Port Chalmers
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:00 pm
PORT CHALMERS was built in 1933 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend with a tonnage of 8535grt, a length of 506ft 10in, a beam of 65ft 4in and a service speed of 14 knots. Prior to her maiden voyage in January 1934 she was presented with a green stone miniature of a Maori God as a good luck charm. This was put on display in the saloon and the Maoris believe that the subsequent charmed life of the ship was due to the fact that the gift was always treated with respect by the crew.
On 3rd September 1937 she collided with Ellerman's CITY OF ORAN off the coast of Portugal and had to return to Falmouth for repairs.
The latest account of an episode appears in historian Ian Farquhar's The Tyser Legacy, published in 2006.
DORIC STAR, Admiral Graf Spee's seventh victim, was attacked on December 2, 1939, when homeward bound in the South Atlantic. The vessel was instructed to stop and to cease using its wireless, which had already sent out the special RRR (enemy warship) message indicating that it was under attack. This message was picked up by Port Chalmers, which was in the vicinity and also homeward bound. The ship repeated the message for some time until it was acknowledged by shore stations in South Africa.
The following day, TAIROA was sunk by the warship. Once again, PORT CHALMERS picked up the victim's radio message and kept repeating the signals.
These convinced the Admiralty to send a cruiser force in pursuit of the enemy vessel. The result was the Battle of the River Plate, which led to the eventual scuttling of the pocket battleship south of Punta Yeguas, two hours after it left Montevideo harbour on the evening of December 17, 1939.
She made her first Malta convoy run on 21st July 1941 as part of Operation 'Substance' which comprised of six stores ships and one troopship. Her cargo included 2000 tons of aviation spirit. Escorted by four cruisers and ten destroyers the convoy proceeded to Gibraltar where the battleship NELSON, the aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL, four cruisers and ten destroyers took over. Despite some naval losses the convoy got through with vital supplies and was also able to release seven merchantmen which had been trapped since Operation 'Excess'. Although the ship was bombed while at Malta she did not suffer any damage and in the September sailed under the cover of darkness and successfully completed the dash to Gibraltar unescorted.
On 10th August 1942 she sailed as part of the more well known and vital convoy, Operation 'Pedestal'. The convoy was made up of fifteen ships, which included the tanker OHIO, and was escorted by the battleships NELSON and RODNEY, four aircraft carriers, the Victorious, the Furious, the Indomitable and the EAGLE which was subsequently sunk, seven cruiser and thirty destroyers. The size of the escort indicated the importance of the convoy. After four days of constant enemy attack by U-boats, E-boats and aircraft five merchant ships, the BRISBANE STAR, the MELBOURNE STAR, the ROCHESTER CASTLE, the PORT CHALMERS and, eventually, the OHIO, got through arriving on 13th August. The PORT CHALMERS was the only ship to arrive undamaged.
In the following September she made a dash from Malta to Port Said where she proceeded through the Suez Canal and sailed round the Cape of Good Hope to the USA where she loaded munitions. Sailing back to the UK in convoy she went through a storm which did more damage than either of the Malta convoys.
She continued to participate in convoy duties for the remainder of the war and during the hostilities earned twenty five decorations. In June 1965, after a farewell luncheon and Malta convoy reunion at the King George V Dock in London, she sailed on her 66th voyage to New Zealand after which she proceeded to Kaohsiung where she was broken up by Nam Feng Steel Enterprises.
Sources: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/8752 ... halmers039. http://www.red-duster.co.uk/PORT6.htm.
Information Mr P Crichton.
On 3rd September 1937 she collided with Ellerman's CITY OF ORAN off the coast of Portugal and had to return to Falmouth for repairs.
The latest account of an episode appears in historian Ian Farquhar's The Tyser Legacy, published in 2006.
DORIC STAR, Admiral Graf Spee's seventh victim, was attacked on December 2, 1939, when homeward bound in the South Atlantic. The vessel was instructed to stop and to cease using its wireless, which had already sent out the special RRR (enemy warship) message indicating that it was under attack. This message was picked up by Port Chalmers, which was in the vicinity and also homeward bound. The ship repeated the message for some time until it was acknowledged by shore stations in South Africa.
The following day, TAIROA was sunk by the warship. Once again, PORT CHALMERS picked up the victim's radio message and kept repeating the signals.
These convinced the Admiralty to send a cruiser force in pursuit of the enemy vessel. The result was the Battle of the River Plate, which led to the eventual scuttling of the pocket battleship south of Punta Yeguas, two hours after it left Montevideo harbour on the evening of December 17, 1939.
She made her first Malta convoy run on 21st July 1941 as part of Operation 'Substance' which comprised of six stores ships and one troopship. Her cargo included 2000 tons of aviation spirit. Escorted by four cruisers and ten destroyers the convoy proceeded to Gibraltar where the battleship NELSON, the aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL, four cruisers and ten destroyers took over. Despite some naval losses the convoy got through with vital supplies and was also able to release seven merchantmen which had been trapped since Operation 'Excess'. Although the ship was bombed while at Malta she did not suffer any damage and in the September sailed under the cover of darkness and successfully completed the dash to Gibraltar unescorted.
On 10th August 1942 she sailed as part of the more well known and vital convoy, Operation 'Pedestal'. The convoy was made up of fifteen ships, which included the tanker OHIO, and was escorted by the battleships NELSON and RODNEY, four aircraft carriers, the Victorious, the Furious, the Indomitable and the EAGLE which was subsequently sunk, seven cruiser and thirty destroyers. The size of the escort indicated the importance of the convoy. After four days of constant enemy attack by U-boats, E-boats and aircraft five merchant ships, the BRISBANE STAR, the MELBOURNE STAR, the ROCHESTER CASTLE, the PORT CHALMERS and, eventually, the OHIO, got through arriving on 13th August. The PORT CHALMERS was the only ship to arrive undamaged.
In the following September she made a dash from Malta to Port Said where she proceeded through the Suez Canal and sailed round the Cape of Good Hope to the USA where she loaded munitions. Sailing back to the UK in convoy she went through a storm which did more damage than either of the Malta convoys.
She continued to participate in convoy duties for the remainder of the war and during the hostilities earned twenty five decorations. In June 1965, after a farewell luncheon and Malta convoy reunion at the King George V Dock in London, she sailed on her 66th voyage to New Zealand after which she proceeded to Kaohsiung where she was broken up by Nam Feng Steel Enterprises.
Sources: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/8752 ... halmers039. http://www.red-duster.co.uk/PORT6.htm.
Information Mr P Crichton.