''Bristol City'' was the third of three British cargo steamers of that name built for the

Bristol City Line Bristol City Line was a British shipping line based in Bristol, England that traded from 1704 until 1974. From 1760 Bristol City Line also built ships. The company's fleet was distinguished with the name of each ship ending in "City", and named ...

and sailed between

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and North America between 1920 and 1943.

Construction

''Bristol City'' was built by

Charles Hill & Sons Charles Hill & Sons was a major shipbuilder based in Bristol, England, during the 19th and 20th centuries. Background Established in 1845 from the company Hilhouse, they specialised mainly in merchant and commercial ships, but also undertook the ...

in 1920. The ship was of , made of steel, and had one 3-cylinder triple expansion engine with a single shaft and one screw. She made 10 knots.

Career

The ship would have plied the service between Bristol and North America which the Bristol City Line started in 1879 and continued until the 1970s. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she was damaged by a bomb in December 1940 while in the Albion Dockyard. After repairs, the ship was part of convoys of merchant ships across the Atlantic.

Sinking

In April 1943, ''Bristol City'' joined

Convoy ONS 5 ONS 5 was the 5th of the numbered ONS series of Slow trade convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The North Atlantic battle surrounding it in May 1943 is regarded as the turning point of the Battle of the Atlantic in World ...

(outward, northbound, slow) from Britain to North America. The convoy was made up of 42 ships, of which 12 or 13 were sunk after the convoy came under sustained attack from German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s hunting in packs. On 5 May at 02:25, ''Bristol City'' was south of Greenland and east of Newfoundland when she was sunk by a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

fired by , under the command of Rolf Manke. Fifteen of the 44 people on board died. Manke fatally damaged ''

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

'' not long after. picked up the survivors from both ships who were landed at St Johns in Newfoundland.

References

External links

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/glosters/3667976760 {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Bristol City'' (1919) 1919 ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Bristol City Line Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in May 1943