View source for SS Michael E

{{Short description|World War II British CAM ship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}} 
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country= [[United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|UK|civil}}
|Ship name= ''Michael E''
|Ship owner= Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd{{sfn|Slader|1988|p=143}}
|Ship operator= [[Counties Ship Management]] Co Ltd, [[London]]<ref name=LR>{{cite book |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/40/40a1093.pdf |year=1940 |title=Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships |location=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] |access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref>
<ref name=U964>{{cite web |url=http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/964.html |title=Michael E. |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |date=1995–2010 |work=uboat.net |publisher=Guðmundur Helgason |access-date=1 July 2010}}</ref>
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship builder= [[William Hamilton and Company|William Hamilton & Co]], [[Port Glasgow]]<ref name=U964/>
|Ship yard number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 
|Ship completed= May 1941<ref name=LR/><ref name=U964/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship in service=
|Ship registry={{flagicon|UK|civil}} London<ref name=LR/>
|Ship identification=*UK [[official number]] 168165<ref name=LR/>
*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]] BCKB<ref name=LR/>
*{{ICS|Bravo}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|Bravo}}
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=Torpedoed and sunk, 2 June 1941<ref name=U964/>
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type= [[Cargo ship]]
|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|7628}}<ref name=LR/>
*tonnage under deck 7,217<ref name=LR/>
*{{NRT|5,508}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length=*{{convert|421.1|ft|abbr=on}} [[Between perpendiculars|p/p]]
*{{convert|434.5|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]<ref name=LR/>
|Ship beam= {{convert|60.4|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship height=
|Ship depth= {{convert|35.8|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship draught= {{convert|23|ft|2+1/4|in|2|abbr=on}}<ref name=LR/>
|Ship power= 443 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]<ref name=LR/>
|Ship propulsion= [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engine]]; screw<ref name=LR/>
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew= 46 [[British Merchant Navy|Merchant Navy]] personnel, 12 [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] personnel, four [[Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships|DEMS]] gunners<ref name=U964/>
|Ship armament= 
|Ship aircraft= 1 [[Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes|Hawker Sea Hurricane]]
|Ship aircraft facilities= [[aircraft catapult]]
|Ship notes= [[sister ship]]s: {{SS|Kingston Hill||2}}, {{SS|Lulworth Hill||2}}, {{SS|Marietta E||2}}, {{SS|Primrose Hill||2}}
}}
|}

'''SS ''Michael E''''' was a {{GRT|7,628}} [[cargo ship]] that was built in 1941. She was the first British [[CAM ship|catapult aircraft merchant ship]] (CAM ship): a merchant ship fitted with a rocket catapult to launch a single [[Hawker Hurricane]] fighter aircraft to defend a [[convoy]] against long-range German [[bomber]]s. She was sunk on her maiden voyage by a German submarine.

==Description==
''Michael E'' was built by [[William Hamilton and Company|William Hamilton & Co Ltd]], [[Port Glasgow]]. [[Ceremonial ship launching|Launched]] in 1941, she was completed in May of that year. She was the United Kingdom's first [[CAM ship]], armed with an [[aircraft catapult]] on her [[bow (ship)|bow]] to launch a [[Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes|Hawker Sea Hurricane]].<ref name=U964/>

The ship was {{convert|421.1|ft}} long [[between perpendiculars]] ({{convert|434.5|ft}} [[Length overall|overall]]), with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|60.4|ft}}. She had a depth of {{convert|35.8|ft}} and a [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|23|ft|2+1/4|in|2}}. She was measured at {{GRT|7628|disp=long}} and {{NRT|5508|disp=long}}.<ref name=LR/>

She had six corrugated furnaces feeding two {{cvt|225|lb/in2}} single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of {{convert|5940|sqft|0}}.<ref name=LR/> The boilers fed a 443 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|nominal horsepower]] [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engine]] that had cylinders of {{convert|24|in|cm}}, {{convert|39|in|cm}} and {{convert|68|in|cm}} diameter by {{convert|48|in|cm}} stroke.<ref name=LR/> The engine was built by David Rowan & Co Ltd, Glasgow.<ref name=LR/>

==History==
''Michael E'' was owned by the Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd.<ref name=LR/> a company owned by the Nicholas Eustathiou shipping concerns. She was placed under the management of [[Counties Ship Management]] Ltd of [[London]], an offshoot of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis [[shipbroking]] company.<ref name=CSM1>{{cite web |url=http://www.lof-news.co.uk/CountiesHistory/Counties1.htm |title=Counties Ship Management 1934–2007 |last=Fenton |first=Roy |year=2006 |work=LOF-News |page=1 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref> She was named after Michael Eustathiou, a member of the [[Nicholas Eustathiou family]] that had a major shareholding in her.<ref name=CSM1/> Her [[Code Letters]] were BCKB, her UK [[Official Number]] was 163168 and she was registered in London.<ref name=LR/>

''Michael E'' was a [[sister ship]] of {{SS|Kingston Hill||2}}, {{SS|Lulworth Hill||2}}, {{SS|Marietta E||2}} and {{SS|Primrose Hill||2}}, which also were managed by CSM and owned by companies associated with R&K.
{{location map|North Atlantic
|lat= 48.50
|long= -29.00
|caption=Approximate position of ''Michael E''{{'}}s wreck
|relief= yes
}}

==Sinking==
On 28 May 1941 ''Michael E'' sailed in ballast on her maiden voyage from [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]] bound for [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]] with convoy [[List of World War II convoys#European Coastal Atlantic Convoys|OB 327]].<ref name=U964/> The convoy was dispersed on 1 June and at 20:43 hours on 2 June ''Michael E'' was in the [[North Atlantic]] several hundred miles southwest of [[Cape Clear Island|Cape Clear]] when {{GS|U-108|1940|2}} fired two [[torpedo]]es at her.<ref name=U964/> One missed but the other struck her in the [[stern]] killing a crew member and two [[Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships|DEMS]] gunners, and at 22:21 hours she sank by the stern.<ref name=U964/> On 3 June the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] cargo ship {{SS|Alcinous||2}} rescued ''Michael E''{{'}}s [[Sea captain|master]], 44 crew, two gunners and 12 [[Royal Air Force]] personnel.<ref name=U964/>

==Replacement ship==
In September 1941 William Hamilton & Co completed a second CAM ship of the same class for CSM. She was launched as {{SS|Primrose Hill||2}} and effectively replaced ''Michael E''. ''Primrose Hill'' survived until October 1942 when a German-operated submarine sank her by torpedo and shellfire.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources & further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Sedgwick |first1=Stanley |last2=Kinnaird |first2=Mark |last3=O'Donoghue |first3=K.J. |title=London & Overseas Freighters, 1948–92: A Short History |orig-year=1992 |year=1993 |location=Kendal |publisher=[[World Ship Society]] |isbn=0-905617-68-1 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Sedgwick |first1=Stanley |last2=Sprake |first2=R.F. |title=London & Overseas Freighters Limited 1949–1977 |year=1977 |location=Kendal |publisher=[[World Ship Society]] |isbn= 0905617037 }}
*{{cite book |last=Slader |first=John |title=The Red Duster at War |year=1988 |publisher=William Kimber & Co Ltd |location=London |isbn=0-7183-0679-1 |pages=143–144 }}

{{coord|48.50|N|29.0|W|display=title}}

{{CAM ships}}
{{Maiden voyage sinkings}}
{{June 1941 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael E}}
[[Category:1941 ships]]
[[Category:CAM ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1941]]
[[Category:Ships of Counties Ship Management]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]