Southern-class whaler

The Southern class was a class of whale-catcher ships requisitioned from a commercial whaling company for service during the Second World War. The whalers were converted for anti-submarine and minesweeping duties and were in use in the British Royal Navy and South African Navy. Six ships were built in Germany for the Southern Whaling Company and after the war, one was retained in the South African Navy, one had been sunk by a mine and four were sold back to commercial whaling companies.

Illustration of HMSAS Southern Maid in the Mediterranean in November–December 1942
Class overview
NameSouthern-class whalers
BuildersBremer Vulkan, Vegesack, Germany[1]
Operators
Built1936
In service1937-
In commission1940–1945
Planned6
Completed6
Active6
Laid up5
Lost1
General characteristics
TypeWhaler
Tonnage344 GRT[1]
Length42.46 m (139 ft 4 in)[1]
Beam7.96 m (26 ft 1 in)[1]
Draught4.18 m (13 ft 9 in)[1]
Propulsion1 × oil-fired 3 cyl, triple expansion reciprocating engine, single shaft, 1 screw[1]
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) maximum[1]
Armament1 × QF 4" naval gun, 3 × 20 mm guns (2 × fwd, 1 × aft), various light weapons.[1]

History

The six whale catchers were owned by Southern Whaling & Sealing Co. Ltd., London, United Kingdom and were used for whale catching in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters. The fleet of six ships was accompanied by the factory ship Southern Princess in their annual whaling season sorties. The fleet spent four seasons in the Antarctic before being requisitioned for naval service on their return to Cape Town after completion of the 1939-40 season. The owners requested that all six ships were to be taken up into the Royal Navy, but only Southern Breeze was taken up for service in the UK, with the other five vessels being assigned to the South African Seaward Defence Force.[2]

Ships of the Southern class

All vessels listed based on this citation[1] unless stated otherwise. "AS Whaler" denotes anti-submarine equipped whaler.

Name Pennant number Previous name(s) In service with Launch date Requisitioned date In-service date Role Fate
HMS Southern Breeze FY318[3] SS Southern Breeze Royal Navy Jun 1936[3] Mar 1940 Sep 1941: Bought by Salvesen while under RN command – name remained unchanged. Returned to Salvesen in January 1946.[3] Broken up for scrap in Sep 1970 by Goldfields Metal Traders Ltd., Fremantle[4]
HMSAS Southern Floe T26 SS Southern Floe S. Afr. Seaward Defence Force 1936 18 Jun 1940 Oct 1940 AS Whaler Sunk by mine off Tobruk on 11 Feb 1941
HMSAS Southern Maid T27 SS Southern Maid S. Afr. Seaward Defence Force 1936 18 Jun 1940 Oct 1940 AS Whaler Laid up May 1946. Sold to Union Whaling Co on 7 May 1946. Fate unknown.
HMSAS Southern Barrier
HMSAS Steenberg		 T28 SS Southern Barrier S. Afr. Seaward Defence Force 1936 17 Jul 1940 5 Oct 1940 Minesweeper[5] In September 1941, vessel was sold to Chr. Salvesen & Co who retained the name until January 1945 when vessel was in-turn sold to Union Government of South Africa as a minesweeper and named HMSAS Steenberg T.28.[6]
HMSAS Southern Isles T29 SS Southern Isles S. Afr. Seaward Defence Force 1936 22 Jul 1940 Nov 1940 AS Whaler Laid up May 1946. Sold to Union Whaling Co on 7 May 1946. Fate unknown.
HMSAS Southern Sea T30 SS Southern Sea S. Afr. Seaward Defence Force 1936 22 Jul 1940 Nov 1940 AS Whaler Laid up May 1946. Sold to Union Whaling Co on 7 May 1946. Fate unknown.

Notes and references

Notes

    Citations
    1. Du Toit 1992, p. 103.
    2. Du Toit 1992, p. 97.
    3. "HMS Southern Breeze (FY 318) – Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
    4. "D/S Southern Breeze – Sjøhistorie".
    5. Du Toit 1992, p. 99.
    6. "D/S Steenberg – Krigsseilerregisteret".

    Bibliography
    • Du Toit, Allan (1992). South Africa's Fighting Ships: Past and Present. Rivonia, South Africa: Ashanti Publishing. ISBN 1-874800-50-2.
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