Cameron-class steamship

The Cameron-class steamships were a class of UK cargo twin-screw steamships. They were designed for Clan Line and were also used by Scottish Shire Line and the Royal Navy.

Clan Buchanan (1937)
Class overview
BuildersGreenock Dockyard Company Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Corporation
Operators Royal Navy (WWII)
Built1935–42
In service1936–70
Completed20
Lost9
Retired11
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Displacement7,178 – 10,700 GRT
Length425–488 ft (130–149 m)
Beam57–63 ft (17–19 m)
Draft27–30 ft (8.2–9.1 m)
Propulsion
Speed16–17.5 knots (18.4–20.1 mph; 29.6–32.4 km/h)
Complement78

The Greenock Dockyard Company built all members of the class except Ocean Courier, which the Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Corporation built in Maine, USA.[1]

Most members of the class had two triple-expansion engines, each coupled to a low-pressure exhaust steam turbine. The exceptions were Lanarkshire, which was built with six turbines and no reciprocating engines,[2] and Ocean Courier, which was built with two reciprocating engines but no turbines.[1]

Clan Line ships

Clan line owned 16 Cameron-class ships. Ten were sunk in the Second World War.

Clan Campbell (1937)
  • Clan Campbell, launched in 1937, sunk by bombing off Malta 1942.
  • Clan Chattan, launched in 1937, sunk by bombing off Crete in 1942.
  • Clan Chisholm, launched in 1937, sailed in convoy from Gibraltar and torpedoed and sunk by U-48 in October 1939.
  • Clan Cumming, launched in 1937, convoy duties to Malta and Piraeus, torpedoed off Piraeus in January 1941 but reached port, sunk by mine in the Gulf of Athens April 1941.
  • Clan Ferguson, launched in 1938, torpedoed and sunk by aircraft on a Malta convoy August 1942.
  • Clan Forbes, launched in 1938, convoy duties to Malta and Piraeus disguised as the depot ship HMS Maidstone with a dummy funnel, scrapped in 1959.
  • Clan Fraser, launched in 1938, convoy duties to Malta and Piraeus. Hit by aerial bombs in Piraeus harbour in April 1941 whilst carrying a cargo of ammunition, exploded and sunk.
  • Clan Menzies, launched in 1938, sunk by torpedo off Ireland in 1940.
  • Clan Macdonald, launched in 1939, war service as Convoy Commodore ship on Mediterranean convoy to Piraeus 1941, thence to Brisbane and back to United Kingdom, bombed in UK, transferred to Houston Line in 1960, scrapped in China 1970.
  • Clan Lamont, launched in 1939, served as a Landing Ship Infantry for the Normandy Landings in 1944 making six crossings carrying troops, was commissioned as HMS Lamont in July 1944 and served in the Far East. She was restored to Clan Line 1947 and scrapped in Japan in 1961.
  • Ocean Courier, launched in 1942, completed at Portland, Maine for the Ministry of War Transport, damaged by E-boat torpedo in English Channel 1944, transferred to Clan Line in 1948 and renamed Clan Macbean, scrapped 1960.

Shire Line ships

Two members of the class were built for Scottish Shire Line, which was closely associated with Clan Line:

  • Perthshire, launched in 1936, suffered an engine room fire in 1963 and was scrapped in Japan in 1965.[3]
  • Lanarkshire, launched in 1940, became Bullard, King's Umgazi in 1959. She was renamed Grysbok in 1960. Safmarine acquired her in 1961 and renamed her South African Farmer. She was scrapped in Japan in 1963.[4]

Empire ships

Three members of the class were launched and owned as Empire ships.

  • Empire Song, launched in 1940, owned by the Ministry of Shipping and managed by Cayzer, Irvine. Taking part in the Malta convoy Operation Tiger she was sunk by a mine in the Mediterranean in 1942.[5]
  • Empire Might, launched in 1942, owned by the Ministry of War Transport and managed by Blue Star Line. Became Clan Line's Clan MacRae in 1946. Became Bullard, King's Umgeni in 1959. Renamed Gemsbok in 1960, South African Financier in 1961 and Santa Maria de Ordaz in 1962, then scrapped in 1962.[6]
  • Empire Wisdom, launched in 1942, owned by the Ministry of War Transport and managed by Cayzer, Irvine. Blue Star Line took over management in 1944, and renamed her Royal Star in 1946. Renamed Caledonia Star in 1961. Scrapped in 1972.[7]

Royal Navy ships
HMS Athene, later Clan Brodie

The Admiralty requisitioned three members of the class for the Royal Navy in 1942 while they were being built:

References
  1. Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1945. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  2. Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1940. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  3. "Perthshire". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  4. "Lanarkshire". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  5. "Empire Song". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  6. "Empire Might". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  7. "Empire Wisdom". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  • Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "Dawn to Deni". Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945. World War II Unit Histories.
  • Bax, John; Robins, Terry. "Part Six". Clan Line. Merchant Navy Officers. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
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