View source for SS Thistlegarth

{{Short description|British merchant ship (1929–1940)}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship flag=
|Ship name= ''Thistlegarth''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=Allan, Black & Co. - Albyn Line
|Ship operator=
|Ship registry={{flagicon|UK|civil}} [[Sunderland]], [[United Kingdom]]
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=James Laing & Sons Ltd.
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=706
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=9 July 1929
|Ship completed=September 1929
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=September 1929
|Ship maiden voyage=September 1929
|Ship in service=September 1929
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification=* [[Official number]]: 160314
* {{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Quebec}} GTCQ
|Ship fate=Torpedoed and sunk 15 October 1940
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type=[[Cargo ship]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|4,747}}
|Ship length={{cvt|128.32|m|ftin}}
|Ship beam={{cvt|17.07|m|ftin}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth={{cvt|7.32|m|ftin}}
|Ship Armament=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=1 x 3 cyl. triple expansion engine, 2 single boilers, 1 auxiliary boiler, 8 corrugated furnaces
|Ship propulsion=Screw propeller
|Ship speed={{convert|10|kn}}
|Ship capacity=39
|Ship crew=38
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''SS ''Thistlegarth''''' was a British armed [[Merchant ship|merchant]] [[cargo ship]] that the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[U-boat|submarine]] {{GS|U-103|1940|2}} torpedoed and sunk in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] {{convert|45|nmi|lk=in}} west-northwest of [[Rockall]] while she was travelling in [[OB convoys|Convoy OB 228]] from [[Scapa Flow]], [[Orkney|Orkney Islands]], [[Scotland]], United Kingdom to [[Father Point]], [[New Brunswick]], Canada in ballast.<ref name=ASM>{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/592.html |title=Thistlegarth |publisher=uboat.net |date=1995 |accessdate=15 October 2020}}</ref>

== Construction ==
''Thistlegarth'' was built by the James Laing & Sons Ltd. shipyard at [[Sunderland]], United Kingdom. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] in July and completed in September 1929. The ship was {{convert|128.32|m|ftin}} long, had a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|17.07|m|ftin}} and had a depth of {{convert|7.32|m|ftin}}. She was assessed at {{GRT|4,747|disp=long}} and had one 3-cylinder [[triple expansion engine]] along with two single boilers, one auxiliary boiler and eight corrugated furnaces driving a single screw propeller. The ship could generate 430 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|nhp]] and could reach a speed of {{convert|10|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=NRE>{{cite web |url=https://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/albyn.shtml |title=Albyn Line, Sunderland 1901-1966 |publisher=theshipslist.com |date=19 November 2009 |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>

== Sinking ==
''Thistlegarth'' was travelling from [[Scapa Flow]], [[Orkney|Orkney Islands]], [[Scotland]], United Kingdom to [[Father Point]], [[New Brunswick]], Canada in ballast as part of [[OB convoys|Convoy OB 228]] when on 15 October 1940 at 19.33pm, the unescorted ship was hit [[amidships]] on her [[Port (direction)|port]] side by a [[G7e torpedo]] from the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[U-boat|submarine]] {{GS|U-103|1940|2}} in the Atlantic Ocean {{convert|45|nmi|lk=in}} west-northwest of [[Rockall]]. The ship took on a noticeable [[Capsizing|list]] and the crew abandoned ship, but reboarded her later when they noticed that ''Thistlegarth'' did not appear to be sinking. The ship's lingering [[buoyancy]] also caught the attention of the crew of ''U-103'', who decided to surface and fired the [[deck gun]] at the damaged ship. Not realising the ''Thistlegarth'' was armed with guns of her own, ''U-103'' had to [[crash dive]] after firing only three shots due to their target returning fire at them.<ref name=NHE>{{cite web |url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?15366 |title=SS Thistlegarth [+1940] |publisher=wrecksite.eu |date=15 October 2008 |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>

Victory remained short, as ''Thistlegarth'' was hit by a [[coup de grâce]] under the [[aft]] [[Mast (ship)|mast]] on her [[starboard]] side at 9.42pm, which broke her in two and sank her in two minutes. The crew had all safely evacuated into two [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] and awaited rescue. The first lifeboat with nine crew members on board were rescued by {{HMS|Heartsease|K15|6}} on 18 October, but the second lifeboat containing 28 crew members, the captain and a gunner was never seen again and all were presumed lost at sea.<ref name=ASM/>

== Wreck ==
The wreck of ''Thistlegarth'' lies at {{coord|58|43|N|15|00|W}}.<ref name=YUE>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4010-23OCT02.htm |title=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day |publisher=naval-history.net |date=7 April 2012 |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{October 1940 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thistlegarth}}
[[Category:1929 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Wear]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1940]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]