SS Hatarana was a cargo steamship that was built as part of an emergency shipbuilding programme during the First World War, and sunk without loss of life in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. She was built as War Sailor, one of a batch of cargo ships that the United Kingdom ordered from Japanese shipyards. She was renamed Hatarana in 1919 when she changed owners.
Japan had been a military ally of the UK since 1902, and joined the First World War on the Allied side in August 1914. In 1917 British shipping companies, on behalf of the UK Shipping Controller, ordered 20 cargo ships from Japanese shipyards, built to standard designs. The largest batch was 12 ships that Furness, Withy & Co ordered from Kawasaki Dockyard in Kobe. Two of this batch were built to a design of large, twin-screw cargo ship called the "T" type. Kawasaki completed War Soldier in June 1917, followed by War Sailor that August.
War Sailors registered length was, her beam was, her depth was, and her draught was . Her tonnages were,, and . Each of her screws was driven by a Kawasaki three-cylinder triple-expansion engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 659 NHP and gave her a speed of 12kn. Furness, Withy registered her in London. Her UK official number 140430 and her code letters were JRVK.
In 1919 Union-Castle Line acquired War Soldier and renamed her Ripley Castle, while British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) acquired War Sailor and renamed her Hatarana. BI employed her on its Far East cargo service, sailing to either Calcutta or London according to season.
The ship was equipped for wireless telegraphy from new. By 1930 her call sign was GRZW, and in 1934 this superseded her code letters.
During the Second World War, Hatarana sailed mostly unescorted, and only occasionally in convoy. She traded mostly within the Indian Ocean, sailing between Burma, India, Ceylon, Australia, Aden, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Kenya, Egypt, and Mauritius. She occasionally visited the Mediterranean, passing through the Suez Canal and back. She called at Haifa in Palestine in November 1940 and October 1941, and at Beirut in Lebanon in January 1942.[1]
On 31 May 1942 Hatarana left Karachi. She called at Durban on 18–26 June and Cape Town from 30 June to 10 July. On 25 July she arrived off Freetown in Sierra Leone, where she waited to join a convoy to the UK.[1] On 4 August she left Freetown with SL 118: a convoy of 37 merchant ships bound for Liverpool.[2]
At 18:52 hours on 18 August attacked the convoy, firing four single torpedoes. Two hit and sank the Netherland Line cargo steamship Balingkar, one damaged the armed merchant cruiser, and one damaged Hatarana.[3] A rescue tug was sent from Gibraltar. However, Hatarana was then abandoned, and the tug was recalled.[4] The steamship Corabella rescued 88 survivors, and the rescued 20. Pentstemon sank the damaged Hatarana by gunfire at position 41.1167°N -52°W, and later landed the survivors at Derry.[3]
Hataranas Master on her final voyage was Captain Percival James (1887–1967),[5] the brother of actor Clifton James. Another survivor was the future helicopter entrepreneur Alan Bristow.