HMAT Warilda
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HMAT Warilda[a] was a 7,713-gross register ton (GRT) vessel, built by William Beardmore and Company in Glasgow as SS Warilda for the Adelaide Steamship Company.[2] She was designed for the East-West Australian coastal service, but following the start of the First World War, she was converted into a troopship and later, in 1916, she was converted into a hospital ship.
Adelaide Steamship CompanyWarilda | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Warilda |
| Operator | Adelaide Steamship Company |
| Builder | William Beardmore and Company, Glasgow |
| Yard number | 505 |
| Launched | 5 December 1911 |
| Maiden voyage | 1912 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk on 3 August 1918.[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 7,713 GRT |
| Length | 411 ft 3 in (125.35 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft 7 in (17.25 m) |
| Draught | 34 ft 1 in (10.39 m) |
| Installed power | 626 nhp on 6 coal-fired boilers |
| Propulsion | Twin quadruple expansion engines |
| Speed | 16.36 knots (30.30 km/h; 18.83 mph) maximum |
Her identical sister ships, also built by William Beardmore and Company, were HMAT Wandilla (2) (1912) and SS Willochra (1913).[citation needed]
Time as a troopship
- 5 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 9th Battalion embarked from Brisbane heading to Egypt.:[3] 15 Batt embarked Brisbane HMAT A69 Warilda same date[4]
- 8 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Infantry Battalion embarked from Sydney heading to Egypt.[5]
- 8 October 1915: 10th Reinforcements, 1st Brigade of the AIF, embarked from Liverpool, NSW, Australia. The ship arrived at Fremantle, Western Australia on 15 October 1915, and reached Suez on 5 November, when the troops were disembarked.[6]
- 25 May 1916: Tunneling Companies, 2 Reinforcements embarked Melbourne.[7]
- 1 June 1916: Tunneling Company 6, 3rd Tunneling Company embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia 1 June 1916. Disembarked Plymouth, England, 18 July 1916.[8]
Sinking
On 3 August 1918, HMAT Warilda was transporting wounded soldiers from Le Havre, France, to Southampton when she was torpedoed by the German submarine UC-49.[9] This was despite being marked clearly with the Red Cross; as with a number of other hospital ships torpedoed during the war, Germany claimed the ships were also carrying arms.[10]
The ship sank in about two hours, and of the 801 persons on board, 123 died due to the sinking.[1] The Deputy Chief Controller of the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corp, Mrs Violet Long, lost her life in this action.[11] Among the survivors was her commander, Captain Sim, who was later awarded the OBE by King George V.[12] Her wreck lies in the English Channel.[13]
Gallery
Notes
- HMAT is a ship prefix that stands for His Majesty's Australian Transport
