SS Wahehe (1922)

The ship was built by Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte und Maschinenfabrik, Hamburg.[1] She was laid down as Wadigo and completed in August 1922 as Wahehe.[2] She was named after first the Digo people and then the Hehe people. Both are tribes in Tanganyika Territory, which until 1918 was German East Africa and with which Woermann Linie still traded.

The ship was 361 feet 2 inches (110.08 m) long, with a beam of 50 feet 3 inches (15.32 m) and a depth of 23 feet 7 inches (7.19 m). She had a GRT of 4,690 and a NRT of 2,686.[3]

The ship was propelled by a quadruple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 21+4⁄5 inches (55 cm), 32+3⁄10 inches (82 cm), 47 inches (120 cm) and 69 inches (180 cm) diameter by 49+4⁄5 inches (126 cm) stroke.[3]

Wahehe was built for Woermann Linie AG, Hamburg.[1] She was used on routes between Germany and Africa.[4] She was registered in Hamburg and given the code letters RCQH.[3] On 14 September 1922, Wahehe was the first German liner to call at Southampton, United Kingdom after the end of the First World War.[5] On 27 November 1927, Wahehe collided with the pier on entering harbour at Boulogne, France and sprang a leak.[6] On 3 November 1930, she collided with the German trawler Langeoog at the mouth of the Weser and sunk her with some loss of life.[7]

In 1934 Wahehe was converted to a refrigerated cargo liner. Now 4,709 GRT, 2,771 NRT, her code letters were replaced with the Call sign DHZD.[8] Wahehe departed Hamburg before war was declared on 3 September 1939. She and several other German merchant ships took refuge at Vigo in Spain, which was officially neutral.[9]

On the night of 9/10 February 1940, a night with minimum moonlight,[10] the German merchant ships Arucas, Morea, Orizaba, Rostock, Wahehe and Wangoni left Vigo to try to run the Allied blockade of Germany.[9] French Navy and Royal Navy patrols seized Morea and Rostock as early as 11 February[9] but Wahehe managed to evade capture for 11 days.

On 21 February Wahehe was southeast of Iceland[11] at 62°50′N 14°20′W[12] and making for the Norwegian Sea when the cruiser HMS Manchester[1] and destroyers Kimberley[1] and Kandahar[13] intercepted her. The Royal Navy told Wahehe's crew that if they scuttled her, no attempt would be made to rescue them.[1] A party from Kimberley boarded her and she was escorted into Kirkwall, Orkney Islands as a war prize.[13] Wahehe was then towed to the Clyde, arriving on 8 March.[12]

Wahehe was passed to the MoWT and renamed Empire Citizen. She was placed under the management of P Henderson & Co Ltd. Her port of registry was changed to London. She was given the UK official number 167505 and call sign GLCB. Her GRT was recorded as 4,683, with a NRT of 2,736.[14] Empire Citizen was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.

OG 33

Convoy OG 33 formed at sea on 9 June 1940, bound for Gibraltar. Empire Citizen was carrying general cargo and was bound for Las Palmas, Spain.[15]

OB 279

Convoy OB 279 departed Liverpool on 28 January 1941 and dispersed at sea on 2 February 1941. Empire Citizen was carrying general cargo bound for Freetown, Sierra Leone and Rangoon, Burma.[16] At 01:45 German time on 3 February, Empire Citizen was torpedoed by U-107 under the command of Günter Hessler at 58°12′N 23°22′W. She settled slowly on an even keel and was abandoned by her crew and passengers. Another torpedo was fired at 02:33 following which she quickly sank by the stern. A total of 66 crew and 12 passengers were lost. The corvette HMS Clarkia rescued five crew and landed them at Londonderry Port (Derry).[11] Those lost on Empire Citizen are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.[17]