''Empire Candida'' was a cargo ship which was built in 1942 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 sold in 1947 and renamed ''Burdale'' and resold in 1948 and renamed ''Peldale''. In 1954, she was sold to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and renamed ''Statius Jansen''. A further sale to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

in 1959 saw her renamed ''Sunny''. In 1961, she was sold to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, serving until she was scrapped in 1969.

Description

The ship was built by William Gray & Co. Ltd.,

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

. She was launched on 8 December 1942 and completed in February 1943. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . Her GRT was 2,908 and she had a NRT of 1,645. She was propelled by a

triple expansion 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 ...

which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Central Marine Engine Works Ltd, West Hartlepool.

History

''Empire Candida'' was built for the MoWT. She was placed under the management of Frederick Jones & Co Ltd. Her port of registry was West Hartlepool. The Code Letters BFFW were allocated. Her Official Number was 168951. ''Empire Candida'' was a member of a number of convoys during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. ;KMS 22 Convoy KMS 22 departed

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 ...

on 28 July 1943 and arrived at

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 ...

on 9 August. It departed the same day and arrived at Port Said,

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 Medit ...

on 20 August. ''Empire Candida'' joined the convoy 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 ...

and left it at

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The voyage immediately preceding this was from

Bizerta Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

, Tunisia to Bône. Part of her cargo was Tiger Tank No. 131, which had been captured by the Allies. The tank is now preserved at the

Bovington Tank Museum The Tank Museum (previously The Bovington Tank Museum) is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. It is about north of the village of Wool and west of the major port of Poole. The collecti ...

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 ...

. ;MKS 37 Convoy MKS 37 departed Port Said on 10 January 1944 and arrived at Gibraltar on 22 January 1944. It departed the same day and arrived at 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 ...

on 3 February. ''Empire Candida'' joined the convoy at

, Tunisia and left it at Bône. ;KMS 45 Convoy KMS 45 departed from the United Kingdom and arrived at Algiers, Algeria on 29 March 1944. ''Empire Candida'' joined the convoy at Oran, Algeria bound for Algiers. ;KMS 46 Convoy KMS 46 departed from the United Kingdom and arrived at Bône on 9 April 1944. ''Empire Candida'' joined the convoy at Algiers and left it at Augusta,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. ;KMS 50 Convoy KMS 50 departed from the United Kingdom and arrived at Oran on 16 May 1944. ''Empire Candida'' joined the convoy at Algiers and left it at Augusta. ;ON 171 Convoy ON 171 departed from Liverpool on 4 March 1943 and

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

on 7 March. It arrived at Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

on 23 March. ''Empire Candida'' was a member of this convoy. In 1947, ''Empire Candida'' was sold to Zinal Shipping Co Ltd,

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 ...

and renamed ''Burdale''. She was operated under the management of Burness Shipping Co Ltd. The following year, she was sold to Z Shipping Co Ltd,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and renamed ''Peldale'', remaining under Burness's management. In 1954, ''Peldale'' was sold to Jansens Rederei A/Z,

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

and renamed ''Statius Jansen''. In 1959, she was sold to the New China Steamship Co Ltd,

and renamed ''Sunny''. She was placed under the management of Wallem & Co Ltd, Hong Kong. In 1961, ''Sunny'' was sold to P T Maskapai Pelayaran,

Sumatera Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent ...

. In 1969, she was sold for scrapping. On the voyage to the breakers she developed a leak on 5 April 1969 at . She was escorted into Kaohsiung,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, arriving on 8 April.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Candida 1942 ships Ships built on the River Wear Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Norway Steamships of Hong Kong Merchant ships of Hong Kong Steamships of Indonesia Merchant ships of Indonesia Steamships of Norway