SS Clearton

History
United Kingdom
Name	Clearton
Owner	1919: Carlton SS Co 1924: R Chapman & Sons
Operator	R Chapman & Sons
Port of registry	Newcastle
Builder	Richardson, Duck & Co, Stockton
Yard number	677
Launched	29 July 1919
Completed	September 1919
Identification	UK official number 142845 until 1933: code letters KCPB by 1934: call sign GKSP
Fate	sunk 1 July 1940
General characteristics
Class and type	War Standard Type B cargo ship
Tonnage	5,219 GRT, 3,209 NRT
Length	400.2 ft (122.0 m)
Beam	52.4 ft (16.0 m)
Depth	28.4 ft (8.7 m)
Decks	1
Installed power	397 NHP
Propulsion	1 × triple-expansion engine 1 × screw
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h)
Crew	34

SS Clearton was a cargo steamship that was built in England in 1919 and sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1940. The UK Shipping Controller ordered her, and she was built to War Standard design Type B. R Chapman and Sons of Newcastle upon Tyne operated her throughout her working life.

Building and identification

Richardson, Duck and Company of Stockton-on-Tees built the ship as yard number 677. She was launched on 29 July 1919 and completed that September. Her registered length was 400.2 ft (122.0 m), her beam was 52.4 ft (16.0 m), and her depth was 28.4 ft (8.7 m). Her tonnages were 5,219 GRT and 3,209 NRT.

She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine that was built by Blair and Company and rated at 397 NHP.

Chapman & Sons registered her at Newcastle. Her UK official number was 142845 and her code letters were KCPB. At first the Carlton Steam Ship Company owned her, and Chapman and Sons managed her. By 1924 Chapman and Sons were her owners as well as her managers. By 1930 her call sign was GKSP. By 1934 this had superseded her code letters.

Loss

In June 1940 Clearton left Rosario, Argentina carrying 7,320 tons of grain. Her Master was Captain John Elsdon. The ship crossed the South Atlantic to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where she joined Convoy SL 36 to the British Isles. At 11:55 hrs on 1 July U-102 hit her with one torpedo in the Southwest Approaches about 180 nautical miles (330 km) west of Ushant. Clearton stayed afloat, but straggled from the convoy. At 13:25 hrs U-102 hit her with a second torpedo, sinking her 240 nautical miles (440 km) off the Smalls at position 47°53′N 9°30′W.

Eight members of Wentworth's 34 crew were killed. The destroyer HMS Vansittart rescued 26 survivors, including Captain Elsdon and one DEMS gunner. Vansittart landed the survivors at Plymouth on 4 July.

Bibliography

• Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Vol. II.–Steamers. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1920 – via Internet Archive.
• Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Vol. II.–Steamers and Motor Vessels. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1923 – via Internet Archive.
• Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). Vol. II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1934 – via Southampton City Council.
• Mercantile Navy List. London. 1930 – via Crew List Index Project.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)