MV Cape of Good Hope
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 Cape of Good Hope, probably in the Scheldt | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Cape of Good Hope |
| Namesake | Cape of Good Hope |
| Owner | Cape of Good Hope Motorship Co Ltd |
| Operator | Lyle Shipping Co |
| Port of registry | Glasgow |
| Builder | Lithgows, Port Glasgow |
| Yard number | 771 |
| Launched | 26 February 1925 |
| Completed | June 1925 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | sunk by torpedo, 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | motor tramp |
| Tonnage | 4,963 GRT, 3,157 NRT |
| Length | 405.0 ft (123.4 m) |
| Beam | 52.2 ft (15.9 m) |
| Depth | 27.5 ft (8.4 m) |
| Installed power | 1 × 4-stroke diesel engine, 490 NHP |
| Propulsion | 1 × screw |
| Speed | 10+1⁄2 knots (19 km/h) |
| Crew | 1942: 37, including at least 3 DEMS gunners |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Notes | sister ship: Cape York |
MV Cape of Good Hope was a UK motor tramp. She was built in Scotland in 1925, and sunk by a U-boat in the western Atlantic in 1942. All of her crew survived in two lifeboats. Each boat crossed hundreds of miles of ocean, and safely reached land in the Antilles. For this, her master and chief officer were awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct.
Lithgows in Port Glasgow on the River Clyde built the ship as yard number 771. She was launched on 26 February 1925, and completed that June.[1] Her registered length was 405.0 ft (123.4 m), her beam was 52.2 ft (15.9 m), and her depth was 27.5 ft (8.4 m). Her tonnages were 4,963 gross register tons (GRT) and 3,157 net register tons (NRT). She had a single screw, driven by a six-cylinder, four-stroke, single-acting diesel engine built by John G. Kincaid & Company of Greenock. It was rated at 490 nominal horsepower,[2] and gave her a speed of 10+1⁄2 knots (19.4 km/h).[3]
The Lyle Shipping Company of Glasgow were Cape of Good Hope's managers. A few months later, Lithgows built a sister ship for the same owners. Cape York was launched on 5 August 1925, and completed in January 1926. She was 5 feet (1.5 m) longer than Cape of Good Hope, and 1.8 feet (0.55 m) broader in beam, but otherwise identical.[4] In 1929, Lithgows built a third motor ship for Lyle, launched on 7 March and completed that May. Cape Horn was slightly larger again, being 425.0 ft (129.5 m) long, with a beam of 52.2 ft (15.9 m), and a depth of 28.9 ft (8.8 m). She differed also by having an eight-cylinder Burmeister & Wain-type engine.[5]
Registration and equipment
Each ship in the Lyle fleet was owned by a different single-ship company. The Cape of Good Hope Motorship Co, Ltd owned Cape of Good Hope. She was registered in Glasgow. Her UK official number was 148862, and until 1933 her code letters were KSRC.[2] By 1930 her call sign was GLBD,[6] and by 1934 this had superseded her code letters. She was equipped with wireless direction finding by 1930,[7] and an echo sounding device by 1934.[8]
Loss
On 5 May 1942, Cape of Good Hope left New York unescorted carrying 7,500 tons of general and military cargo for Abadan in Allied-occupied Iran, via Cape Town, Basra, and Bandar Shapur (now Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni). Her general cargo included 2,150 tons of Canadian wheat for the British Food Mission. Her military cargo included 3,740 tons for the British Purchasing Commission. There were five Martin Baltimore light bombers; 12 M3 Stuart light tanks; 38 Mack military trucks; 50 tons of 37 mm guns; 68 30-calibre machine guns; 307,500 rounds of 5-calibre ammunition; and 41,983 anti-tank mines.[9]
On 11 May, Cape of Good Hope was making 10.2 knots (18.9 km/h) on a bearing of 161 degrees. She was steering a straight course, and not zig-zagging. At 14:43 hrs ship's time (19:43 hrs Berlin time), U-502 torpedoed Cape of Good Hope in the western Atlantic at position 22°48′N 58°43′W / 22.800°N 58.717°W. The explosion threw the tramp's crew about. One of the DEMS gunners fell from an upper deck, breaking his ankle. The torpedo hit one of the holds that contained grain, and not munitions. One of the wireless telegraphists transmitted an SOS message, and the crew launched two lifeboats.[9] Her Master, Captain Alexander Campbell, commanded one boat, and her chief officer, James Hamilton, commanded the other.[10]
The boats lay to, about 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) from the ship. U-502 then surfaced, and fired 20 rounds from her 105 mm deck gun. At 15:35, ship's time, one of these hit the hold that contained ammunition. Cape of Good Hope exploded and sank. U-502 came over to the lifeboats. The commander, Kapitänleutnant Jürgen von Rosenstiel, offered for the U-boat's doctor to splint the injured gunner's ankle. His offer was declined, so the doctor handed over bandages and pills instead. That evening, the survivors were evenly redistributed between the two lifeboats: 18 in Captain Campbell's boat, and 19 in Chief Officer Hamilton's.[9]
