SS City of Bedford

SS City of Bedford was a British cargo steamship. She was launched in 1924 in Sunderland for Hall Line Ltd of Liverpool, a member of the Ellerman Lines group.

History
United Kingdom
Name: City of Bedford
Owner: Ellerman Lines Ltd
Operator: Hall Line Ltd
Port of registry: Liverpool
Builder: William Gray & Co
Yard number: 960
Launched: 17 July 1924
Completed: October 1924
Identification:
Fate: sunk by collision, 30 Dec 1940
General characteristics
Type: cargo ship
Tonnage:
  • as built:
  • 6,407 GRT
  • 4,107 NRT
  • 1933 onward:
  • 6,402 GRT
  • 4,100 NRT
Length: 430.0 ft (131.1 m)
Beam: 55.1 ft (16.8 m)
Draught: 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Depth: 31.1 ft (9.5 m)
Decks: 2
Installed power:
  • as built: 728 NHP
  • 1933 onward: 844 NHP
Propulsion:
Speed: 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h)
Sensors and
processing systems:

In December 1940 City of Bradford collided in fog the North Atlantic with another British cargo ship. Both ships sank, and 48 of City of Bedford's crew were killed.

She was the first of two Ellerman Lines ships to be called City of Bedford. The second was a steam turbine ship that Alexander Stephen and Sons launched in 1950 and Ellerman Lines sold in 1972.[1]

Details

William Gray & Company built City of Bradford at the former Ellerman, Gray, Inchcape and Strick (EGIS) shipyard[2] in Sunderland on the River Wear. She was launched on 17 July 1924 and completed that October.[3]

She was 430.0 ft (131.1 m) long, had a beam of 55.1 ft (16.8 m) and draught of 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m). William Gray and Company's Central Marine Engine Works in West Hartlepool built her triple-expansion engine, which was rated at 728 NHP.[4]

In 1933 Hall Line had a Bauer-Wach exhaust steam turbine added. Exhaust steam from the low-pressure cylinder of her piston engine drove the turbine. The turbine drove the same shaft as her piston engine by double-reduction gearing[5] and a Föttinger fluid coupling.

The exhaust turbine increased City of Bedford's fuel efficiency. It also increased her total installed power to 844 NHP,[5] which was a 16 percent increase and gave her a speed of 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h).[6]

By 1935 City of Bedford had been fitted with wireless direction finding and an echo sounding device.[5]

Loss

On 18 December 1940 City of Bedford left Halifax, Nova Scotia in Convoy HX 97, which was bound for Liverpool.[7] According to one account her cargo included half a million ammunition cartridges[8] for the Allied war effort.

On 30 December in fog 280 miles south of Iceland HX 97 ran into Convoy OB 265 coming in the opposite direction.[9] City of Bedford collided with the Elder Dempster Lines cargo ship Bodnant, causing both ships to sink. All of Bodnant's crew survived, but 48 of City of Bedford's crew were killed.[6]

References
  1. "City of Bedford". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. "William Gray and Co". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  3. "City of Bedford". Wear Built Ships. North East Maritime Forum. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. "Steamers & Motorships". Lloyd's Register (PDF). II. London: Lloyd's Register. 1930. Retrieved 28 October 2020 – via Plimsoll Ship Data.
  5. "Steamers & Motorships". Lloyd's Register (PDF). II. London: Lloyd's Register. 1935. Retrieved 28 October 2020 – via Plimsoll Ship Data.
  6. Lettens, Jan (18 September 2019). "SS City of Bedford (+1940)". Wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  7. Hague, Arnold. "Convoy HX.97". HX Convoy Series. Don Kindell, Convoyweb. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  8. Slader 1988, p. 102.
  9. Hague, Arnold. "Convoy OB.265". OA OB OG Convoy Series. Don Kindell, Convoyweb. Retrieved 28 October 2020.

Bibliography
  • Slader, John (1988). The Red Duster at War. London: William Kimber & Co Ltd. p. 102. ISBN 0-7183-0679-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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