''Messina'' was a

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

steamship that

Neptun Werft Neptun Werft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Rostock. Since 1997 it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Meyer Werft in Papenburg. History The company was founded as the "Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik von ...

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

, Germany built in 1937 for Robert M. Sloman Jr,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. In 1940 the Kriegsmarine requisitioned her. In 1945 the UK seized her as a

war prize A prize of war is a piece of enemy property or land seized by a belligerent party during or after a war or battle, typically at sea. This term was used nearly exclusively in terms of captured ships during the 18th and 19th centuries. Basis in inte ...

, passed to 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) who renamed her ''Empire Cherwell''. In 1947 she was transferred to the USSR and renamed ''Polus'' (''Полюс''). She may have survived until the early 1960s. Her name was removed from shipping registers in 1961 and her ultimate fate is unknown.

Sister ships

''Messina'' was the last to be built in a series of sister ships for Robert M. Sloman Jr. In 1934

Deutsche Werft Deutsche Werft (English: German Shipyard) was a shipbuilding company in Finkenwerder Rüschpark, Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH), ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) and ' ...

of Hamburg built ''Alicante'' and H. C. Stülcken Sohn, also of Hamburg, built ''Savona''. In 1935 Deutsche Werft built ''Castellon'', and Neptun Werft built ''Catania'' and ''Malaga''. In 1937 Neptun Werft built ''Messina''.

Description

Neptun Werft launched and completed ''Messina'' in 1937.Mitchell & Sawyer, p. 444 Her registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . Her

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 r ...

s were and . Like most of her sisters, ''Messina'' was propelled by a four-cylinder

compound 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 ...

plus a Bauer-Wach exhaust steam turbine. The reciprocating engine had a stroke of . Its two high-pressure cylinders had a bore of and two its two low-pressure cylinders had a bore of . Christiansen & Meyer of Harburg built the engines. Her combined reciprocating and turbine machinery was rated at 312

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 ...

History

Robert M. Sloman Jr registered ''Messina'' in Hamburg. 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 assign ...

was DJUT. In 1940 the Kriegsmarine requisitioned her. In May 1945 the Allies seized her as a war prize at

Travemünde Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the Danes ...

. She was passed to the MoWT and renamed ''Empire Cherwell''. She was given the UK official number was 180718, her call sign was changed to GPSZ, and her port of registry was changed to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. ''Empire Cherwell'' operated under the management of F. Carrick & Co Ltd. In 1946 ''Empire Cherwell'' was transferred to the USSR. She was renamed ''Полюс'', and her port of registry was changed to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Her name was transliterated as "Polus" in

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

, although a more correct pronunciation would be "Polyus". Lloyd's Register still recorded ''Polus'' in 1960. Her name was removed from the register in 1961.Mitchell & Sawyer, p. 445

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Messina 1937 ships Ships built in Rostock Steamships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Merchant ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the Soviet Union Merchant ships of the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United Kingdom military relations Germany–Soviet Union military relations