MV British Prudence facts for kids
Quick facts for kids History |
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 United Kingdom |
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| Name | British Prudence |
| Owner | British Tanker Company |
| Port of registry | London |
| Builder | Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland |
| Yard number | 723 |
| Launched | 6 February 1939 |
| Completed | April 1939 |
| Out of service | 23 March 1942 |
| Identification |
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| Fate | Sunk by torpedo |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | oil tanker |
| Tonnage | 8,620 GRT, 4,903 NRT |
| Length | 474.6 ft (144.7 m) |
| Beam | 62.0 ft (18.9 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 8 in (8.43 m) |
| Depth | 33.9 ft (10.3 m) |
| Installed power | 687 NHP |
| Propulsion | 4-cylinder single-acting 2-stroke diesel made by William Doxford & Sons of Sunderland |
| Capacity | 11,500 tons |
| Crew | 44 Merchant Navy plus 6 DEMS gunners |
| Sensors and processing systems |
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The MV British Prudence was a large ship called a tanker. It was built in 1939 in Sunderland, England. This ship was owned by the British Tanker Company. Tankers are special ships designed to carry huge amounts of liquids, like oil.
During World War II, the British Prudence was sunk by a German U-boat (a submarine). This happened in 1942 near Newfoundland, an island off the coast of Canada. Her sinking was part of a German plan called "Operation Drumbeat." This operation aimed to sink many Allied merchant ships in the western Atlantic Ocean. This period was also known as the "Second Happy Time" for German U-boats, as they found it easy to sink ships.
Contents
The Sinking of British Prudence
On March 21, 1942, the British Prudence left Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was carrying 11,500 tons of fuel oil for the British Navy. The ship was heading to St. John's, Newfoundland.
She was supposed to join a group of ships called Convoy HX 181. However, very bad weather made it hard for the convoy to form properly.
Stormy Seas and Danger
By March 22, the weather got even worse. There was hail, snow, and heavy rain. The wind grew very strong, reaching gale force. Captain G.A. Dickson, the ship's master, saw other ships in the convoy getting too close to each other. The rough seas made them crash together.
To avoid a collision, Captain Dickson decided to slow down his ship. This was a smart move to keep his ship safe from other ships in the storm.
Torpedo Attack
On March 23, the wind calmed down a bit. But at about 10:50 AM, a German submarine, U-754, attacked. A torpedo hit the British Prudence on its right side, right in the middle. This caused a lot of damage to one of the oil tanks and the living areas for the crew. The radio room even collapsed! Captain Dickson was almost hit, but he was in another part of his cabin.
Seconds later, a second torpedo hit the back of the ship, also on the right side. This badly damaged the engine room, which then caught fire. The ship began to sink from the back. Sadly, the engineer on duty and two other crew members in the engine room were lost.
One of the lifeboats at the back of the ship was blown off and broke in two. A fire also started at the front of the ship. This fire was fed by kerosene barrels and gas cylinders stored there.
Abandoning Ship
The crew quickly left the ship. They used the remaining lifeboats: one at the back on the left side and two in the middle of the ship.
The back of the ship sank first, until the front stood straight up in the air. Then, the entire ship disappeared under the waves around 11:15 AM. The crew used special anchors to keep their three lifeboats close together. They were very far from land, about 400 to 500 nautical miles away. The survivors spent a very cold and wet night in the rough seas.
Crew Rescue and Safety
On March 23, the wireless operators on the lifeboats managed to send out distress calls. These messages were picked up by the British Navy. The destroyer HMS Witherington was sent to rescue them. The survivors in the lifeboats didn't know help was coming because their radio was broken.
On the morning of March 24, a thick fog covered the area. It lifted around 11:30 AM. Soon after, the crew saw the destroyer! They used flares and yellow signal flags to get its attention.
The Witherington rescued everyone from the lifeboats. On March 25, all the survivors were safely brought back to Halifax.
Captain Dickson's Experience
This was not the first time Captain Dickson had been in a sinking ship. Just a month before, on February 19, his ship, the British Consul, was also sunk by a torpedo. That happened in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Luckily, Captain Dickson returned safely to Glasgow, Scotland, on May 2, 1942, as a passenger on another ship.
A New British Prudence
After the war, a new ship was built to replace the lost tanker. It was also named British Prudence. This new ship was launched on December 20, 1948. It looked very similar to the first British Prudence and was about the same size. However, its funnel (the smokestack) was placed a bit further back than on the original ship.
Sources
- Letter from James Baillie at Grangemouth to Captain Waters, 2 May 1942
- Shipping Casualties Section – Trade Division Report of an Interview with the Master, Captain G.A. Dickson, SS [sic.] British Prudence, 12 May 1942, ref. TD/139/ 1230
