SS Aenos (1910)

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For other ships with the same name, see SS Aenos.

SS Aenos.jpg
History
Name
  • Cedar Branch (1910–30)[1]
  • Aenos (1930–40)
Owner
  • Nautilus SS Co (until 1930)[1]
  • A Lusi (1931–37)[4]
  • "Zephyros" SS Co Ltd, Argostoli (1937–40)[5]
OperatorF&W Ritson (until 1930)[1]
Port of registryUnited Kingdom Sunderland[1] Greece Argostoli[4]
BuilderBartram & Sons Ltd, South Dock, Sunderland[1]
Launched21 June 1910
Completed1910[1]
In service1910
Out of service17 October 1940
Renamed
  • launched as Cedar Branch;[1]
  • renamed Aenos in 1930[4]
Identification
Fatesunk by torpedo, 17 October 1940[6]
General characteristics
Type
Tonnage
Length390.5 feet (119.0 m)[3]
Beam51.0 feet (15.5 m)[3]
Depth21.3 feet (6.5 m)[3]
Installed power434 NHP[3]
Propulsiontriple-expansion steam engine; single screw[3]
Sail plan3-masted schooner (until 1930)[1]
Crew29[6]

SS Aenos, formerly SS Cedar Branch, was a British-built cargo steamship. She was completed in England in 1910 and sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1940.

As Cedar Branch[]

Bartram & Sons Ltd of South Dock, Sunderland built the ship, completing her as Cedar Branch in 1910.[1] She was a three-masted schooner that also had a triple-expansion steam engine.[1] By 1932 Lloyd's Register no longer listed her as a schooner,[2] suggesting that by that time her rigging and sails had been removed, her masts had been reduced in height (see photo) and she ran solely under steam power.

As Aenos[]

In her 30-year career the ship passed through various owners and more than one manager. In 1930 she belonged to Nautilus Steam Shipping Co and was registered in Sunderland,[1] but then she was sold to A. Lusi, who changed her name from Cedar Branch to Aenos and registered her in the port of Argostoli in Cephalonia.[4] In about 1936–37 her owner changed to "Zephyros" Steam Ship Company Ltd, but she continued to be registered in Argostoli.[5]

In October 1940 Aenos loaded a cargo of 6,276 tons of wheat at Sorel in Canada to take to Manchester, England. Her Master was Dionisios Laskaratos.[6] She sailed from Sorel to Sydney, Nova Scotia where she joined Convoy SC 7 which was to take her as far as Liverpool.[7] SC 7 left Sydney on 5 October 1940, initially with only one escort ship, the Hastings-class sloop HMS Scarborough. A wolf pack of U-boats found the convoy on 16 October and quickly overwhelmed it, sinking many ships over the next few days.

Aenos was straggling behind the main convoy[7] and first to be sunk. On the morning of 17 October she was about 80 nautical miles (150 km) north-northeast of Rockall when the German submarine U-38 sighted her, fired one G7e torpedo at her at 0957 hrs but it missed.[6] The submarine then surfaced and fired on Aenos with her 105 mm deck gun until the ship sank at 1052 hours.[6] Out of a complement of 29, four crew members were killed.[6] Another straggler, the Canadian cargo ship Eaglescliffe Hall, rescued 25 survivors including Captain Laskaratos, and landed them at Gourock in Scotland the next day.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1930. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1932. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1934. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1931. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  5. ^ a b Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1937. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2013). "Aenos". Ships hit by U-boats. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  7. ^ a b Hague, Arnold. "Convoy SC.7". SC Convoy Series. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 17 August 2013.

Coordinates: 59°0′N 13°0′W / 59.000°N 13.000°W / 59.000; -13.000

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