SS Dover Hill
Encyclopedia
SS Dover Hill was a steam-powered cargo ship
built to a First World War
standard design by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She was launched on 17 December 1917 as Maenwen but after completion she entered service with Clan Line
who named her Clan Macvicar. She spent most of her career under this name, but is noted for her Second World War
service as the Dover Hill.
In 1936 the Dover Hill Steamship Co. bought Clan Macvicar, renamed her Dover Hill and placed her under the management of Counties Ship Management
Ltd. Dover Hill SS Co was a one-ship company established under CSM control to own the ship.
In the Second World War Dover Hill served with distinction on Arctic convoy
duty and during the Normandy landings she was scuttled
as a Corn Cob block ship for a Gooseberry Harbour.
General Franco's
nationalist insurgents issued a statement alleging that more than 200 British-registered merchant ships had been used to supply the Spanish Republic with matériel
banned by the international non-intervention agreement
. One of the ships accused was Dover Hill, which the statement claimed had carried a cargo of 200 lorries and 400 tons of matériel from a USSR
Black Sea
port to Alicante
, passing through the Bosphorus on 20 April.
The insurgents' statement contained inaccuracies about many of the British ships to which it referred, to the extent that some of the companies and ships that it accused did not even exist. In reality every ship serving a Republican port had to carry a Non-Intervention Officer representing the Non-Intervention Committee
, and the Royal Navy
detained any ship suspected of carrying matériel and inspected her cargo, in many cases by having it all unloaded for inspection at Gibraltar
or Malta
. It is highly unlikely that Dover Hill supplied Spain with any goods banned by the Non-Intervention Agreement.
in the Firth of Clyde
and on 25 January she anchored in Loch Ewe
. On 15 February she sailed for the USSR as one of 28 merchant ships in Arctic convoy JW 53. The flagship was the cruiser and the convoy's other escorts included the cruisers and , escort carrier and 15 destroyers.
As the convoy sailed northwards it encountered heavy winds. Six merchant ships were damaged and diverted to Iceland along with HMS Sheffield and the armed trawler . A Royal Navy flotilla led by the cruiser relieved the original escorts off Iceland. However, during the storm HMS Dasher had suffered engine trouble and returned to the Firth of Clyde
, leaving JW 53 without air cover.
Dover Hills deck cargo included drums of oil which were lost overboard in the storm. She was also carrying lorries in wooden cases, but these became damaged and then the lorries were lost overboard. Her crew managed to save her most valuable deck cargo, a number of tanks. The poor weather scattered the ships but the weather moderated and by 20 February its Royal Navy
escorts reformed the remaining 22 merchant ships into the convoy.
By now the convoy was sailing through pancake ice
, which along with the naval escort ensured there were no U-boat
attacks. However, on 24 February a Luftwaffe
patrol aircraft shadowed the convoy and the next day Junkers Ju 88
aircraft bombed the convoy. Dover Hill was damaged and one of her gunners was wounded. The convoy reached the Kola Inlet on the northern coast of Russia on 27 February. 15 cargo ships from the convoy docked in Murmansk
while seven others continued south to Archangel
. Despite air attacks and adverse weather, JW 53 had lost no merchant ships en route.
fighters armed with bomb racks repeatedly made low-level attacks on the ships at anchor, during which Dover Hill was damaged and some of her gunners wounded. However she shot down one Bf 109 and damaged another, which was then shot down by a ship astern of her at the anchorage.
On 4 April Dover Hill was at Misukovo Anchorage north of Murmansk when two Ju-88 bombers attacked her. Five 500 kg (1,102.3 lb) bombs exploded in the sea around the ship. A sixth hit her and went through her main and tween
decks but failed to explode. The minesweeper
anchored astern of Dover Hill, ready to rescue any survivors if the bomb exploded. The bomb buried itself in coal in the ship's bunkers and a team of 19 volunteers dug out the coal to find it. The Luftwaffe made further air raids, and bombs exploding in the sea around the ship repeatedly caused coal to fall back into the hole that the volunteers were digging. The bomb was 22 feet (6.7 m) deep in the coal and it took the volunteers two days and nights to reach it. A Soviet bomb disposal specialist then defused it by unscrewing the primer and detonator and the volunteers disposed of the bomb over the side of the ship.
On 17 May the Dover Hill and three other ships left the Kola Inlet and went via the White Sea
to Economia on the Northern Dvina River. On 18 July Dover Hill moved again to Molotovsk
. On 26 November she and eight other ships sailed for London, where they arrived on 14 December.
On 12 October 1943, two months before the Dover Hill reached London, the London Gazette
had published the names of all 19 volunteers who dug out the bomb. 14 were awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct
and the other five were made Officers of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE).
off Ouistreham
on the Normandy
coast as a Corn Cob block ship to protect the Gooseberry 5 Harbour for Sword Beach
.
that had been built by Short Brothers
in Sunderland in February 1945, and renamed her Dover Hill. In 1951 CSM sold her to Italian owners who registered her under the Panama
nian flag of convenience
as Basil. In 1954 the British Steamship Co Ltd bought her and registered her in Great Britain as the Ravenshoe. She was managed by John Cory & Sons Ltd
, Newport
Monmouthshire
. In 1960 she was sold again and registered in Panama as Plate Shipper. She was managed by PB Pandelis Ltd based in London. In 1961 she was sold again to owners in Turkey who renamed her Umran. In 1966 she changed hands in Turkey again and was renamed Tan 2. She was scrapped in Istanbul
, Turkey in 1968.
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
built to a First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
standard design by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She was launched on 17 December 1917 as Maenwen but after completion she entered service with Clan Line
Clan Line
The Clan Line was a passenger and cargo shipping company that operated in one incarnation or another from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century.-Foundation and early years:...
who named her Clan Macvicar. She spent most of her career under this name, but is noted for her Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service as the Dover Hill.
In 1936 the Dover Hill Steamship Co. bought Clan Macvicar, renamed her Dover Hill and placed her under the management of 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...
Ltd. Dover Hill SS Co was a one-ship company established under CSM control to own the ship.
In the Second World War Dover Hill served with distinction on Arctic convoy
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
duty and during the Normandy landings she was scuttled
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
as a Corn Cob block ship for a Gooseberry Harbour.
Spanish Civil War
In 1938 during the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
General Franco's
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
nationalist insurgents issued a statement alleging that more than 200 British-registered merchant ships had been used to supply the Spanish Republic with matériel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
banned by the international non-intervention agreement
Non-Intervention Committee
During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention, which would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936 and the setting up of the Non-Intervention Committee, which first met in September...
. One of the ships accused was Dover Hill, which the statement claimed had carried a cargo of 200 lorries and 400 tons of matériel from a USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
port to Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, passing through the Bosphorus on 20 April.
The insurgents' statement contained inaccuracies about many of the British ships to which it referred, to the extent that some of the companies and ships that it accused did not even exist. In reality every ship serving a Republican port had to carry a Non-Intervention Officer representing the Non-Intervention Committee
Non-Intervention Committee
During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention, which would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936 and the setting up of the Non-Intervention Committee, which first met in September...
, and the 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...
detained any ship suspected of carrying matériel and inspected her cargo, in many cases by having it all unloaded for inspection at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
or Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. It is highly unlikely that Dover Hill supplied Spain with any goods banned by the Non-Intervention Agreement.
Convoy JW 53
On 23 January 1943 Dover Hill sailed from her anchorage off GourockGourock
Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...
in the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
and on 25 January she anchored in Loch Ewe
Loch Ewe
Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...
. On 15 February she sailed for the USSR as one of 28 merchant ships in Arctic convoy JW 53. The flagship was the cruiser and the convoy's other escorts included the cruisers and , escort carrier and 15 destroyers.
As the convoy sailed northwards it encountered heavy winds. Six merchant ships were damaged and diverted to Iceland along with HMS Sheffield and the armed trawler . A Royal Navy flotilla led by the cruiser relieved the original escorts off Iceland. However, during the storm HMS Dasher had suffered engine trouble and returned to the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
, leaving JW 53 without air cover.
Dover Hills deck cargo included drums of oil which were lost overboard in the storm. She was also carrying lorries in wooden cases, but these became damaged and then the lorries were lost overboard. Her crew managed to save her most valuable deck cargo, a number of tanks. The poor weather scattered the ships but the weather moderated and by 20 February its 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...
escorts reformed the remaining 22 merchant ships into the convoy.
By now the convoy was sailing through pancake ice
Pancake ice
Pancake ice is a form of ice that consists of round pieces of ice with diameters ranging from a few inches to many feet, depending on the local conditions that affect ice formation. It may have a thickness of several inches....
, which along with the naval escort ensured there were no U-boat
U-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...
attacks. However, on 24 February a Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
patrol aircraft shadowed the convoy and the next day Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
aircraft bombed the convoy. Dover Hill was damaged and one of her gunners was wounded. The convoy reached the Kola Inlet on the northern coast of Russia on 27 February. 15 cargo ships from the convoy docked in Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
while seven others continued south to Archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
. Despite air attacks and adverse weather, JW 53 had lost no merchant ships en route.
Air raids in Russia
Dover Hill unloaded at Murmansk. The Luftwaffe bombed the port, sinking the cargo ship Ocean Freedom at her moorings. After discharging her cargo the Dover Hill moved to an anchorage in the Kola inlet. Messerschmitt Bf 109Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
fighters armed with bomb racks repeatedly made low-level attacks on the ships at anchor, during which Dover Hill was damaged and some of her gunners wounded. However she shot down one Bf 109 and damaged another, which was then shot down by a ship astern of her at the anchorage.
On 4 April Dover Hill was at Misukovo Anchorage north of Murmansk when two Ju-88 bombers attacked her. Five 500 kg (1,102.3 lb) bombs exploded in the sea around the ship. A sixth hit her and went through her main and tween
Tweendecker
Tweendeckers are general cargo ships with two or sometimes three decks. The upper deck is called the main deck or weather deck, and the lower deck is the tweendeck. Cargo such as bales, bags, or drums can stacked in the tweendeck space, atop the tweendeck...
decks but failed to explode. The minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
anchored astern of Dover Hill, ready to rescue any survivors if the bomb exploded. The bomb buried itself in coal in the ship's bunkers and a team of 19 volunteers dug out the coal to find it. The Luftwaffe made further air raids, and bombs exploding in the sea around the ship repeatedly caused coal to fall back into the hole that the volunteers were digging. The bomb was 22 feet (6.7 m) deep in the coal and it took the volunteers two days and nights to reach it. A Soviet bomb disposal specialist then defused it by unscrewing the primer and detonator and the volunteers disposed of the bomb over the side of the ship.
On 17 May the Dover Hill and three other ships left the Kola Inlet and went via the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
to Economia on the Northern Dvina River. On 18 July Dover Hill moved again to Molotovsk
Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . Municipally, it is incorporated as Severodvinsk Urban Okrug. The city was founded as...
. On 26 November she and eight other ships sailed for London, where they arrived on 14 December.
On 12 October 1943, two months before the Dover Hill reached London, the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
had published the names of all 19 volunteers who dug out the bomb. 14 were awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct
Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct
Instituted in 1939 by King George VI as the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct acknowledged brave acts by civilians and members of the military in non-warlike circumstances during a time of war or in peacetime where the action would not otherwise be...
and the other five were made Officers of the Order of the British Empire
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...
(OBE).
Further service
Dover Hill was repaired and taken over by the Ministry of War Transport, who placed her under the management of J & J Denholm Ltd of Sunderland. On 9 June 1944 Dover Hill was scuttledScuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
off Ouistreham
Ouistreham
Ouistreham is a commune in the Calvados department' in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry-harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town is about the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la...
on the Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
coast as a Corn Cob block ship to protect the Gooseberry 5 Harbour for Sword Beach
Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord; the Allied invasion of German-occupied France that commenced on 6 June 1944...
.
Replacement ship
In 1946 CSM bought the SS Empire Nairobi, a standard 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...
that had been built by Short Brothers
Short Brothers of Sunderland
Short Brothers Limited was a British shipbuilding company formed in 1850 and based at Pallion, Sunderland since 1869. The company closed in 1964 when it failed to invest to build bigger ships.-19th century:...
in Sunderland in February 1945, and renamed her Dover Hill. In 1951 CSM sold her to Italian 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 Basil. In 1954 the British Steamship Co Ltd bought her and registered her in Great Britain as the Ravenshoe. She was managed by John Cory & Sons Ltd
Cory Environmental
Cory Environmental is a large waste disposal company based in the United Kingdom. Cory operates in more than 30 locations throughout England, providing services in the collection, recycling and disposal of waste as well as municipal cleansing.-Operations:...
, Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
. In 1960 she was sold again and registered in Panama as Plate Shipper. She was managed by PB Pandelis Ltd based in London. In 1961 she was sold again to owners in Turkey who renamed her Umran. In 1966 she changed hands in Turkey again and was renamed Tan 2. She was scrapped in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey in 1968.