SS Maplewood explained

SS Maplewood was a British cargo steamship. She was launched on the River Tees in 1915. A U-boat sank her in the Mediterranean in 1917.

Building

In 1912 Joseph Constantine and Warley Pickering of Middlesbrough, Yorkshire took delivery of a pair of sister ships: Thorpwood, launched that January by William Gray & Company of West Hartlepool,[1] and Wearwood, launched that April by John Blumer & Co of Sunderland.[2] In 1915 Ropner & Sons of Stockton-on-Tees built a third ship for Constantine and Pickering to the same measurements. She was built as yard number 503, launched on 10 September 1915 as Maplewood, and completed that October.[3]

Maplewoods registered length was, her beam was and her depth was . Her tonnages were and . She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine built by Blair & Co of Stockton that was rated at 278 NHP. Warley and Pickering registered Maplewood at Middlesbrough. Her UK official number was 136078 and her code letters were JLWH.[4]

Loss

In April 1917 Maplewood left La Goulette in Tunisia with a cargo of iron ore for Middlesbrough. On 7 April sank her by torpedo 47nmi southwest of Cape Sperone, Sardinia. All of her crew survived, but U-35 took her Master prisoner.[5] [6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thorpwood . Tees Built Ships . Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust . 24 March 2024.
  2. Web site: Wearwood . Wear Built Ships . Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust . 24 March 2024.
  3. Web site: Maplewood . Tees Built Ships . Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust . 24 March 2024.
  4. Book: 1916 . Mercantile Navy List . London . 378 . Crew List Index Project .
  5. Web site: British Merchant Ships Lost to Enemy Action Part 2 of 3 – January–August 1917 in date order . Naval-History.net . 24 March 2024.
  6. Web site: Maplewood . Helgason . Guðmundur . uboat.net . 24 March 2024.