''HMS Empire Spearhead'' was a Type C1-S-AY-1 Infantry Landing Ship (LSI) chartered by the British

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) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was built by

Consolidated Steel Corporation Consolidated Steel Corporation (formed 18 December 1928) was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas. It was created in 1929 by the mer ...

Wilmington, California Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high percentage of La ...

. She was launched as ''Cape Girardeau'' and completed as ''Empire Spearhead''. In 1945, she was transferred to 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 ...

and was later renamed HMS ''Ormonde''. Later that year she was transferred back to the MoWT and renamed ''Empire Spearhead''. In 1947, she was transferred to the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

and renamed ''Cape Girardeau''. The ship was laid up in 1950 and renamed ''Empire Spearhead''. She was scrapped in 1966.

Description

The ship was built in 1944 as yard number 354 by

. She was launched on 7 November 1944, and completed in January 1944. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of . The ship had a GRT of 7,177 and a NRT of 4,823. The ship was propelled by two

steam turbines 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 ...

, double reduction geared, driving a single screw propeller. The turbines were built by

Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includi ...

Essington, Pennsylvania Tinicum Township, more popularly known as "Tinicum Island" or "The Island", is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,091 at the 2010 census, down from 4,353 at the 2000 census. Included within the townships boundarie ...

History

''Cape Girardeau'' was launched in January 1944, and completed that month as ''Empire Spearhead''. She was built for the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

and chartered by the MoWT, who placed her under the management of Royal Mail Lines Ltd. The Code Letters MYMR and United Kingdom Official Number 169773 were allocated. She took part in Operation Overlord. A photographer from the '' Daily Sketch'' was on board to record the invasion flotilla. The ship also carried members of the 231st Infantry Brigade, 1st Battalion,

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1 ...

. The troops were landed on Gold Beach. At the end of June 1944, ''Empire Spearhead'' was transferred to the

as HMS ''Empire Spearhead''. Empire Spearhead 081459

Following Overlord, ''Empire Spearhead'' was part of

Force X The Force X was a squadron of the French Navy, assembled on 29 April 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, to deter Italy from striking in the Levantine Sea. It was constituted of the old battleship ''Lorraine'', of the three modern hea ...

. This was a convoy consisting seven ships, , , , , , HMS ''Empire Spearhead'', and . The convoy sailed from Greenock on 3 August as part of Convoy UC 31. Force X sailed via New York and the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, arriving at Suva, Fiji, where the convoy dispersed, in late September. In November 1944, ''Empire Spearhead'' took part in Exercise Octopus at Unity Beach,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. The exercise trained troops for amphibious landings. In March 1945, ''Empire Spearhead'' took part in

Operation Iceberg Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. She departed

Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

on 19 March and arrived at

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on 26 March. She was briefly renamed HMS ''Ormonde'' during her last months in the Royal Navy. In 1946, she was transferred back to the MoWT as ''Empire Spearhead''. She passed to the

in 1947 and was renamed ''Cape Girardeau'' A proposed sale in February 1948 to the China and renaming to ''Hai Wei'' was not proceeded with as the ship was not paid for by China. In 1950, she was laid up on the James River and renamed ''Empire Spearhead''. She was sold for scrap on 17 March 1965 to The Boston Metals Co. ''Empire Spearhead'' was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet on 3 May. She arrived on 4 May at

Baltimore, Ohio Baltimore is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Fairfield County, Ohio, Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,966 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Baltimore was originally called New Market, and ...

for scrapping. ''Empire Spearhead'' was scrapped in 1966.

References

External links

Drawing of a Type C1-S-AY-1 ship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Spearhead 1943 ships Ships built in Los Angeles Type C1-S ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Steamships of the United States Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Troop ships of the Royal Navy Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United States