SS City of Bedford
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_MAS_AS.1968.001.2170.jpg) City of Bedford on the river Scheldt | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | City of Bedford |
| Owner | Ellerman Lines Ltd |
| Operator | Hall Line Ltd |
| Port of registry | Liverpool |
| Builder | William Gray & Co, Sunderland |
| Yard number | 960 |
| Launched | 17 July 1924 |
| Completed | October 1924 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sunk by collision, 30 Dec 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 430.0 ft (131.1 m) |
| Beam | 55.1 ft (16.8 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m) |
| Depth | 31.1 ft (9.5 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12.5 knots (23 km/h) |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament | By 1940: DEMS |
SS City of Bedford was a British cargo steamship. She was launched in 1924 in Sunderland for Hall Line Ltd of Liverpool, a member of the Ellerman Lines group.
In December 1940 City of Bradford collided in fog the North Atlantic with another British cargo ship, Bodnant. Both ships sank, and 48 of City of Bedford's crew were killed.
She was the first of two Ellerman Lines ships to be called City of Bedford. The second was a steam turbine ship that Alexander Stephen and Sons launched in 1950 and Ellerman Lines sold in 1972.[1]
William Gray & Company built City of Bradford at the former Ellerman, Gray, Inchcape and Strick (EGIS) shipyard[2] in Sunderland on the River Wear. She was launched on 17 July 1924 and completed that October.[3]
She was 430.0 ft (131.1 m) long, had a beam of 55.1 ft (16.8 m) and draught of 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m). William Gray and Company's Central Marine Engine Works in West Hartlepool built her quadruple-expansion engine, which was rated at 728 NHP.[4]
In 1933 Hall Line had a Bauer-Wach exhaust steam turbine added. Exhaust steam from the low-pressure cylinder of her piston engine drove the turbine. The turbine drove the same shaft as her piston engine by double-reduction gearing[5] and a Föttinger fluid coupling.
The exhaust turbine increased City of Bedford's fuel efficiency. It also increased her total installed power to 844 NHP,[5] which was a 16 per cent increase and gave her a speed of 12.5 knots (23 km/h).[6]
By 1935 City of Bedford had been fitted with wireless direction finding and an echo sounding device.[5]
