Scandinavian type

The Scandinavian-type was a standard type of cargo ship that was built at various British and Canadian shipyards during World War II . The ships belong to the group of Empire ships .

details

The design of the ship type was carried out by the William Gray & Company shipyard in West Hartlepool. It was based on contemporary timber freighters, the use of which by Scandinavian shipping companies also gave rise to the name. The three-island ships with two pronounced well decks had a forward and an aft cargo hold . The superstructure and the engine room were arranged amidships . The loading gear consisted of several normal loading trees and, with a view to the loading of tanks and heavy cargo in Russian ports in the North Sea, from 1942 onwards, partly of additional heavy cargo trees . Later units were equipped with an 80-tonne heavy-lift boom, a 50-tonne heavy-lift boom, two 15-tonne loading booms and four 5-tonne loading booms. The ship type had a load capacity of around 4700 tons and reached a speed of ten knots with the triple expansion steam engine .

The ships were built from 1941 to 1944. Gray in Hartlepool built 24 units, 14 more came from other UK shipyards and seven units of the type were launched at three Canadian shipyards.

literature

• Mitchell, WH; Sawyer, LA: Empire Ships of World War II . Sea Breezes, Liverpool 1965.
• Mitchell, WH; Sawyer, LA: The Oceans, the Forts and the Parks . Sea Breezes, Liverpool 1966.