SS Empire Miniver
Encyclopedia
The SS Empire Miniver was a British steam merchant ship. She was originally an American merchant, launched in 1918 as SS West Cobalt. During a brief stint in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1919, she was known as USS West Cobalt (ID-3836).
SS West Cobalt was built as a steam
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
-powered cargo ship
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...
in 1918 for the . She was part of the West boats, a series of steel-hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
ed cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
for the First World War war effort, and was the 11th ship built at Columbia River Shipbuilding Company
Columbia River Shipbuilding Company
The Columbia River Shipbuilding Company was a small shipyard in Portland, Oregon, United States, located on the west bank of the Willamette River. The shipyard was located at the foot of SW Sheridan Street, just upstream of the Interstate 5 Marquam Bridge....
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Though she was completed too late for the war, she was commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
into the of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as USS West Cobalt (ID-3836) in January 1919. After her one overseas trip for the Navy—delivering grain products to Danzig—she was decommissioned in May 1919 and returned to the .
West Cobalt had a relatively uneventful merchant career for the and, after her 1933 sale, for the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company
Lykes Brothers Steamship Company
Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., also called Lykes Lines, was a cargo shipping company acting from the beginning of the 20th century to 2005 having its main business in the trade to and from the United States.-History:In 1900 the sons of Dr...
. In June 1940, West Cobalt was sold to British interests and renamed Empire Miniver. Just over four months later, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-99 while carrying supplies to the UK in Convoy SC-7
Convoy SC-7
SC-7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II convoy of 35 merchant ships and six escorts which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia for Liverpool and other United Kingdom ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was intercepted by one of the German Navy's...
during the Second World War. Three crewmen were killed in the attack; the master
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
and 34 others were rescued by a British corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
.
Design and construction
The West ships were cargo shipCargo 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...
s of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
for the for emergency use during the First World War. All were given names that began with the word West, like West Cobalt, the ninth of some 30 West ships built by the Columbia River Shipbuilding Company
Columbia River Shipbuilding Company
The Columbia River Shipbuilding Company was a small shipyard in Portland, Oregon, United States, located on the west bank of the Willamette River. The shipyard was located at the foot of SW Sheridan Street, just upstream of the Interstate 5 Marquam Bridge....
of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. West Cobalt (Columbia River Shipbuilding yard number 11) was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 26 October 1918, and was completed in December.
West Cobalt was , and was 410 in 1 in (124.99 m) long (between perpendiculars) and 54 in 0 in (16.46 m) abeam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
. She had a steel hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
that displaced
Displacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
12,424 t with a mean
Mean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 24 in 2 in (7.37 m). Her hold
Hold (ship)
thumb|right|120px|View of the hold of a container shipA ship's hold is a space for carrying cargo. Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged . Access to holds is by a large hatch at the top...
was 29 in 9 in (9.07 m) deep and she had a deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...
of . West Cobalts power plant consisted of a single steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
driving a single screw propeller which moved the ship at up to 11 knots.
US Navy career
Upon completion of West Cobalt in December 1918, a month after the end of fighting in the First World War, she was handed over to the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
for use in the . She was commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
as USS West Cobalt (ID-3836) on 29 December at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Andrew Patterson, USNRF, in command.
After undergoing sea trial
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
s, West Cobalt sailed for San Pedro, California, on 11 January to load a cargo of grain on behalf of the American Relief Administration
American Relief Administration
American Relief Administration was an American relief mission to Europe and later Soviet Russia after World War I. Herbert Hoover, future president of the United States, was the program director....
.The West ships, to avoid sailing empty to the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, loaded grain products intended for European ports and sailed from the East Coast without unloading or transferring their cargo. To avoid extra handling of the cargo, the United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
, by prior arrangement, received an equivalent amount of cargo space in foreign ships for other American cargos. See: Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59. Six days later, West Cobalt headed for 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....
, where she arrived on 10 February. After fuel replenishment, West Cobalt sailed on 19 February for Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, where she arrived on 11 March, the Hook of Holland, and Danzig. After delivering her cargo, used to help feed the hungry in the aftermath of the war, she steamed for New York on 8 April. After reaching New York on 24 April, West Cobalt was decommissioned on 5 May and returned to the .
Civilian career
Many details of West Cobalts post-Navy career remain undiscovered, but mentions in shipping reports in contemporary newspapers offer hints at her activities. In 1924, for example, reports in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
mention a departure from New York for Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
on 27 August, and an arrival at 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...
on 8 September. By 1930, West Cobalt was reported in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
as sailing on a New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
– London route. On 15 October of that year, the captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
and four other officers of West Cobalt were arrested at New Orleans after 12 USqt of liquor—against the law under Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
—were found on board the ship. The five men were held under $1,000 bond each.No further information on the outcome of legal proceedings against the men was reported in the newspaper.
In 1933, West Cobalt was sold to the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company
Lykes Brothers Steamship Company
Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., also called Lykes Lines, was a cargo shipping company acting from the beginning of the 20th century to 2005 having its main business in the trade to and from the United States.-History:In 1900 the sons of Dr...
, which assigned her to its Ripley Steamship Company subsidiary. During the 1930s, Lykes Brothers operated cargo ships between Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
ports, and though there is little specific information available regarding West Cobalts movements, it is likely that she called at Gulf coast and Caribbean ports as well. One specific mention of the ship is found in a report in The New York Times in 1937, when the newspaper reported West Cobalts arrival in New York on 30 October, ten days after sailing from New Orleans.
Second World War
In June 1940, the granted permission to Lykes to sell West Cobalt and three other ships to the Bank Line of GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
for transfer to British registry.The other three ships were Western Queen, West Harshaw, and West Quechee. West Cobalt, loaded with scrap iron, sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 28 June for Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. After arriving there on 2 July, West Cobalt sailed the next day in Convoy HX-55 for 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...
. On the night of 15/16 July, West Cobalt dropped astern of the convoy and was last sighted at 01:00 by British merchant ship Loch Don. West Cobalt continued on, however, and reached Liverpool independently on 18 July.
Soon transferred to the Ministry of War Transport, the newly renamed ship, now named Empire Miniver, was assigned to Andrew Weir & Co. of London for operation. She sailed from Liverpool in her first wartime convoy under her new name, Convoy OB-205, on 29 August 1940. The convoy dispersed the next day after coming under attack from at least four German submarines: U-59, U-38, U-60, and U-101. Though three ships from the convoy were sunk, two were damaged, and a sixth was a total loss, Empire Miniver arrived at Hampton Roads, on 15 September and at Baltimore two days later.
After a nine-day turnaround, Empire Miniver sailed independently to Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
, with a cargo of cargo of 4,500 tons of pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
and 6,200 tons of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, arriving on 2 October. At Sydney, she joined the ill-fated Convoy SC-7
Convoy SC-7
SC-7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II convoy of 35 merchant ships and six escorts which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia for Liverpool and other United Kingdom ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was intercepted by one of the German Navy's...
, bound for 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...
, for her return journey. The convoy had only a single escort to start with, the sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
. The convoy was located by a wolfpack of 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...
s from 16 October, and they quickly overwhelmed the convoy, sinking many of the ships. Empire Miniver was torpedoed and sunk by U-99 at 22:06 hours on 18 October, while some 100 nautical miles (185.2 km) west by south of Barra Head
Barra Head
Barra Head, also known as Berneray , is the southernmost of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only referred to the southernmost headland of Berneray but is now a common name for the entire island...
. Out of a total complement of 38, three crew members were lost. The master and 34 crew members were picked up by and were landed at Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
on 20 October. Including Empire Miniver, 20 ships—over half of the ships in Convoy SC-7—were sunk by 8 different U-boats.