SS Michael E
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Michael E |
| Owner: | Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd |
| Operator: |
Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London |
| Port of registry: |
 London |
| Builder: | William Hamilton & Co, Port Glasgow |
| Completed: | May 1941 |
| Identification: |
|
| Fate: | Sunk by torpedo 2 June 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | 60.4 ft (18.4 m) |
| Draught: | 23 ft 2 1⁄4 in (7.07 m) |
| Depth: | 35.8 ft (10.9 m) |
| Installed power: | 443 NHP |
| Propulsion: | triple-expansion steam engine; screw |
| Crew: | 46 Merchant Navy men & officers, 12 RAF personnel, four DEMS gunners |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 Hawker Sea Hurricane |
| Aviation facilities: | aircraft catapult |
| Notes: | sister ships: Kingston Hill, Lulworth Hill, Marietta E, Primrose Hill |
Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London
SS Michael E was a 7,628 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1941. She was the first British Catapult Aircraft Merchant ship: a merchant ship fitted with a rocket catapult to launch a single Hawker Hurricane fighter to defend a convoy against long-range German bombers. She was sunk on her maiden voyage by a German submarine.
Michael E was built by William Hamilton & Co Ltd, Port Glasgow. Launched in 1941, she was completed in May of that year. She was the United Kingdom's first CAM ship, armed with an aircraft catapult on her bow to launch a Hawker Sea Hurricane.
The ship was 421.1 feet (128.4 m) long between perpendiculars (434.5 feet (132.4 m) overall), with a beam of 60.4 feet (18.4 m). She had a depth of 35.8 feet (10.9 m) and a draught of 23 feet 2 1⁄4 inches (7.07 m). She was 7,628 GRT and 5,508 NRT.
She had six corrugated furnaces feeding two 225 lbf/in2 single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 5,940 square feet (552 m2). The boilers fed a 443 NHP triple-expansion steam engine that had cylinders of 24 inches (61 cm), 39 inches (99 cm) and 68 inches (170 cm) diameter by 48 inches (120 cm) stroke. The engine was built by David Rowan & Co Ltd, Glasgow.
Michael E was owned by the Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd. a company owned by the Nicholas Eustathiou shipping concerns . She was placed under the management of Counties Ship Management Ltd of London, an offshoot of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking company. She was named after Michael Eustathiou, a member of the Nicholas Eustathiou family that had a major shareholding in her. Her Code Letters were BCKB, her UK Official Number was 163168 and she was registered in London.
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