SS Iron Knight (1937)
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SS ''Iron Knight'' 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 1943, killing 36 of her crew. A wreck that was identified as that of ''Iron Knight'' 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 ...
in
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. ''Iron Knight'' and were launched in 1937. ''Iron Knight'' was launched in 27 August and completed in October. 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 Knight''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 Knight''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 Knight'' 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 159568 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 VLJZ.


Second World War

''Iron Knight'' carried iron ore in Australian coastal waters. After Japan entered the Second World War in December 1941, ''Iron Knight'' sailed in CO and OC series coastal convoys for protection. Typically she took iron ore from
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 ...
, NSW to ports in
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
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 ...
. 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. When ''Iron Chieftain'' was sunk on 3 June 1942, 37 of her 49 crew survived, 12 of them thanks to a life-raft.


Loss

Early in February 1943 ''Iron Knight'' left
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. On 5 February she joined Convoy OC 68, which left Melbourne bound for Newcastle. Including ''Iron Knight'', OC 68 comprised ten merchant ships escorted by the
corvettes 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 sloop ...
and . On 8 February OC 68 was about off Montague Island, with ''Iron Knight'' at the head of the convoy. At 0230 hrs fired a torpedo at ''Townsville''. It passed under the corvette's bow and then hit ''Iron Knight''. She sank by her bow within two minutes, killing 36 members of her crew. Another 14 crew members survived by clinging to wreckage and boarding one of ''Iron Knight''s life-rafts. In accordance with naval practice at the time, OC 68 kept going and other ships the convoy did not stop to rescue survivors. Instead, 10 hours later the
Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
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 ...
arrived and rescued them. To give the survivors clean dry clothes to change into, the destroyer crew issued French naval uniforms to them all. In accordance with standard practice at the time, BHP stopped the survivors' pay from the moment ''Iron Knight'' was sunk. The company gave the survivors 30 days unpaid leave after the sinking, but deducted their time adrift in the raft from that 30 days.


Heritage

In 2006 a wreck believed to be ''Iron Knight'' was found off the coast of Bermagui, NSW, at a depth of . Federal Australian law protects the wreck. On 4 August 2006 the Australian
Department of the Environment and Heritage The Department of the Environment and Heritage was an Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. ...
declared it a protected wreck. A few years later, the identification of the wreck as ''Iron Knight'' was cast into doubt. However, whatever its identity, the wreck is now protected by the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018. 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 36 members of the crew who were killed.


References


Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Knight 1937 ships 1943 in Australia Maritime incidents in February 1943 Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of BHP Shipping Ships sunk by Japanese submarines Shipwrecks of the Far South Coast Region Steamships of Australia World War II merchant ships of Australia World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean