SS Michael E
World War II British CAM ship
title: "SS Michael E" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1941-ships", "cam-ships", "ships-built-on-the-river-clyde", "maritime-incidents-in-june-1941", "ships-of-counties-ship-management", "ships-sunk-by-german-submarines-in-world-war-ii", "steamships-of-the-united-kingdom", "world-war-ii-shipwrecks-in-the-atlantic-ocean", "world-war-ii-merchant-ships-of-the-united-kingdom"] description: "World War II British CAM ship" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Michael_E" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary World War II British CAM ship ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| section1 | {{Infobox ship/image |
| section2 | {{Infobox ship/career |
| country | United Kingdom |
| flag | |
| name | Michael E |
| owner | Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd |
| operator | Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London |
| <ref name | U964 |
| builder | William Hamilton & Co, Port Glasgow |
| completed | May 1941 |
| registry | UK London |
| identification | *UK official number 168165 |
| *Call sign BCKB<ref name | LR/ |
| fate | Torpedoed and sunk, 2 June 1941 |
| section3 | {{Infobox ship/characteristics |
| type | Cargo ship |
| tonnage | * |
| *tonnage under deck 7,217<ref name | LR/ |
| *<ref name | LR/ |
| length | *421.1 ft p/p |
| *{{convert | 434.5 |
| beam | 60.4 ft |
| depth | 35.8 ft |
| draught | 23 ft |
| power | 443 NHP |
| propulsion | triple-expansion steam engine; screw |
| crew | 46 Merchant Navy personnel, 12 RAF personnel, four DEMS gunners |
| aircraft | 1 Hawker Sea Hurricane |
| aircraft_facilities | aircraft catapult |
| notes | sister ships: , , , |
| :: |
|section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= |image_caption=
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country= United Kingdom |flag= |name= Michael E |owner= Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd |operator= Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London |ordered= |builder= William Hamilton & Co, Port Glasgow |yard_number= |laid_down= |launched= |completed= May 1941 |acquired= |in_service= |registry=UK London |identification=*UK official number 168165
- Call sign BCKB
|out_of_service= |fate=Torpedoed and sunk, 2 June 1941 |notes=
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= |type= Cargo ship |tonnage=*
- tonnage under deck 7,217
|displacement= |length=*421.1 ft p/p
- 434.5 ft o/a |beam= 60.4 ft |height= |depth= 35.8 ft |draught= 23 ft |power= 443 NHP |propulsion= triple-expansion steam engine; screw |speed= |capacity= |crew= 46 Merchant Navy personnel, 12 RAF personnel, four DEMS gunners |armament= |aircraft= 1 Hawker Sea Hurricane |aircraft_facilities= aircraft catapult |notes= sister ships: , , ,
'*SS *Michael E''''' was a cargo ship that was built in 1941. She was the first British catapult aircraft merchant ship (CAM ship): a merchant ship fitted with a rocket catapult to launch a single Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft to defend a convoy against long-range German bombers. She was sunk on her maiden voyage by a German submarine.
Description
Michael E was built by William Hamilton & Co Ltd, Port Glasgow. Launched in 1941, she was completed in May of that year. She was the United Kingdom's first CAM ship, armed with an aircraft catapult on her bow to launch a Hawker Sea Hurricane.
The ship was 421.1 ft long between perpendiculars (434.5 ft overall), with a beam of 60.4 ft. She had a depth of 35.8 ft and a draught of 23 ft. She was measured at and .
She had six corrugated furnaces feeding two 225 lb/in2 single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 5940 sqft. The boilers fed a 443 nominal horsepower triple-expansion steam engine that had cylinders of 24 in, 39 in and 68 in diameter by 48 in stroke. The engine was built by David Rowan & Co Ltd, Glasgow.
History
Michael E was owned by the Bury Hill Shipping Co Ltd. She was named after Michael Eustathiou, a member of the Nicholas Eustathiou family that had a major shareholding in her. Her Code Letters were BCKB, her UK Official Number was 163168 and she was registered in London.
Michael E was a sister ship of , , and , which also were managed by CSM and owned by companies associated with R&K. |lat= 48.50 |long= -29.00 |caption=Approximate position of Michael Es wreck |relief= yes
Sinking
On 28 May 1941 Michael E sailed in ballast on her maiden voyage from Belfast, Northern Ireland bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia with convoy OB 327. The convoy was dispersed on 1 June and at 20:43 hours on 2 June Michael E was in the North Atlantic several hundred miles southwest of Cape Clear when fired two torpedoes at her. One missed but the other struck her in the stern killing a crew member and two DEMS gunners, and at 22:21 hours she sank by the stern. On 3 June the Dutch cargo ship rescued Michael Es master, 44 crew, two gunners and 12 Royal Air Force personnel.
Replacement ship
In September 1941 William Hamilton & Co completed a second CAM ship of the same class for CSM. She was launched as and effectively replaced Michael E. Primrose Hill survived until October 1942 when a German-operated submarine sank her by torpedo and shellfire.
References
References
- (1940). "Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships". [[Lloyd's Register]].
- Helgason, Guðmundur. (1995–2010). "Michael E.". Guðmundur Helgason.
- Fenton, Roy. (2006). "Counties Ship Management 1934–2007". LOF-News.
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