Ship torpedoed & run-aground near Plymouth 1917/1918

[Angrybudgie]

I am doing research on a woman who joined the YMCA and served in France. According to family lore she travelled to England on a New Zealand ship the Arawoa, travelling through the Panama Canal, to Newport News and then to New York. Joining a convoy there and travelling across the Atlantic in late 1917 or early 1918. The ship was apparently torpedoed in the frozen meat chamber when they were 100 miles off of Lands End. The five women on board were taken off (sounds like a merchant ship carrying passengers in small numbers) by another ship, but stayed near the damaged vessel. They arrived at Plymouth the next day and the stricken vessel was beached. This allowed them to retrieve their belongings.

This is the information that I have, however I can not find anything to confirm the story, nor can I find anything on the Arawoa; at least not an Arawoa being torpedoed & beached in the time frame. Now I'm stumped and turn to the forum for help as I have exhausted my meagre knowledge on ships & shipping - not my area of interest unfortunately. So I toss the information out there - is the whole story just that, have they got the time wrong, or the ship's name.

Help....

Elizabeth

[Lancashire Fusilier]

This is the information that I have, however I can not find anything to confirm the story, nor can I find anything on the Arawoa; at least not an Arawoa being torpedoed & beached in the time frame. Now I'm stumped and turn to the forum for help as I have exhausted my meagre knowledge on ships & shipping - not my area of interest unfortunately. So I toss the information out there - is the whole story just that, have they got the time wrong, or the ship's name.

Help....

Elizabeth

Elizabeth,

I cound not find any information on a ship named Arawoa, however, I did find a ship ( Steamer ) with the original name Arawa, which subsequently changed its name, and was sunk by German UBoat U39.

This particular ship, having a connection with your part of the world.

Sometimes, down the years there is an incorrect spelling of a name, and the dates sometimes are also not correct, so hopefully, the SS Arawa could be your ship.

Here are the details of the SS Arawa, some photographs, and the details of the German UBoat which sank her.

Regards,

LF

S.S. Arawa

S.S. ARAWA was built for Shaw, Saville and Albion by Wm. Denny of Dumbarton in 1884. She was a 5,026 gross ton vessel, with clipper stem, two funnels and four masts, length 439.6 ft x beam 46.3 ft, single screw and a speed of 13 knots. To reduce fuel consumption on the UK - Australia run, she was rigged for sails, being square rigged on the fore and mainmasts and fore and aft rigged on the other two.

As originally built, she carried 95 First Class, 52 Second Class and 200 emigrants. She could also accommodate a further 470 emigrants in a cargo tween deck with portable bulkheads. She commenced service London - Australia - New Zealand in 1884 and stayed in this service until 1893 when she was chartered to James Huddart and was put onto the Australia - Vancouver run.

In July 1895, she was taken over by the Union SS Co. of New Zealand and ran for one voyage between Australia and San Francisco.

Late in 1895, she was chartered to the Spanish government who renamed her COLON and used her as a transport in the Spanish American war.

Returned to her owners she was renamed ARAWA again and was put up for sale and purchased by Elder Dempster & Co. but immediately taken over by the British government and used as a transport in the Boer War.

Returned to her owners in 1900, she was put onto the Beaver Line service from Liverpool to Halifax and St John NB (commencing 10/3/1900) and renamed LAKE MEGANTIC. She underwent considerable change under Beaver Line ownership and was rebuilt with new boilers, mainmast and all yards and sailing rigging removed, new funnels and accommodation provided for 120 First, 180 Second and 700 Third Class passengers.

On 4/2/1903 she left Liverpool on her last voyage to St John NB. In 1904 there was a plan to use her as an exhibition ship, but this fell through and in 1905 she was transferred to Elder Dempster's Imperial Direct West India Mail Line and renamed PORT HENDERSON.

In 1912 she was sold to Italy and renamed ANAPO and in 1913 resold to other Italian buyers and renamed PORTO SAID. In December 1915 she was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off Cyrenaica.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Here is another photograph taken aboard the S.S. Arawa.

The photo caption reads :-

" A group of Niueans on board SS Arawa at the start of their return voyage from England to New Zealand. There were 56 Niueans on this ship from the New Zealand Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch. The caption in the album reads, 'Niue Islanders singing'. "

LF

[Michael Lowrey]

Elizabeth,

There were no steamers named Arawoa in existence at that point in time, so clearly the name is wrong. There was a British-flagged steamer named Arawa, but it wasn’t torpedoed during World War I. The time period and location is quite plausible — there certainly were U-boats operating in the English Channel and Western Approaches in late 1917 and early 1918 and they did torpedo a lot of ships. The problem is just that there are going to be multiple possibilities.

For your reference, there is a database of all ship sunk, damaged, or brought in as a prize by U-boats in World War I: http://uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/

Best wishes,

Michael

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Details of the German UBoat U39 which sank the S.S. Arawa ( name changed to Porto Said ).

German U 39 ( Type U31 )

Built at the Germaniawerft shipyard, Kiel ( Werk 199 )

Ordered - 12 June 1912 - Laid down - 27 march 1913

Launched - 26 September 1914 - Commissioned - 13 January 1915.

Career - 19 Patrols.

Successes - 153 ships sunk for a total of 405,035 tons.

7 ships damaged for a total of 30,552 tons.

1 ship take as a prize for a total of 798 tons.

1 warship sunk for a total of 1,290 tons.

Fate - 18 May 1918 interned at Cartagnea, Spain after being damaged by allied escorts and aircraft that same day.

Surrendered to France on 22 march 1919 and was broken up at Toulon in 1923.

U39 Commanders -

Kptlt. Hans Kratzch - 13 January 1915 to 9 February 1915

Kptlt. Walter Forstmann - 11 February 1915 to 14 October 1917 ( Sunk the S.S. Arawa - renamed Porto Said )

Kptlt. Heinrich Metzger.

[Michael Lowrey]

LF,

You're confusing two different ships named Arawa:

1. A steamer of 5,060 grt (as built), built in 1884 by W. Denny & Bros., Dumbarton for Shaw, Savill & Albion Co., Ltd., Glasgow. She was renamed by 1900 and sunk in December 1915 in the Mediterranean while Italian-owned and named Porto Said.

2. A steamer of 9.372 grt, built in 1907 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd., Newcastle for Shaw, Savill & Albion Co., Ltd., Southampton.

The photos above are probably on/of the second Arawa. I doubt that the story Elizabeth related has anything to do with the Porto Said.

Best wishes,

Michael

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Michael,

You are correct, the photo above is hopefully Elizabeth's S.S. Arawa, and the text to the photograph is incorrect.

I have now found a photograph of the older S.S. Arawa ( named changed to Porto Said ) which was sunk by U39, and as you can see she is an older ship, and it is this older ship which is referred to in the text shown in post #2.

The article in post #2 has the correct text, and the wrong photograph.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Elizabeth,

As Michael has pointed out, and to further confuse matters, there appears to have been two ships with the name S.S. Arawa.

It seems that the photograph in post # 2 is your ship, although the photograph text is wrong.

The ship shown in post # 7, is probably the ship referred to in the text of post # 2.

Hopefully, Michael will correct me if I am wrong.

At least we have a photograph of your ship, now all we need to do, is try and find out what happened to her.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Elizabeth,

Another interesting Australian connection with S.S. Arawa :-

Sketch from WW1 Autograph Book "The Digger"

" This amazing sketch forms part of my Grandfather's WW1 Autograph Book. The drawing is titled 'The Digger' and is dated 1918. Australian soldiers were known as Diggers during WW1. The artist is A. Shelden - S.S. Arawa.

My Grandfather James Washington Wylie served in the Royal Australian Navy. The SS Arawa was a transport ship HMAT (His Majesty's Australian Transport) that brought him back to Australia in 1918."

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Elizabeth,

Well here are details on the other " Arawa " built in 1907, which was sunk by a UBoat, but in WW2.

The 2 new photographs confirm this is the same ship shown in my post # 2.

This also ties in with the drawing in post # 9, which confirmed that the Arawa was back in Australia in 1918.

We now have a complete history of this particular ship the ' Arawa '.

Regards,

LF

ARAWA

HMNZT 10, 94

1907-42

9372 gross tons. built by Swan Hunter Wigham Richardson, Wallsend Sunderland for Shaw Savill and Albion, London. Twin screw, triple expansion engine making 14 knots. Lbd: 14.2 x 18.3 metres

TRANSPORT VOYAGES

.........1914 Departed Wellington with the Wellington Infantry Battalion (less West Coast Company and 7 and 8 Platoons), Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment (less 2 troops), Field Artillery Brigade (in part), Signal Troop N.Z.E. 59 Officers, Naval Transport Officer, Medical Officers and Chaplain. 1,259 Men and 215 Horses

1st November 1914 assembled with the first convoy at King George's Sound, Albany Western Australia in transporting the First Detachment of the Australian and New Zealand Imperial Expeditionary Forces

9th November 1914 Wireless Operator picked up faint signal as broadcast from Direction Island, Cocos Islands of an 'Unknown Warship in Harbour'. Passed message on to escorting cruisers where HMAS Sydney was despatched from convoy and proceeded to Cocos Islands barely 50 miles away. Unknown Warship turned out to be the SMS Emden

13th November 1917 as HMNZT 94, departed New Zealand with (part) 30th Reinforcements NZ Expeditionary Force (in conjunction with Corinthic HMNZT 93) those aboard Arawa under command of Captain Meikles

8th December 1917 arrived at Liverpool England

Post Hostilities

1928 sold to A Bernstein renamed Konigstein

1940 sold to Van Heyghen Bros renamed Gandia

22 January 1942 torpedoed by submarine at 42.45N/53.00W

[Angrybudgie]

Thank you very much LF & Michael I think we've found it. I had found both of the ships, but discounted the older one because she was sunk in 1915. The second one I could find no details of any trips she made during the war so had put that on hold.

My next questions then are:

1. if she was travelling as an offical troop transport for the New Zealand government, would she have carried civilian passengers.?
   
2. is there any place we can get details of the relevant voyage?
   
3. could she have been damaged by a torpedo, not runaground, but berthed somewhere temporarily for quick repairs?
   

Thanks again, I was going around and around in circles and nowhere did I find anything about the 2nd trip to europe as a troopship.

Elizabeth

[Michael Lowrey]

Elizabeth,

The problem at this point is that there is zero evidence that Arawa was actually torpedoed. I say this as she isn’t listed in the official list of merchant ships sunk, damaged, or “molested” during the war (British Vessels Sunk at Sea 1914-1918) or in Lloyd's War Losses: The First World War.

Also, you're misreading the grounding aspect: After being torpedoed or hitting a mine, ships would at times beach themselves to keep from sinking. This would allow the ship to be patched up, refloated, and brought to a port for repairs.

One possibility to consider: Perhaps the person you're researching wasn't on the ship that was torpedoed. Instead she may have been on another ship (the Arawa?) in a convoy in which a ship was torpedoed and later beached.

Best wishes,

Michael

[Angrybudgie]

Michael,

That was why I was having trouble connecting the arawa to my subject, there was nothing about her being torpedoed until 1942. I do understand the beaching after being torpedoed, but was trying to think of other possibilities, thinking the family may have misunderstood and thought it was beached when it had just been docked somewhere unusual. As for your last possibility, I think that one has merit, and over the last 90 years the story has morphed (as family stories do) into her ship being torpedoed and not another ship in the convoy. And it was HER ship that took off the 5 women passengers on the stricken vessel & not that she was one of the 5 taken off.

To go back to my 2nd question, is there somewhere that their might be details of that particular voyage? Diary, logbook - something that might give more information. Just thought of something else, did troop transports also carry cargo? I would have thought that they would have been fully loaded with military cargo & only carried food supplies for the voyage.

Thanks for the help Michael, although I wish there was an easier way than this back & forth, it is always helpful to 'talk' to someone else. I think I am really starting to sort out Margaret Corney's story. This was her second trip to the UK. The first trip in 1916 was on the SS Arabia and I know that one did sink. Think she must have been a very tough lady.

Elizabeth

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Elizabeth,

Here are details on Margaret Corney's first ship, S.S. Arabia, which was sunk by a German U-Boat, U43.

Name - S.S. Arabia

Type - Passenger steamer

GRT - 7,903 tons

Country - British

Built - 1898

Builder - Caird & Co., Ltd., Greenock

Operator - Peninsular & Oriental Steam Nav. Co., Greenock

Date attacked and sunk - 6 Nov 1916

German U-boat - UB43

Commanded by - Hans von Mellenthin

Position - Sunk 112 miles WxS of Cape Matapan

Location - 36N, 21E

Route - Sydney to London

Cargo - Passengers & general cargo

Casualties - 2

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Kapitanleutnant Hans von Mellenthin - Commander UB 43.

Born - 26 March 1887

Died - 12 June 1971

" Hans von Mellenthin joined the Kaiserliche Marine in 1906 as Seekadett. Was in 1914 CO of the Turkish torpedocruiser Berk. In 1915 he was CO of a torpedoboat and active in the battle for the Dardanelles. In 1916 he was promoted Kapitänleutnant and was CO of UB11, UB43 (from the 29th August) and in 1917 of UB49 (starting from the 28th June).

On 9th September UB49 was suffering damage and entered the Spanish harbor of Cadiz. The Spanish authorities wanted to intern the boat and crew, but von Mellenthin managed escape from Cadiz with his UB49 on 6 October.

In 1918 he received the Pour le Mérite and became CO of U120, probably in June. In 1919-1920 he served in the Marine Brigade von Löwenfeldt. Between 1920 and 1937 he was active in business in South-America."