Court Line - the company and its ships

Hannington Court (2)

 

Court Line used the name Hannington Court for three ships:

 

· Hannington Court (1) - a cargo ship  completed in 1912

· Hannington Court (2) - a cargo ship completed in 1939

· Hannington Court (3) - a cargo ship completed in 1954

 

Hannington Court (2) has a short working life of just over 2 years. Launched just before the beginning of WW2 she took part in a significant number of convoys but caught fire off the coast of South Africa and was sunk by a British warship to avoid her becoming an obstruction.

Basic Data

Type: Cargo ship

Registered owners,managers and operators:

Court Line Ltd.

Managers Haldin & Philipps Ltd. London

Builders: William Doxford & Sons Ltd.

Yard: Pallion Sunderland

Country: UK

Yard number: 649

Registry: N/K

Official number: 167222

Signal letters: N/K

Call sign: N/K

Classification society: N/K

Gross tonnage: 5,449

Net tonnage: 3,247

Deadweight: N/K

Length: 429.7 ft

Breadth: 57.7 ft

Depth: 26.5 ft

Draught: N/K

Engines: 3 cylinder 2.S.C.S.A oil engine

Engine builders: William Doxford & Sons

Works: Sunderland

Country: UK

Power: N/K

Propulsion: Single screw

Speed: 13 knots

Cargo capacity: N/K

Crew: N/K

Service Pre-WW2

 

No information about service before WW2 is currently available.

Participation in WW2 Convoys

 

Hannington Court (2) took part in 19 convoys according to information shown in the table below which is provided courtesy of Convoyweb   - see  Ext. Ref. #5.

Sinking

 

Hannington Court (2) caught fire on 13 July 1941 about 94 miles N.W of Cape Town. en route from Cape Town to the UK carrying ore and general cargo. She was sunk by H.M.S. Dragon off Danger Point at position 34.46S/19.23.07E on 19 Jul 1941. As far as it is known there were no serious casualties.

 

At this time it is not known how the fire started (enemy action or otherwise) and it is believed that two people died. Further information is awaited. There is no information available on deaths from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

Images

 

1. Image #1 by permission of Clive Malvern

Image 1