decided to head west to the coast of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
1500 miles (2,414 km) to the west. On 27 December, after a voyage of 51 days, only two survivors, the City of Cairo’s third officer and a female passenger, remained alive when their boat was spotted and picked up by Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...
minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
Caravelas. They had got within 80 miles (128.7 km) of the Brazilian coast and were landed at Recife. The third officer
Third Officer
Third Officer may refer to:*Third Officer , a rarely used rank in civil aviation companies*Third mate, a merchant marine rank*A rank in the Women's Royal Naval Service corresponding to Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy...
was awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
and was repatriated on the SS City of Pretoria
SS City of Pretoria
The SS City of Pretoria was a British steam merchant. She was torpedoed and sunk in the Second World War with heavy loss of life.-Career:...
. He was killed when the City of Pretoria was torpedoed and sunk by U-172 on 4 March, 1943. The female survivor, Margaret Gordon, was awarded the BEM
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
and refused to cross the Atlantic until the war was over.
Another three survivors were picked up by the German merchant and blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
Rhakotis, which was travelling from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, on 12 December, 1942. They had spent 36 days at sea. One of the survivors then died aboard the Rhakotis. The Rhakotis was intercepted by the cruiser HMS Scylla
HMS Scylla (98)
HMS Scylla was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , with the keel being laid down on 19 April 1939...
on 1 January 1943, who torpedoed and sank the merchant off Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
. The two remaining survivors from the City of Cairo managed to make it into different lifeboats and survive their second sinking. One was picked up the next day by U-410
German submarine U-410
German submarine U-410 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II operating mainly in the Mediterranean. Her Insignia was a Sword & Shield...
and landed at Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
three days later. The submarine was almost destroyed en route, when she was detected and attacked by British bombers. The other City of Cairo survivor's lifeboat eventually landed in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Out of a total of 311 people aboard the City of Cairo 104 had died, including 79 crew members, three gunners and 22 passengers, with 207 surviving. Six are known to have died in the sinking, 90 in the boats, and seven after being rescued. Some of the names of those lost are inscribed on the Tower Hill Memorial
Tower Hill Memorial
The Tower Hill Memorial is a national war memorial on the south side of Trinity Square Gardens, just to the north of the Tower of London. It commemorates those from the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets who died during both world wars and have "no grave but the sea".The First World War memorial...
.