''Empire Beatrice'' was a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

which was built by Lithgows Ltd,

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

in 1942. She was owned by the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

(MoWT) and managed by David Alexander & Sons. Although badly damaged during the war, she was repaired and sold into merchant service after the war ended. She served with various shipping companies as ''Beatrice N'', ''Mary K'', ''Winchester Prowess'' and ''Grazia Bottigliere'', eventually being scrapped in 1966.

Description

''Empire Beatrice'' was built for the MoWT by Lithgows Ltd,

. She was yard number 978. The ship was launched on 23 February 1942 and completed in April that year. She had a GRT of 7,046, NRT of 4,286 and a DWT of 10,750. ''Empire Beatrice'' was propelled by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

which had cylinders of 24½ inches (62 cm), and diameter and stroke. It was built by J G Kincaird Ltd, Greenock and developed . The ship was capable of .

Wartime career

After completion, ''Empire Beatrice'' was placed under the management of David Alexander & Sons. Her port of registry was

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

. ''Empire Beatrice'' was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War ;KMS 14 Convoy KMS 14, sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 5 May 1943 and arrived at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

on 17 May. ''Empire Beatrice'' had commenced her voyage in the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

and was bound for

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, carrying a cargo which was to form part of a boom defence. ;MKS 20 Convoy MKS 20 sailed from Gibraltar on 31 July 1943 and arrived at Liverpool on 10 August. ''Empire Beatrice'' was carrying a cargo of

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

s and was bound for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. ;MKS 50 Convoy MKS 50 departed

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

on 20 May 1944 bound for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. ''Empire Beatrice'' joined the convoy at

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

. On 27 July 1944, ''Empire Beatrice'' was

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 ...

ed in the

Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...

() by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

E-boats E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...

. She was beached at

Dungeness Dungeness () is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet ...

where temporary repairs were made to make her fit enough for the forward section of the ship to be towed by the tugs '' Empire Betsy'' and '' Empire Humphrey'' to

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

, from where she was later towed to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

for permanent repairs including a new stern. On 23 April 1945, ''Empire Beatrice'' was being towed by tugs '' Empire Larch'' and ''Thames'' off

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

when she was attacked by ''U-2326''. HMT ''Macbeth'' sailed southwards from

to escort the towing ships. This was the voyage that returned ''Empire Beatrice'' to the Clyde for repairs. Following the provision of the new stern, the ship was fitted with a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 23½ inches (60 cm), 37½ inches (95 cm) and by stroke. It was built by John Brown & Co Ltd,

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

. Those lost whilst serving on ''Empire Beatrice'' during the war are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.

Postwar career

In 1946, ''Empire Beatrice'' was sold to Cheriton Shipping Co Ltd and renamed ''Beatrice N''. She was placed under the management of P B Pandelis Ltd, London. In 1952 she was sold to N G Kyrikades Shipping Ltd and renamed ''Mary K''. In 1964, she was sold to Winchester Shipping Co Ltd and renamed ''Winchester Princess'', operated under the management of G O Till, London. In 1966, she was sold to B Bottigliere di Giuseppe, Naples and renamed ''Grazia Bottigliere''. She was scrapped at

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, in March 1966. A section of the original stern can be found in of water off Dungeness.

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official numbers were a forerunner to

IMO Numbers IMO or Imo may refer to: Biology and medicine * Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland * Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies * Isomaltooligosa ...

. ''Empire Beatrice'' had the UK

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

168994 and used the Code Letters BFDN. Her wireless call sign was MAIS

References

External links

Photo of ''Mary K''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Beatrice 1942 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Italy Steamships of Italy Maritime incidents in July 1944