SS Iron Crown
{{Short description|Australian steamship sunk in 1942}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= SS Iron Crown.jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Australia|civil}} |Ship country= Australia |Ship name=*1922: Euroa
|Ship namesake= 1922: Euroa |Ship owner=*1922: Commonwealth Line
|Ship operator= 1923: Broken Hill Pty |Ship registry= *1922: Melbourne
|Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder= Williamstown Dockyard |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= 27 January 1922 |Ship completed= 1922 |Ship acquired= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship identification= *UK official number 151806
|Ship fate= sunk, 4 June 1942 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type= cargo ship |Ship tonnage= {{GRT|3353}}, {{NRT|1922}} |Ship length= {{cvt|331.0|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{cvt|47.9|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= {{convert|23|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= {{cvt|23.6|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship decks= 1 |Ship power= 387 NHP |Ship propulsion= *1 × triple-expansion engine
|Ship speed= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship crew= 43 |Ship notes= }} |
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 Proprietary (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,{{cite news |title=New Commonwealth Steamer |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205744632 |access-date=24 April 2019 |newspaper=The Age |page=16 |place=Melbourne |via=Trove |date=28 January 1922}} and registered in Melbourne.{{sfn|Lloyd's Register 1923|loc=EUG–EUR}} In December 1923 BHP acquired her, renamed her Iron Crown,{{cite news |title=Euroa Renamed |url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159928634 |access-date=24 April 2019 |work=Daily Commercial News and Shipping List |page=4 |place=Sydney |date=18 December 1923 |via=Trove}} and registered her in Sydney.{{sfn|Lloyd's Register 1924|loc=IRO–IRT}}
On 4 June 1942 Iron Crown, was en route from Whyalla in South Australia to Newcastle, New South Wales when {{Jsub|I-27}} sank her by torpedo {{convert|44|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip|sigfig=2}} south-southwest of Gabo Island. 38 of her 43 crew members were killed. {{SS|Mulbera||2}} rescued survivors.{{cite web |url=http://sites.google.com/a/mercantilemarine.org/mercantile-marine/Fleets/australian-fleets/bhp |title=Broken Hill Proprietary |publisher=Mercantile Marine |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-date=9 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309082526/https://sites.google.com/a/mercantilemarine.org/mercantile-marine/Fleets/australian-fleets/bhp |url-status=dead }}
George Fisher, the last survivor, was aged 18 when the ship sank, and died in 2012.{{cite news |title=Long-lost shipwreck found off Victorian coast, 77 years after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine in WWII |url=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 |access-date=24 April 2019 |work=www.msn.com |archive-date=24 April 2019 |archive-url=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 |url-status=dead }}
Wreckage discovery
In April 2019 it was announced that the wreck of Iron Crown had been located by marine archaeologists aboard CSIRO research vessel {{ship|RV|Investigator}} at a depth of {{convert|700|m}}, about {{convert|100|km|nmi}} off the coast of Victoria.{{cite news |url= https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-23/ss-iron-crown-wwii-freighter-shipwreck-found-off-victorian-coast/11037402 |title=Long-lost shipwreck found off Victorian coast, 77 years after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine in WWII |first=Carla |last=Howarth |date=23 April 2019 |work=ABC News |access-date=23 April 2019}}
Official number and code letters
Official numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. Iron Crown{{'}}s UK official number was 151806. Her code letters were THSB until 1933. By 1930 her wireless telegraph call sign was VJDK.{{sfn|Mercantile Navy List 1930|p=266}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |year=1922 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motor Vessels |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1923ST/page/n385/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1922}} }}
- {{cite book |year=1923 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motor Vessels |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1924ST/page/n394/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1923}} }}
- {{cite book |year=1924 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1925ST/page/n561/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1924}} }}
- {{cite book |year=1934 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url= |ref={{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1934}} }}
- {{cite book |year=1930 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |via=Crew List Index Project |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?name=Iron+Crown&year=1930&submit=Enter |ref={{harvid|Mercantile Navy List 1930}} }}
External links
- [https://dmzapp17p.ris.environment.gov.au/shipwreck/public/wreck/wreck.do?key=6282 Australian National Shipwreck Database: SS Iron Crown]{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{June 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Crown}}
Category:Cargo ships of Australia
Category:Iron and steel steamships of Australia
Category:Maritime incidents in June 1942
Category:Ships of BHP Shipping
Category:Ships built in Victoria (state)
Category:Ships sunk by Japanese submarines
Category:Shipwrecks of Victoria (state)