[willcarrier]

Hi Chaps

I'm looking for as much information on a few City Line vessels lost during WW2, anything anyone may have could be useful in my research,

City of Ripon (ex Lepanto)
City of Corinth
City of Bath

Many thanks in advance.

Regards

Will

[Hugh MacLean]

I don't know if this is of interest. Part of my website: http://www.sscityofcairo.co.uk/warlosses.php

What kind of information are you wanting?

Regards
Hugh

[willcarrier]

Thanks Hugh

You have a very comprehensive site which makes good reading; I'm still picking bits of info out of there now!

Don't suppose you would know where I might find plans \ blue prints for the vessels in question?

Regards,

Will

[Hugh MacLean]

Hello Will,

The records for Ellerman City Line are held at the Glasgow Archives: http://www.gla.ac.uk/archives/

They certainly hold a lot of information and I did get the last surviving plan for 'CITY OF CAIRO' from there. Whether there are surviving plans for the ships you mention, I don't know but certainly you should give them a call.

If you need advice about these ships during WW2, that information is held at Kew. I can advise on that if required.

Regards
Hugh

[el_scripto]

Hi Will,
Dug out this info from James Taylor's book, hope its what you need. Are the dates and locations coincidental?.

City of Ripon formerly Lepanto (2), 6394 tons, built 1915 for Ellermans Wilson Line by Russell & Co, Port Glasgow.
Renamed City of Ripon in 1934. Sunk by submarine S.E. of Trinidad. 11.11.1942.

City of Corinth (3) , 5318 tons, built 1917 for Ellerman's Hall Line by Wm.Gray & Co, West Hartlepool.
Torpedoed 17.11.1942 off Trinidad.

City of Bath, 5079 tons, built 1926 also for the Hall Line by Wm.Gray & Co, West Hartlepool.
Torpedoed 2.12.1942 off Trinidad.

The locations and dates suggests that they were all sunk by the same U-boat.

regards

Pete

[Hugh MacLean]

'CITY OF CORINTH' and 'CITY OF BATH' were both torpedoed and sunk by U-508 (Staats)

'CITY OF RIPPON' was torpedoed and sunk by U-160 (Lassen).

Regards
Hugh

[willcarrier]

Chaps

Many thanks for all your helpful info, its coming in very useful!

[Boatman25]

City of Bagdad 1940 captured and sunk in Indian Ocean by German raider Atlantis.

City of Benares 1940 torpedoed and sunk by U.48 in North Atlantic with the loss of 248 lives including 77 child evacuees.

City of Birmingham 1940 mined and sunk off Spurn Head.

City of Karachi 1941 bombed and sunk off Crete.

City of Mandalay 1939 torpedoed and sunk by U.46 off Finisterre.

City of Nagpur 1941 torpedoed and sunk by U.75 west of Fastnet.

City of Oran 1943 torpedoed by U.196 off Mozambique and sunk by escorts.

City of Simla 1940 torpedoed and sunk by U.138 off Hebrides.

City of Venice 1924 1943 torpedoed and sunk by U.375 off Cape Tenez

[donald h]

Hi Will,
If you google 'uboat.net' and do a search for these ships, you will probably get some useful information to help in your search.
My old man was on the City of Athens when it was torpedoed on the 8th of October 1942. He, and the other survivors were picked up by HMS Active and landed in Capetown, where a week or so later, my Dad and three DBS crewmates transferred to the City of Corinth.
She then sailed from Capetown independently, crossing the Atlantic, discharging and on-loading cargo at Recife in Brazil before setting sail for Port of Spain, the chief port of Trinidad.
The City of Corinth was torpedoed in the early hours of the morning of 17th November 1942, just off Galero Point, between Trinidad and Tobago Islands by U-508 (Kapitan-Lt Georg Staats). Sadly, eleven of her crew were lost in the attack. The survivors were rescued out of the water by the United States Submarine Chaser PC 536 and landed at Port of Spain a few hours later.
See my gallery for some City of Athens photos, and like I say Will, check 'uboat .net' for other details.
regards, Donald

[Hugh MacLean]

Hi Donald,

I have recently finished [are these things ever completed] research into the Ellerman War Losses including the number of seamen lost. 'CITY OF CORINTH' lost 14 not 11.

Regards
Hugh

[donald h]

Thanks Hugh. Eleven seemed to be the number given from most sources I stumbled upon in my own research, but I am very happy to have an update.
regards, Donald

[Hugh MacLean]

No problem Donald. I discovered many discrepancies with established sources so I dug a little deeper.

AKRAM ALI, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
AKRAM ULLAH, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
IDRIN ALI, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
IDRIS ULLAH, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
KALANDAR ULLAH, FIREMAN. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
McLAREN, Second Engineer Officer, DUNCAN, S.S. City of Corinth (Liverpool).
MUSAND MIAN, TINDAL. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
NAJAB ALI, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
ROFUTH ULLAH, FIREMAN. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
SAZID ULLAH, FIREMAN. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
SHAFIQ ULLAH, GREASER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
SIDIQ ALI, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
USMAN ULLAH, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.
YUSUF ULLAH, TRIMMER. S.S. CITY OF CORINTH (Liverpool). Indian Merchant Navy.

I would appreciate your thoughts on 'CITY OF ATHENS' though? My research indicates the u-boat that sank her was U-179 (Sobe). I had an enquiry asking for confirmation of the source as the gentleman concerned was adamant that the long time official historian of the South African navy states it was U-504 (Poske) - I am now in two minds as to who sank her. Any thoughts Donald?

I posted this on u-boat.net: http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?3,8...4787#msg-84787

Thanks for posting the 'CITY OF ATHENS' photos.

Regards
Hugh

[donald h]

Hi Hugh,
Many thanks for all your efforts.
I started researching all this in the days before the internet and I initially came across some info in Plymouth reference library in one of Roskill`s war history books. At the time, I was convinced that it was U-504 that had sunk her; however in later years it seems to transpire that it was Sobe in U-179 who gets the credit.
I am just about to head out for a training night (as a firefighter) but I will get back to you on the subject and perhaps compare notes in the coming days.
regards for now, Donald

[Patman]

In 1939 Ellermans had 140 ships. They lost 85 ships during the war. Two of the most famos sinkings was the City of Cairo and The City of Benares.

[daisy1942]

Hi all,

Found this thread by chance and it is giving my sixth sense a bad time! My Dad, Dominic Michael Stringer,grew up in Glasgow and during the latter part of the war was in the British Merchant Navy. Somehow he found his way to Singapore, escaped as the city fell only to turn up in Trinidad about November 1942 having been torpedoed (possibly twice). Does anyone know how to get hold of the crew lists for these ships, where the ships departed from and where they were heading? I am just wondering if Dad was on any of them either under his own name or an assumed name. This might be the "needle" I have been looking for for about 25 years!
Regards
to all
Hazel

[Michael one]

Was City of Christchurdh a war loss?

[Hugh MacLean]

'CITY OF CHRISTCHURCH', Official number 143088 built in 1915 [Ellerman & Bucknall]

21/3/43 Bombed by a/c off Portugal and sank next day.

Regards
Hugh