Part of the
Acorn Archive
Hearts of Oak
GRAF SPEE and
ALTMARK in the South Atlantic 1939
Merchant Ships
Sunk
1st
September 1939 - German ship ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE refuels from the tanker ALTMARK
SW of the Canary Islands. ALTMARK
obtained the fuel oil in Port Arthur, Texas, USA in August. Outbreak of War 3rd
September 1939.
11th
September 1939 - ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE gains provisions from tanker ALTMARK.
26th
September Langsdorff received orders to commence raiding operations and the
Admiral Graf Spee moved off towards the Brazilian coast.
SS
CLEMENT
Booth
S.S. Co.
Built
1934 Cammell Laird & Co.
5,051
tons
412ft
2ins x 55ft 7ins x 26ft
652
nhp; 13 knots; triple-expansion engines & L.P. turbine.
Capt.
F. C. P. Harris, O.B.E.
30th
September 1939 She was intercepted by
GRAF SPEE 50 miles SE of Pernambuco. GRAF SPEE gave orders not to operate the
radio, but the wireless operator sent the distress signal and ship’s position.
Passengers
and crew were taken off as prisoners, CLEMENT was sunk by gunfire.
The
crew were sent to the the boats and were left to make their way to land, having
been given the correct course back to the South American port of Maceio. They
all reached Maceio safely on the 1st October.
The
master and the chief engineer were taken prisoner. There was also a deck hand
that had received injuries whilst abandoning ship. The man received treatment for his wounds. Captain Harris was
questioned.
The
Greek steamer SS PAPALEMOS
was stopped. Her captain promised not to send a signal until reaching the Cape
Verde Islands, so Captain Harris, the chief engineer and the deck hand were
transferred to the SS PAPALEMOS and GRAF SPEE continued her raiding
operation.
SS Clement
Photograph
Courtesy of Joe McMillan
SS NEWTON BEECH
Tyneside Line : John Ridley, Son & Tully, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Built 1925 W. Pickersgill & Sons, Sunderland
4,651 tons
372ft 8ins x 54ft 6ins x 26ft 8ins
346 nhp; triple-expansion engines.
5th October 1939 : On voyage
from Table Bay to London with 7,080 tons of maize.
She was
stopped by GRAF SPEE, 480 miles
east-south-east of Ascension Island. The
wireless operator managed to get an SOS distress signal off, instead of the
raider RRRR report; the message was received by the MARTAND.
7th
October, SS ASHLEA was captured and the crew placed on the NEWTON BEECH. After
the combined crews were again transferred, this time to the GRAF SPEE, NEWTON
BEECH was sunk by GRAF SPEE on October 8th 1939,
in position 09.35S : 06.30W, off the coast of
Angola.
ASHLEA
Cliff side Shipping Co.
Built 1929 Sir J. Priestman & Co.
4,222 tons;
367ft 4ins x 51ft 5ins x 25ft 1ins
375 nhp; triple-expansion engines.
October 7th 1939 Captured by GRAF SPEE, between Cape Town
and
Freetown. The
crew of the ASHLEA was transferred to the NEWTON BEECH. After a small part of ASHLEA’s
cargo of sugar had been removed, the ASHLEA was sunk; Position 09.52S : 03.28W.
8th
October, all prisoners were taken on board GRAF SPEE and NEWTON BEECH was sunk.
SS
HUNTSMAN
Charente
SS Co Ltd. ( T&J Harrison )
Liverpool
Built 1921
Charles Connell & Company, Scotstown
Yard
Nr 385
3
DR geared Steam turbines; 13 knots
8,196
tons
482ft
x 58ft x 35ft
10th
October 1939 On route for Liverpool
with a general cargo from India and East Africa; Captured by GRAF SPEE. A Prize
crew was placed on board. GRAF SPEE headed SW and joined the Altmark, from
which she refuelled on 14 October. Used as a supply ship by GRAF SPEE and later
sunk 5th December 1939,
Indian Ocean; Position 08.30S : 05.15W,
about 650 miles SW of St. Helena.
18th
October 1939 All captured British seamen were sent on board the ALTMARK, which
then parted company again for ten days.
Neither
ASHLEA or HUNTSMAN could send distress messages. Suspicion was not aroused
until they became overdue at Freetown.
SS Huntsman
Photograph
Courtesy Joe McMillan
MV
TREVANION
In
the afternoon of 22nd October 1939, about midway between St. Helena
and the west coast of Africa, ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE captured and sank TREVANION,
homeward-bound from Port Pirie, South Australia, with a cargo of zinc
concentrates. Position 19.40S :
04.02E. Details
of the MV TREVANION.
During
the next six days GRAF SPEE steered to the south-west away from the trade
routes and on 28th October met the ALTMARK near Tristan da Cunha,
roughly midway between the Cape of Good Hope and the east coast of South
America. After fuelling from ALTMARK, the crew of the TREVANION were
transferred to ALTMARK, and GRAF SPEE set course to the Indian Ocean.
22nd
October Union-Castle liner LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE reported that she had intercepted
a signal from an unidentified steamer stating that she was being shelled in a
position ‘16 deg. South, 4 deg. 3 min. East at 1400 G.M.T.’
This
was the message from TREVANION.
Late
on the 14th November the small Dutch steamer HOLLAND, 893 tons, was
spotted by GRAF SPEE; boarding was impossible in the high seas she was not
warned or stopped.
AFRICA
SHELL
Shell
Co. of East Africa
Built
1939 G. Brown & Co.
706
tons
184ft
8ins x 29ft 6ins x 11ft 5ins
162nhp;
oil engines.
15th
November 1939 Africa Shell was sighted
by GRAF SPEE, on the northern approach to Delagoa Bay, 6 miles off Zabora
Point. AFRICA SHELL was on passage from Quelimane to Lourenço Marques.
The
crew were allowed off to get away on boats, the master was taken prisoner, and
AFRICA SHELL was sunk, 160 miles NE of Lourenco Marques.
Position
24.41S : 35E
16th
November 1939 about 350 miles SW of
Madagascar, the GRAF SPEE stopped the Dutch motorship MAPIA, but released her.
DORIC
STAR
ON
146193
Blue
Star Line
Built
1921 Lithgows ( as DORICSTAR )
10,086
tons
529ft
8ins x 64ft x 37ft
1,398
nhp; 13 knots; turbine engines.
Capt.
W. Stubbs
December
2nd, 1939 Doric Star was on route for
home from New Zealand, via Sydney and Capetown, with a cargo of frozen meat,
dairy produce, and wool.
She
was was intercepted by GRAF SPEE about 500 miles W of Damara Land, SW
Africa. Passengers and crew were taken
off, as well as some provisions, and the DORIC STAR was sunk by bombs and a
torpedo, in position 19.15S : 05.05E.
Despite
warnings, the wireless operator had managed to get off an RRRR ( raider
distress ) call, with her position.
Pictures and Story
on
http://www.bluestarline.org/doric.html
http://www.bluestarline.org/doric/doric_star.pdf
TAIROA
Norfolk
& North American S.S. Co.
Built
1920 Armstrong, Whitworth & Co.
7,983
tons
478ft
x 63ft 2ins x 31ft 2ins
1,011
nhp; quadruple-expansion engines.
Shaw
Savill and Albion Company
December
3rd 1939 Early in the
morning, TAIROA, on voyage from Brisbane to London ( with a cargo of frozen
meat, wool and lead ) was intercepted by GRAF SPEE. Captain Langsdorff hoped to
capture her as a tender, but GRAF SPEE’s gunfire had damaged her rudder, and so
TAIROA was sunk with a torpedo, after taking off all her crew.
TAIROA
sank off the coast of SW Africa, position
21.38S : 08.13E.
SS Tairoa
Photograph
from the Stuttgart Collection
STREONSHALH
[ Streonshalh was the old name for Whitby
]
Rowland
& Marwood's S.S. Co.
Built
1928 W. Pickersgill & Sons
3,895
tons
349ft
4ins x 50ft 1ins x 23ft 8ins
315
nhp; triple-expansion engines.
6th
December 1939 ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE met
ALTMARK for the last time, most of the prisoners being transferred to the
ALTMARK, and fuel was taken on by GRAF SPEE.
December
7th 1939, some 1,000 miles E of Sao Francisco, Brazil, STREONSHALH (
on a voyage from Rosario/Montevideo to London with wheat grain ) was stopped by
GRAF SPEE. The crew was taken off and STREONSHALH was sunk Position 25S :
27.50W.
Having
read certain papers on the STREONSHALH, Captain Langsdorff felt his best course
was for Montevideo and the River Plate.
The Battle of
the River Plate ended with
the GRAF SPEE
being scuttled 17th Dec 1939.
THERE ARE MANY
OTHER WEB SITES DEALING WITH THIS BATTLE.
Raymond Forward