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Requisitioned Auxiliary - African Transport - Historical RFA

Requisitioned Auxiliary – African Transport

 

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Official No:                               135886

Builder:                                     Northumberland Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Howdon-on-Tyne

Launched:                                21 April 1913

Pennant No:                             Y 3.1003 / G 1602

Signal Letters:                         JCPQ

Into Service:                              22 January 1916

Out of service:                          25 June 1918

Fate:                                           25 June 1918 torpedoed and sunk

 

Items of historic interest involving this ship:

 

Background Data:  One of an additional group of ships requisitioned by the Admiralty during WW1 to augment the ships of the RFA

 

Career Data:

21 April 1913   launched by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Howdon-on-Tyne as Yard Nr: 206 named AFRICAN TRANSPORT for Empire Transport Co Ltd (Houlder Bros & Co, Managers) West Hartlepool.

11 July 1913  register opened at West Hartlepool as Nr 15/1913 in the Register Book.

July 1913   completed

17 July 1913 sailed from the River Tyne on trials

18 July 1913 the Shields Daily News newspaper reported …

 

Afri Transport

 

30 September 1913 sailed from Pensacola for the River Plate

29 October 1913 sailed Buenos Ayres

16 February 1914 passed the Lloyds Signal Station on the Lizard sailing west bound

28 February 1914 sailed from Barry, South Wales

23 March 1914 arrived at Suez

26 March 1914 sailed from Suez

23 April 1914 sailed Safaga Bay, Egypt  for Yokohama thence to Ocean Island

13 June 1914 sailed from Yokohama

1 July 1914 arrived at Ocean Island to load phosphates

20 September 1914 berthed at Newcastle, NSW to load bunkers when on passage from Ocean Island to Wallaroo

29 September 1914 at Wallaroo

20 October 1914 sailed Adelaide for Newcastle

5 November 1914 cleared customs at Newcastle

6 November 1914 sailed Newcastle for Singapore

19 January 1915 arrived Eureka from Kobe

13 February 1915 arrived at San Fransisco after apparently having grounded (location unknown)

22 January 1916 requisitioned for service as a Collier until 6 March 1916

7 March 1916  served as a Transport carrying sugar until 27 May 1916

28 May 1916  further served as a Collier until 6 July 1916

7 July 1916  served as a Transport carrying sugar again until 27 October 1916

28 October 1916  served as an Expeditionary Force Transport carrying stores to Egypt until 14 December 1916

15 December 1916  served as a Transport carrying wheat from Australia until 23 April 1917

9 February 1917 sailed from Melbournewith 87,504 bags of wheat

22 March 1917 was challenged by the Light Cruiser HMS NEWCASTLE off the South coast of Ceylon and was allowed to proceed.

4 April 1917  was stopped and boarded by the Armed Boarding Steamer HMS PERTH which was on the Perim Patrol in the Red Sea area and was allowed to proceed.

24 April 1917  served as a Transport carrying wheat from Canada until 17 July 1917

18 July 1917  served as a Collier, again, until 23 August 1917

24 August 1917 served as an Expeditionary Force Transport carrying locomotives, etc USA / U.K. until 5 December 1917

6 December 1917 served as a Collier until 28 February 1918

20 February 1918  was sighted by the 3rd Class Cruiser HMS TOPAZE which was on the Perim Patrol in the Red Sea area.

1 March 1918  served as a Transport carrying maize from South Africa and wheat from the Argentine until 12 June 1918

13 June 1918  served as a Collier until ….

25 June 1918 torpedoed and sunk by the German U-Boat UB-88 (Kptlt. Reinhardt von Rabenau) off Runswick Bay in the North Sea 3 miles N. of Whitby on passage from South Shields  – Falmouth –Gibraltar in a 15-ship Convoy carrying coal with the loss of three lives. Was taken in tow by two of  the Escort Trawlers but sank almost 2 hours later. The survivors were transferred to the Trawler HUMBER and were landed at Teesport.

The three who were killed were Fireman & Trimmer John Gibson, Fireman & Trimmer Dennis McCormack and 4th Engineer Officer John George Parker. The loss of all three is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial