SS Doric Star

Designed and built in the Port Glasgow yards of Lithgow's Ltd, the vessel entered service under the name Doricstar before her name was changed to Doric Star in 1929. She was owned by Eastman's of London and managed by the Blue Star Line.[1][2][3][4][5]

In 1934 Doric Star underwent significant alterations which were carried out by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow-on-Tyne. The refit saw her receive a new Maierform bow which increased her overall length to 530 ft (161.5 m).

Her registered ownership changed in 1939 when she was acquired by the Union Cold Storage Company of Liverpool, but continued to be managed by the Blue Star Line.[1][2][3][4][5]

Following the outbreak of war between Germany and the Allies in September 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the German Navy to begin commerce raiding against Allied merchant traffic.[1][2][3][4][5]

Under the command of Captain Hans Langsdorff, Admiral Graf Spee sailed from Wilhelmshaven on 21 August 1939, bound for the South Atlantic. She rendezvoused with her supply ship Altmark on September 1 at a position southwest of the Canary Islands following which she received her orders to commence commerce raiding on September 26.[1][2][3][4]

The Admiral Graf Spee was under strict instructions to adhere prize rules. This required her to stop and search all intercepted vessels for contraband before sinking them, and to also ensure that the crews of such vessels were safely evacuated prior to any action taking place.[1][2][3][4]Initially the sortie was successful, with Graf Spee intercepting and sinking ships across the South Atlantic before making her way into the southern Indian Ocean.

Employed on the Blue Star Line's New Zealand - Australia - United Kingdom route (via Cape Town), the Doric Star departed Auckland in November 1939 under the command of Captain William Stubbs with a crew of 64. Carrying 8,000 tons of cargo (primarily meat and dairy produce), Doric Star was armed with a 4-inch gun mounted aft in order to provide some limited self defence.[1][2][3][4][5]

Panzerschiff Admiral Graf Spee

On 2 December, having departed Table Bay, Doric Star was sighted by the Graf Spee's Arado Ar 196 floatplane. At this time the standard operating procedure of Captain Langsdorff was to approach his quarry head on, at maximum speed, whilst flying the French Ensign. On this particular occasion Langsdorff was aided by the additional disguise of an extra funnel and main turret which had been added during Graf Spee's previous rendezvous with the Altmark.

The crew of the Doric Star were subsequently made aware of the proximity of the Graf Spee when a small piece of shell landed on her forward deck - the shell had exploded about 100 yards off her port quarter, the shot having being fired from a range of 15 miles. Captain Stubbs, having arrived on the bridge, sighted what he thought was the masthead of a warship in the distance and ordered the signal R-R-R (I am being attacked by a raider) to be sent by the ship's wireless operator, William Comber. As the Graf Spee closed to within 8 miles another shell landed approximately 200 yards off the Doric Star's starboard bow. This resulted in Doric Star amplifying her distress call - identifying the raider as the Graf Spee, or possibly the Deutschland, which had been roughly disguised to look like the Repulse or Renown.[1][2][3][4][5]

Graf Spee subsequently sent a signal by morse lamp to Doric Star informing her to discontinue transmitting, however this was ignored and Comber continued to transmit his signals which were subsequently received and repeated by other ships in the area - notably the Doric Star's sister, Brisbane Star (also en-passage from New Zealand to the United Kingdom), and the Port Chalmers. The transmission was also acknowledged by an unidentified shore station at 14:17 hrs, however it was not until 00:07 hrs the following morning that shore stations started to transmit the sighting report as given by Port Chalmers.[1][2][3][4][5]

SS Port Chalmers

As the Graf Spee closed to within 1 mile Capt. Stubbs realised his situation was hopeless and decided to stop his ship, following which a boarding party was despatched from the Graf Spee who evacuated Doric Star's crew and in the process retrieved 19 silver bars. However, due to a technical fault with the Arado Ar 196 Langsdorff was forced to curtail the actions of the boarding party which subsequently meant they failed to discover the cargo of refrigerated meat.[1][2][3][4]

With the crew of the Doric Star transferred to the Graf Spee the boarding party proceeded to sink the Doric Star, however this proved to be more difficult than initially envisaged. Scuttling charges were placed within the ship however they failed to have the desired effect. Following this Graf Spee opened fire using some of her secondary armament of 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/28 guns discharging 7 rounds which, with the aid of a torpedo, finally sank the Doric Star.[1][2][3][4]

Approximate position of Doric Star's wreck

Having sunk the Doric Star Langsdorff transferred the majority of the crew to the Altmark when the Graf Spee rendezvoused with her on the evening of 6 December. Graf Spee subsequently retained Doric Star's five officers, including Captain Stubbs, who were onboard Graf Spee along with other allied prisoners when she took part in the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December. Following the battle, the damaged Graf Spee made passage to Montevideo and upon arrival all prisoners on board were released.[1][2][3][4]

Altmark attempted to return to Germany, steaming around the north of Great Britain and then within the Norwegian littoral. On 14 February 1940 Altmark, proceeding south within Norwegian territorial waters, was discovered by three British Lockheed Hudsons from RAF Thornaby and pursued by several British destroyers led by HMS Cossack. Late on 16 February 1940 in Jøssingfjord she was fired upon. During the skirmish Altmark was run onto the rocks. Following the action the 58 members of the Doric Star's ships' company, together with all other prisoners held on board the Altmark, were subsequently freed.[4] The prisoners were quick to condemn their treatment on the Altmark and particularly the conduct of the ship's Master, Captain Heinrich Dau.

Brisbane Star

Whilst she was under attack, the Doric Star's wireless transmissions, and those of her sister Brisbane Star, were useful to the British authorities in their endeavours to track the Graf Spee and ultimately prompted Commodore Henry Harwood to take his three cruisers to the mouth of the River Plate, which he suspected might be Langsdorff's next target.

Having dealt with the Doric Star, and knowing the Brisbane Star was nearby, the Graf Spee set a course to intercept. However she encountered the Tairoa on 3 December, and the subsequent time spent sinking the Tairoa allowed the Brisbane Star to escape.

Two of Doric Star's crew - Captain William Stubbs and Second Engineer George King - subsequently received the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct.[3]