SS Iron Crown explained

SS Iron Crown was an Australian cargo steamship that was built in 1922 for the Commonwealth Line as Euroa, named after the town of Euroa in the state of Victoria. Broken Hill Propriatary (BHP) acquired her in 1923, renamed her Iron Crown, and used her as an iron ore carrier. A Japanese submarine sank her in World War II.

History

Williamstown Dockyard built the ship for the Australian Commonwealth Shipping Board's Commonwealth Line. She was launched on 27 January 1922 as Euroa,^[1] and registered in Melbourne. In December 1923 BHP acquired her, renamed her Iron Crown,^[2] and registered her in Sydney.

On 4 June 1942 Iron Crown, was en route from Whyalla in South Australia to Newcastle, New South Wales when sank her by torpedo 44miles south-southwest of Gabo Island. 38 of her 43 crew members were killed. rescued survivors.^[3]

George Fisher, the last survivor, was aged 18 when the ship sank, and died in 2012.^[4]

Wreckage discovery

In April 2019 it was announced that the wreck of Iron Crown had been located by marine archaeologists aboard CSIRO research vessel at a depth of, about 100km (100miles) off the coast of Victoria.^[5]

Official number and code letters

Official numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. Iron Crowns UK official number was 151806. Her code letters were THSB until 1933. By 1930 her wireless telegraph call sign was VJDK.

Bibliography

• Book: 1922 . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . II.–Steamers and Motor Vessels . London . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . . .
• Book: 1923 . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . II.–Steamers and Motor Vessels . London . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . Internet Archive . .
• Book: 1924 . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . II.–Steamers and Motorships . London . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . Internet Archive . .
• Book: 1934 . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over . London . Lloyd's Register of Shipping . . .
• Book: 1930 . Mercantile Navy List . London . Crew List Index Project . .

External links

• Australian National Shipwreck Database: SS Iron Crown

Notes and References

1. News: New Commonwealth Steamer . 24 April 2019 . The Age . 16 . Melbourne . Trove . 28 January 1922.
2. News: Euroa Renamed . 24 April 2019 . Daily Commercial News and Shipping List . 4 . Sydney . 18 December 1923 . Trove.
3. Web site: Broken Hill Proprietary . Mercantile Marine . 18 June 2012 . 9 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140309082526/https://sites.google.com/a/mercantilemarine.org/mercantile-marine/Fleets/australian-fleets/bhp . dead .
4. News: Long-lost shipwreck found off Victorian coast, 77 years after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine in WWII . 24 April 2019 . www.msn.com . 24 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190424053145/https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/long-lost-shipwreck-found-off-victorian-coast-77-years-after-being-torpedoed-by-japanese-submarine-in-wwii/ar-BBWbXq9 . dead .
5. News: Long-lost shipwreck found off Victorian coast, 77 years after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine in WWII . Carla . Howarth . 23 April 2019 . ABC News . 23 April 2019.