| SS Empire Antelope | |
|---|---|
| Career | |
| Name: |
Ophis (1919-28) Bangu (1928-41) Empire Antelope (1941-42) |
| Owner: |
United States Shipping Board (1919-37) United States Maritime Corporation (1937-41) Ministry of War Transport (1941-42) |
| Operator: |
Owner operated except:- Moss Hutchinson Line Ltd (1941-42) |
| Port of registry: |
 Tacoma (1919-37) New York (1937-41) London (1941-42) |
| Builder: | Todd Dockyard and Construction Corporation, Tacoma |
| Yard number: | 9 |
| Launched: | 30 July 1919 |
| Completed: | 5 August 1919 |
| In service: | 30 September 1919 |
| Out of service: | 2 November 1942 |
| Identification: |
US official Number 219009 (1919-41) Code letters LTDP (1919-41)     UK Official Number 168205 (1941-42) Code letters BCGT (1941-42)    |
| Fate: | Torpedoed and sunk by U-402, 2 February 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 4,782 GRT |
| Length: | 380 ft 5 in (115.95 m) |
| Beam: | 53 ft 1 in (16.18 m) |
| Depth: | 27 ft (8.23 m) |
| Propulsion: | 1 x triple expansion steam engine (Todd Dry Dock & Construction Co, Tacoma) 339 hp (253 kW) |
| Speed: | 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 42 crew (plus 8 DEMS gunners) |
Empire Antelope was a 4,782 ton cargo ship which was built as Ophis in 1919. She was renamed Bangu in 1928. In 1941 she was renamed Empire Antelope. She was sunk by U-402 on 2 November 1942.
History[]
Ophis was built by Todd Dry Dock and Construction Corporation, Tacoma as yard number 9. She was allocated United States Shipping Board hull number 2630.[1] She was launched on 30 July 1919 and completed on 5 August 1919.[2] Delivery was on 30 September 1919.[1] Ophis was powered by a triple expansion steam engine and could make 10 knots.[2]
She was owned by the United States Shipping Board.[3] In March 1920, Maritime Salvors Ltd, London reported that they had been involved in the salvage of Ophis.[4] On 29 November 1920, Ophis came to the rescue of the Norwegian 3-masted barque Hebe, which had been dismasted off the Azores, Portugal. Hebe was towed in to Fayal.[5] In 1928, she was renamed Bangu[3] On 26 January 1931, she lost her propeller 200 nautical miles (370 km) south of Bahía Blanca, Argentina.[6] She was passed to the United States Maritime Commission in 1937,[3] and laid up as part of the reserve fleet.[7] In 1941, Bangu passed to the Ministry of War Transport and was renamed Empire Antelope.[3]
War Service[]
Empire Antelope was a member of a number of convoys during World War II.
- ON37
Convoy ON 37 sailed from Liverpool on 15 November 1941 and dispersed during the night of November 23/34. Empire Antelope sailed from Aultbea.[8]
- SC 77
Convoy SC 77 departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 30 March 1942 and arrived at Liverpool on 16 April. Empire Antelope was carrying a cargo of steel and other general cargo, destined for Garston.[9]
- SC 94
Convoy SC 94 departed Sydney, Nova Scotia on 31 July 1942.[10] Five ships from the convoy were torpedoed by simultaneous attacks of U-176 and U-379 at 13:25Z on 8 August. Detonations of the five sinking ships caused hasty abandonment of three additional ships (including Empire Antelope) whose crews believed they had been torpedoed.[11] Empire Antelope's crewmen reboarded their slightly damaged ship and arrived at Liverpool on 13 August.[10]
- SC 107
Empire Antelope departed New York City on 24 October 1942 with 5,560 tons of general cargo as a member of Convoy SC 107.[10] At 08:04 hrs (CET)[12] on 2 November 1942, U-402, captained by Baron Siegfried von Forstner, fired a torpedo and sank Empire Antelope at 52°26′N 45°22′W / 52.433°N 45.367°W. All fifty crew members were saved by convoy rescue ship SS Stockport and landed at Reykjavík on 8 November.[7]
Official number and code letters[]
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers.
Bangu used the US Official Number 219009 and the Code Letters LTDP.[13] Empire Antelope used the UK Official Number 168205 and the Code Letters BCGT.[14]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma WA". Ship Building History. http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/toddtacoma.htm. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "2219009". Miramar Ship Index. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz. Retrieved 2 January 2009. (subscription required)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "EMPIRE - A". Mariners-L. http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/EmpireA.html. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". 5 March 1920. - ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". 1 December 1920. - ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". 28 January 1931. - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Empire Antelope". U-boat.net. http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/2345.html. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ↑ "CONVOY ON (S) 37". Warsailors. http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/on37.html. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ↑ "CONVOY SC 77". Warsailors. http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/sc77.html. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. p. 135&137. ISBN 1-55750-019-3.
- ↑ Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. p. 145. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
- ↑ "EMPIRE ANTELOPE". Ubootwaffe. http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ops/ships.cgi?boat=402;nr=7. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ↑ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS". Plimsoll Ship Data. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=31b0122.pdf. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
- ↑ "LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTEURS". Plimsoll Ship Data. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=43b0294.pdf. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
Coordinates: 52°26′N 45°22′W / 52.433°N 45.367°W
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The original article can be found at SS Empire Antelope and the edit history here.