SS Kingston Hill

Cargo ship

History

United Kingdom
Name	SS Kingston Hill
Namesake	Kingston Hill, south London
Operator	Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London
Builder	William Hamilton & Co, Port Glasgow^[1]
Launched	17 October 1940
Completed	December 1940^[1]
Out of service	8 June 1941^[2]
Identification	UK official number 168045^[1] Call sign GNMM^[1]
Fate	Sunk by torpedo
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	7,628 GRT^[1] tonnage under deck 7,217^[1] 5,595 NRT^[1]
Length	421.1 ft (128.4 m)^[1] p/p
Beam	60.4 ft (18.4 m)^[1]
Draught	35.8 ft (10.9 m)^[1]
Installed power	520 NHP^[1]
Propulsion	triple-expansion steam engine; screw^[1]
Crew	62^[2]
Notes	sister ships: SS Lulworth Hill, SS Marietta E, SS Michael E, SS Primrose Hill

SS Kingston Hill was a cargo ship built by William Hamilton & Co in Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde. She was completed in December 1940.^[1] She was managed by Counties Ship Management Co Ltd of London (CSM), an offshoot of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking company.^[3] She was a sister ship of SS Lulworth Hill, SS Marietta E, SS Michael E and SS Primrose Hill, which were also managed by CSM but owned by other R&K companies.

Kingston Hill had a single 520 NHP triple-expansion steam engine^[1] driving a single screw. She had eight corrugated furnaces heating two 225 lb_f/in² single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 7,643 square feet (710 m²), plus one auxiliary boiler.^[1]

On 22 February 1941 Luftwaffe aircraft bombed and damaged the ship.^[2] She was repaired at Glasgow.^[2]

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Approximate position of Kingston Hill's wreck

Sinking

In May 1941 Kingston Hill sailed from Cardiff and Glasgow laden with coal and general cargo for Alexandria in Egypt.^[2] To avoid the enemy-controlled waters of the Mediterranean she was heading via Cape Town, South Africa, but was unescorted.^[2] She was southwest of the Cape Verde Islands heading into the South Atlantic when the German submarine U-38 hit her with two torpedoes at 0108 hrs on 8 June 1941.^[2] She sank at 0125 hrs with the loss of her Master and 13 crew.^[2] 16 crew were rescued by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Achates and returned to Greenock.^[2] 26 crew were rescued by the US tanker Alabama and landed at Cape Town.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1941. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2010). "Kingston Hill". uboat.net. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
^ Fenton, Roy (2006). "Counties Ship Management 1934-2007". LOF-News. p. 1. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

Sources & further reading

Sedgwick, Stanley; Kinnaird, Mark; O'Donoghue, K.J. (1993) [1992]. London & Overseas Freighters, 1948-92: A Short History. World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-68-1.
Sedgwick, Stanley; Sprake, R.F. (1977). London & Overseas Freighters Limited 1949-1977. World Ship Society. ISBN 0905617037.

9°21′N 21°24′W / 09.35°N 21.40°W / 09.35; -21.40

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1941

Shipwrecks