SS ''Iron Chieftain'' was a

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, econom ...

that was built in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1937 for the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n Broken Hill Pty, Ltd (BHP) to carry

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

. A Japanese submarine sank her by torpedo off the coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1942, killing 12 of her crew. Her wreck is protected by the Australian federal

Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 The ''Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018'' is an Australian Act of Parliament designed "to protect shipwrecks, sunken aircraft and their associated artefacts, that occurred 75 or more years ago, regardless of whether their location is known ...

Building

In 1936 and 1937

Lithgows Lithgows Limited is a family-owned Scottish company that had a long involvement in shipbuilding, based in Kingston, Port Glasgow, on the River Clyde in Scotland. It has a continued involvement in marine resources. History Founding The Company w ...

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 ...

built four

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s for BHP. ''Iron Baron'' and ''Iron King'' were launched in 1936. and ''Iron Chieftain'' were launched in 1937. ''Iron Chieftain'' was launched in 22 October and completed in December. The four ships shared a similar layout, with a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and main superstructure amidships and

engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into vari ...

and

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

aft. All four ships had the same

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and depth of . ''Iron Knight'' and ''Iron Chieftain'' had a registered length of , which was longer than ''Iron Baron'' and ''Iron King''. ''Iron Chieftain''s

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ref ...

s were and . A Lithgows' subsidiary, David Rowan and Co of

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 ...

, built the engines for all four sisters. Each ship had a single

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...

, driven by a

quadruple-expansion steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

, supplemented by an exhaust

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

driving a steam compressor. The exhaust turbine drove the same shaft as the piston engine. Between them, ''Iron Chieftain''s piston engine and exhaust turbine were rated at 553

NHP Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

and gave her a speed of . BHP registered ''Iron Chieftain'' in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Her 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 ...

was 159570 and her

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

was VLJY.

Second World War

''Iron Chieftain'' carried iron ore in Australian coastal waters. Japanese submarines attacked shipping in Australian waters, and particularly off the coast of New South Wales. Ore carriers acquired a reputation as "death ships" because the density of their cargo caused them to sink too quickly for their crew to launch lifeboats. Life-rafts were fitted on sloping skids to be launched quickly. At 1100 hrs on 3 June 1942 ''Iron Chieftain'' left

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, laden with coke and materials for shipbuilding for shipyards at

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. That evening a heavy swell forced her to limit her speed to about . At 2240 hrs that night she was about east of Manly, NSW when a torpedo fired by hit her port side amidships. She sank quickly, and 12 of her crew were killed. ''Iron Chieftain''s crew launched her starboard lifeboat, with her Second Officer, Philip Brady, in command and carrying 24 other survivors. Another 12 crew survived on one of her life-rafts. On 4 June was sent from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to search for survivors and found the 12 survivors on the life-raft. At 1800 hrs on 4 June the lifeboat reached land at

The Entrance, New South Wales The Entrance is a coastal town and suburb in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Central Coast Council local government area. At the , The Entrance had a population of 3,873 people. The town occupies a p ...

. After the loss of ''Iron Chieftain'' on 3 June and another BHP ship, , on 4 June, convoys were introduced along the coast between New South Wales,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

. On 8 June Convoy CO 1 left Newcastle for Whyalla, and on 10 June Convoy OC 1 left Melbourne for Newcastle.

Monument

The Newcastle Merchant Mariners Memorial, outside

Newcastle railway station Newcastle Central Station (also known simply as Newcastle and locally as Central Station) is a major railway station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, around north of . It is the primary national rail station ...

, includes the names of the 12 members of the crew who were killed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Chieftain 1937 ships 1942 in Australia Maritime incidents in June 1942 Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of BHP Shipping Ships sunk by Japanese submarines Shipwrecks of the Sydney Eastern Suburbs Region Steamships of Australia World War II merchant ships of Australia World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean