Official No:                               

Builder:                                     Barclay Curle and Co, Whiteinch, Scotstoun

Launched:                                26 June 1930

Pennant No:                             

Signal Letters:                          LDPM

Into Service:                             1939

Out of service:                          July 1943

Fate:                                         Sunk

Items of historic interest involving this ship: –

Background Data:  One of an additional group of ships requisitioned by the Admiralty during WW2 to augment the ships of the RFA

26 June 1930 launched by Barclay, Curle & Co Ltd., Scotstoun

27 June 1930 The Scotsman newspaper reported …

14 July 1931 sailed from Las Palmas for Barbados

3 October 1931 sailed Gibraltar west bound for St Kitts for orders

23 May 1933 passed Gibraltar sailing east bound

7 August 1935 passed Gibraltar sailing east bound for Suez

24 May 1937 arrived at Auckland, New Zealand from Balik Papen

13 September 1939 sailed from Singapore for Suez arriving on 2 October 1939

6 October 1939 sailed Suez for Abadan

19 October 1939 sailed from Abadan for Singapore

7 November 1939 sailed from Singapore for Sydney, NSW, Australia arriving 24 November 1939

28 November 1939 sailed from Sydney, NSW, Australia for Pladjoe, Dutch East Indies

15 December 1939 sailed from Pladjoe, Dutch East Indies to Singapore arriving on 17 December 1939

26 December 1939 sailed from Singapore for Brisbane, Queensland arriving on 10 January 1940

15 January 1940 sailed from Brisbane, Queensland to Townsville, Queensland arriving 17 January 1940

22 January 1940 sailed from Townsville, Queensland to Sourabaya, Java arriving 29 January 1940

4 February 1940 sailed from Sourabaya, Java to Balikpapan, Indonesia arriving 6 February 1940

11 February 1940 sailed from Balikpapan, Indonesia to Singapore arriving 15 February 1940

22 February 1940 sailed from Singapore to Fremantle, Western Australia arriving 2 March 1940

8 March 1940 sailed from Fremantle, Western Australia to Pladjoe, Sumatra

17 March 1940 sailed from Pladjoe, Sumatra to Singapore

20 March 1940 sailed from Singapore to Fremantle, Western Australia arriving 29 March 1940

1 April 1940 sailed from Fremantle, Western Australia to Adelaide, South Australia arriving 6 April 1940

7 April 1940 sailed from Adelaide, South Australia to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia arriving 9 April 1940

16 April 1940 sailed from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Fremantle, Western Australia

24 April 1940 sailed from Fremantle, Western Australia to Singapore arriving 2 May 1940

6 May 1940 sailed from Singapore to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia arriving 22 May 1940

23 May 1940 sailed from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Geelong, Victoria, Australia

27 May 1940 sailed from Geelong, Victoria, Australia to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia arriving the next day

28 May 1940 sailed from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Pladjoe, Netherland East Indies arriving 12 June 1940

13 June 1940 sailed from Pladjoe, Netherland East Indies for Singapore

17 June 1940 sailed from Singapore to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia arriving 3 July 1940

6 July 1940 sailed from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia for Hobart, Tasmania arriving the next day

11 July 1940 sailed from Hobart, Tasmania for Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia arriving 27 July 1940

29 July 1940 sailed from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia arriving 13 August 1940

17 August 1940 sailed from Melbourne, Victoria to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia arriving on 20 August 1940

2 September 1940 sailed from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to Palembang arriving 17 September 1940

18 September 1940 sailed from Palembang to Singapore arriving the next day

23 September 1940 sailed Singapore to Adelaide, Australia arriving 7 October 1940

8 October 1940 sailed from Adelaide, Australia to Port Pirie, Australia 

13 October 1940 sailed from Port Pirie, Australia to Palembang arriving 27 October 1940

28 October 1940 sailed from Palembang to Singapore

5 November 1940 sailed from Singapore to Colombo, Ceylon arriving 12 November 1940

21 November 1940 sailed from Colombo, Ceylon to Bombay, India arriving 25 November 1940

27 November 1940 sailed from Bombay, India for Port Sudan arriving 6 December 1940 in escorted Convoy BN10

9 December 1940 sailed Port Sudan to Suez arriving 12 December 1940

19 December 1940 sailed Suez in escorted Convoy BS11 until it dispersed on 27 December 1940

27 December 1940 after dispersal sailed to Bahrein arriving 4 January 1941

7 January 1941 sailed from Bahrein for Aden arriving 15 January 1941

17 January 1941 sailed Aden to Suez in escorted convoy BN13 arriving 24 January 1941

10 February 1941 sailed from Suex in escorted convoy BS15 until dispersed on 16 February 1941

10 March 1941 sailed from Aden in escorted convoy BN19 to Suez arriving 17 March 1941

28 March 1941 sailed Port Said independently to Alexandria arriving the next day

6 April 1941 sailed Alexandria independently to Port Said arriving the next day

12 April 1941 sailed Port Said independently to Alexandria arriving the next day

21 April 1941 sailed Alexandria independently to Haifa arriving on 23 April 1941

11 May 1941 sailed from Haifa independently to Iskenderun, Turkey arriving the next day

22 May 1941 sailed from Iskenderun, Turkey to Port Said arriving on 24 May 1941

30 May 1941 sailed from Suez to Abadan independently arriving on 12 June 1941

16 June 1941 sailed from Abadan for Aden independently arriving 26 June 1941

May 1942 at Alexandra, Egypt with 250 refugees, including 66 Norwegians who had escaped via Russia. Picked up 19 members of the Australian Army and conveyed them to Port Said arriving on 24 May 1942.

11 July 1943 the ship sailed from Abadan for Fremantle, with a cargo of fuel oil; she stopped briefly at Khor Kuwait to transfer 500 tons of fuel to Empire Taj, sailing later the same day.  On the 23 July 1943 whilst sailing independently she was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I10, at 04:45 hrs, no damage was apparent and the ship continued on passage until the early morning of the next day, when she encountered engine problems and the ship stopped to effect repairs.

At 10:30 hrs she was again underway, when she was hit by three more torpedoes, the ship sank quickly by the stern and the crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats.

The Japanese submarine had surfaced and ordered the lifeboats alongside, many armed Japanese sailors were observed on the deck of the submarine, and when the lifeboats eventually came alongside, the Captain, 2nd Mate and Radio Officer were taken aboard the I10, whilst they were being taken below deck, they heard the sound of machine gun and rifle fire from the upper deck.  The survivors of the Alcides were butchered in their lifeboats, of those who died 12 had been missing when the ship was abandoned, in the lifeboats were 12 Norwegian, 32 Lascar, 1 Norwegian American and 1 Australian seamen and 3 British DEMS gunners who were never seen again.