SS ''Uhenfels'' was a German-built
heavy-lift ship
A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types:
*''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to be floated o ...
that was launched in 1931 for
DDG Hansa
DDG Hansa, short for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa (German Steamship Company Hansa; in modern orthography, Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa) was a major German shipping company specialising in heavy freight and schedul ...
. She was captured by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
in 1939, two months after the start of the Second World War. The UK
Ministry of Shipping renamed her ''Empire Ability'' and contracted
Elder Dempster Lines
Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century.
Founders
Alexander Elder
Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many ye ...
to operate her. In 1941 a 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 ...
sank her by torpedo.
Building
Deschimag
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen.
History
The Deschimag was founded in 19 ...
built ''Lichtenfels'' at its "Weser" yard in Bremen.
She was launched in January 1931 and completed in March.
She was the last of four heavy-lift
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 that Deschimag built for DDG Hansa. The others were and ''Freienfels'' launched in 1929 and ''Geierfels'' launched in 1930. She carried heavy cargo such as railway
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s.
''Uhenfels'' was built with a Maierform bow with a convex profile, which was meant to improve both her speed and her handling. She had a three-cylinder
triple-expansion 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 h ...
plus a Bauer-Wach low-pressure 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 ...
. Exhaust steam from the low-pressure cylinder of the triple-expansion engine powered the turbine. The turbine drove the same shaft as the piston engine by
double-reduction gearing and a Föttinger
fluid coupling
A fluid coupling or hydraulic coupling is a hydrodynamic or 'hydrokinetic' device used to transmit rotating mechanical power. . The combined power of her piston engine and turbine was 672
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 ...
.
[
]
Capture
When the Second World War began in September 1939 ''Uhenfels'' was in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. She made a number of attempts to return home. On her third attempt she left Lourenço Marques
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088 ...
in Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...
disguised as the Dutch merchant ''Aagtekerk''.[ Her cargo included ]opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
worth £250,000, plus cotton and hides.
Three of her crew deserted before she left Lourenço Marques. They made their way to Zululand, where police arrested them and took them to Maritzburg. After being fined, they were interned in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
for the duration of the war.
''Uhenfels'' reached the Atlantic, but there she ran into the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
's Force K
Force K was the name given to three British Royal Navy groups of ships during the Second World War. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939, to intercept commerce raiders. The second Force K was formed in October 1941 at Malta, to op ...
, which had been deployed in search of the . The force included the aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
, whose aircraft had spotted another German merchant the previous month, the . But ''Altmark'' had been disguised as the US tanker ''Delmar'', and so had escaped unmolested.[
]
On 5 November two aircraft reported ''Uhenfels'', and the destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
was sent to intercept her.[ ''Uhenfels'' crew tried to scuttle her but a boarding party from ''Hereward'' prevented them.][ The Royal Navy brought her to ]Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
the next day.[ The 61 crew were marched to an internment camp ashore, defiantly singing ]Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
songs.
By the time she had been captured the ''Uhenfels'' was running short of food.[ ''Uhenfels'' was then taken to ]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 ...
for dry dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
ing and inspection, arriving on 18 March. She reached 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 ...
on 5 April 1940, the first captured German vessel to arrive in port in the Second World War. Her cargo comprised maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
, palm kernel
The palm kernel is the edible seed of the oil palm fruit. The fruit yields two distinct oils: palm oil derived from the outer parts of the fruit, and palm kernel oil derived from the kernel.
The pulp left after oil is rendered from the kernel is ...
s and other food from the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. She was also carrying 122 tanned sheepskin
Sheepskin is the Hide (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictiona ...
s, which were offered for sale by public tender " in prize".
''Empire Ability''
In April 1940 the UK Ministry of Shipping renamed the ship as ''Empire Ability''[ and contracted ]Elder Dempster Lines
Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century.
Founders
Alexander Elder
Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many ye ...
to operate her.
On 23 October 1940 she was among ships bombed and damaged by German aircraft while waiting in Gare Loch
The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( gd, An Gearr Loch) is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands.
The loch is well used for sailing, recreational boating, list of w ...
for a convoy to assemble.[ In December 1940 ''Empire Ability'' left the ]Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
for Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
via Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
and Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, reaching Suez in February 1941.
On 27 February 1941 the attacked Convoy OB 290 in the North Atlantic and claimed to have scored a probable hit on the ''Empire Ability''. In fact she was not there,[ and was in the ]Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
at the time.[
''Empire ability'' returned via ]Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...
, Durban, Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and Freetown, where she waited for a fortnight for a convoy to 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 ...
. She was carrying a cargo of 7,725 tons of sugar, 238 tons of rum, 400 tons of palm kernels and 35 tons of fibre, and her Master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
was Herbert Flowerdew.
On 18 June 1941 ''Empire Ability'' left Freetown with Convoy SL 78.[ On 27 June the attacked the convoy][ 200 miles southeast of the ]Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
. ''U-69''s commander, Jost Metzler
Jost Metzler (26 February 1909 – 29 September 1975) was a German submarine commander during World War II. He commanded the U-boats and , and was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Career
Metzler joined the ''Kri ...
, made several attacks, sinking at 0149 hours and hitting ''Empire Ability'' at 0237 hours with a single 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 ...
.[ ''Empire Ability'' caught fire and was abandoned, sinking at 21 minutes after having been hit.][
Two people were killed. A total of 107 crew, DEMS gunners, military personnel and passengers successfully abandoned ship.][ The steamship ''Amerika'' rescued survivors and transferred them to the ]corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
. They were later landed at Milford Haven
Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
.[ Those lost on ''Empire Ability'' are commemorated at the ]Tower Hill Memorial
The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seaf ...
, London.
Identification
''Uhenfels'' code letters
Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...
were QMLD until 1933.[ In 1934 they were superseded by the ]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 ...
DOKS.
When the UK Ministry of shipping renamed the ship ''Empire Ability'', she was given 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 ...
167423 and her call sign was changed to GQJY.
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uhenfels
1931 ships
Captured ships
Empire ships
Heavy lift ships
Maritime incidents in June 1941
Ministry of War Transport ships
Ships built in Bremen (state)
Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II
Steamships of Germany
Steamships of the United Kingdom
World War II merchant ships of Germany
World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom
World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean