''Prins Harald'' was a cargo ship that was built as ''Empire Field'' in 1941 by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland for 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). She was transferred to the Norwegian Government in October 1942 and renamed ''Prins Harald''. She was torpedoed and sunk on 20 November 1942 by with the loss of three of her crew.

Description

The ship was a cargo ship built in 1941 by William Doxford & Sons Ltd Sunderland, County Durham, United Kingdom. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at , 5., The ship was propelled by a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

Single Cycle, Single Action

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

, which had three cylinders of 23 inches (60 cm) diameter by 91 inches (232 cm) stroke driving a screw propeller. The engine was built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd. It was rated at 516

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

The ship was built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd Sunderland, County Durham United Kingdom. She was launched on 23 September 1941 and completed in January 1942. Built for the MoWT, she was placed under the management of Haldin & Phillips Ltd. The United Kingdom Official Number 169008 and Code Letters BCVL were allocated. Her port of registry was Sunderland. ''Empire Field'' departed from Sunderland on 28 January 1942, arriving at the Tyne later that day. She departed on 31 January to join Convoy FN 618, which had departed from

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

the previous day and arrived at Methil, Fife on 1 February. In ballast, she then joined Convoy EN 41, which departed from Methil on 3 February and arrived at Oban, Argyllshire two days later. She left the convoy at

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

. She then joined Convoy ON 65, which departed from

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 populat ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

on 8 February. Her destination was New York, United States, where she arrived on 25 February. ''Empire Field'' departed from New York on 12 March for

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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, arriving on 10 April. She departed two days later for

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, arriving on 2 May. ''Empire Field'' departed from Karachi on 6 June for

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Ceylon, arriving on 12 June. She sailed on 24 July for Cape Town, where she arrived on 15 August, departing the same day for

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 po ...

, Sierra Leone. She arrived on 31 August. Carrying tea and general cargo, and 47 bags of mails, ''Empire Field'' departed from Freetown on 3 September with Convoy SL 121, which arrived at

on 21 September. She left the convoy at the

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to ...

and sailed to Holyhead,

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. She then joined Convoy HM 25, which sailed on 22 September and arrived at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire the next day. ''Empire Field'' then joined Convoy WP 223, which sailed from Milford Haven on 24 September and arrived at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

on 26 September. She then sailed to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, Hampshire, arriving the next day. She was a member of Convoy PW 230, which departed from Portsmouth on 9 October and arrived at Milford Haven on 12 October. She left the convoy at Portland, Dorset on 9 October, sailing two days later to join Convoy PW 231, which had departed from Portsmouth on 11 October and arrived at Milford Haven on 14 October. She arrived at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Glamorgan that day. Crown Prince Harald of Norway

On 15 October, ''Empire Field'' was transferred to the Norwegian Government and renamed ''Prins Harald'', after Prince Harald of Norway. Her port of registry was

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

and the Code Letters LLPC were allocated. She was operated under the management of

Nortraship The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship) was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping company ...

. She departed from Cardiff on 17 October for Swansea, Glamorgan, arriving later that day. Carrying war materials for use in Operation Torch, she departed on 3 November for the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, arriving on 5 November. ''Prins Harald'' was a member of Convoy KMS 3G, which departed from the Clyde on 8 November and arrived at

Bône Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

on 25 November. On 20 November, she was torpedoed and in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

west of

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 ...

() by . The ship exploded and sank about half an hour later with the loss of two of her 38 crew and one of her ten DEMS gunners. There were 55 survivors; the ship's dog also survived. Those who died are commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, United Kingdom and the

Minnehallen Minnehallen or Hall of Remembrance is a national memorial located outside Stavern in Larvik, Vestfold, Norway. The memorial was commissioned by the Norwegian Parliament after World War I to commemorate the fallen Norwegian sailors of the war. I ...

, Stavern, Norway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prins Harald 1941 ships Ships built on the River Wear Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships of Nortraship Steamships of Norway Maritime incidents in November 1942 World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II