HMS Cheshire

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HMS Cheshire was a passenger ship that was built in Scotland in 1927 and scrapped in Wales in 1957. She belonged to Bibby Line, which ran passenger and cargo services between Rangoon in Burma (now Yangon in Myanmar) and various ports in Great Britain, via the Suez Canal and Gibraltar.Template:Sfn The Admiralty requisitioned her in 1939 and had her converted into an armed merchant cruiser (AMC). She was converted into a troopship in 1943, and returned to civilian service in 1948.

She was the second of five Bibby Line ships to be named after the English county of Cheshire. The first was a steamship that was built in 1891 and sold in 1911.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The third was a motor ship that was built in 1959 and sold in 1968.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The fourth was built in 1971 and sold in 1983. The fifth was built in 1989.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The second Cheshire was the second of five sister ships that the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan in Glasgow built for Bibby Line. The first was Shropshire, which was built in 1926. They were followed by Staffordshire in 1929, Template:HMS in 1931, and Derbyshire in 1935.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Building

Fairfield built Cheshire as yard number 620, launched her on 20 April 1927, and completed her that July.<ref name=SBS>Template:Cite web</ref> Her registered length was Template:Cvt, her beam was Template:Cvt, her depth was Template:Cvt and her draught was Template:Cvt. Her tonnages were Template:GRT and Template:NRT.Template:Sfn She was completed with four masts,<ref name=SBS/> like all Bibby ships of her era.

Cheshire had twin screws, each driven by an eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 2,196 NHP,Template:Sfn and gave her a speed of Template:Convert.<ref name=Helgason3348>Template:Cite web</ref>

As built, her navigation equipment included submarine signalling and wireless direction finding.Template:Sfn

Bibby Line registered Cheshire at Liverpool. Her United Kingdom official number was 149601 and her code letters were 149625.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn By 1930 her call sign was GLXV.Template:Sfn In 1934 this superseded her code letters.Template:Sfn

Auxiliary cruiser

On 29 August 1939 the Admiralty requisitioned Cheshire for conversion into an AMC. Her primary armament was six Template:Convert guns, and her secondary armament was two Template:Convert guns. She was commissioned on 30 October, with the pennant number F18. Her first commander was Captain Montague Bernard.<ref name=Helgason3348/> Her mainmast and mizzen-mast were removed, as was the top of her jigger-mast. Only her foremast survived the conversion intact.<ref name=SBS/>

Cheshire was assigned to the South Atlantic Station from November 1939 until April 1940, the North Atlantic Escort Force in May 1940, the Northern and Western Patrol from June 1940 until April 1941, and the Freetown Escort Force from May to November 1941. She returned to the South Atlantic Station from December 1941 to April 1943, and was assigned to the Nore Command from May to June 1943.<ref name=Helgason3348/>

From January to March 1940 Cheshire took part in the escort of three SL convoys from Freetown in Sierra Leone to Britain.<ref name=Kindell>Template:Cite web</ref> On 28 May 1940, she protected the French aviso Template:Lang, which was rescuing survivors from the torpedoed cargo liner Template:MV.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 1941, she took part in the escort of Convoy HX 131 from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Britain, and Convoy OB 335 from Liverpool out into the North Atlantic. In July 1941 she took part in the escort of Convoy BHX 137 from Bermuda to join Convoy HX 137 in mid-Atlantic to continue to Britain. In August 1942 Cheshire took part in the escort of Convoy SL 118 from Freetown to Britain.<ref name=Kindell/>

The troopship Template:SS, which was damaged by an air attack and assisted by ships including Cheshire

On 8 October 1940 Cheshire and her sister ship Salopian were on patrol when enemy aircraft attacked Convoy WS 3 (Fast), which was assembling in home waters to take seven troopships from Britain to Suez. Enemy aircraft attacked the troopships Template:Ship and Template:SS. Cheshire and Salopian came to assist. Salopian resumed her patrol, but Cheshire stayed with the destroyers Template:HMS and HMCS Ottawa to assist Oronsay, which had been damaged.<ref name=Helgason3348/>

At 21:28 hours 14 October 1940 Template:GS attacked Cheshire northwest of Ireland at position Template:Coord, hitting her with one torpedo. The destroyer Template:HMCS and corvette Template:HMS took off 220 members of her crew. Cheshire was towed to Belfast Lough, where she was beached. She was later towed to Liverpool for repairs, which took six months.<ref name=Helgason2068>Template:Cite web</ref> She returned to active service in 1941, commanded by Captain James Begg.<ref name=Helgason3348/>

On 7 August 1942 Cheshire joined the escort of SL118, a convoy of 37 merchant ships that had left Freetown on 4 August and was bound for Liverpool.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At 18:52 hours on 18 August Template:GS attacked the convoy at position Template:Coord, firing four single torpedoes. Two hit and sank Netherland Line's Balingkar, one damaged the British India Steam Navigation Company's Template:SS, and one damaged Cheshire.<ref name=Helgason2068/>

Troopship

On 9 June 1943 the Admiralty returned Cheshire to Bibby Line, for conversion into a troopship for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).

In the small hours of 24 December 1944 Cheshire and the Belgian troopship Template:SS, escorted by four destroyers, left Southampton to cross the English Channel to Cherbourg. They carried the 262nd and 264th regiments, which were part of the United States Army's 66th Infantry Division. That afternoon, just Template:Convert off Cherbourg, Template:GS sank Léopoldville with two torpedoes, killing 763 US soldiers and 56 crew.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Between 28 and 31 December 1944 Cheshire took the US Army's 289th Engineer Combat Battalion from Southampton to Le Havre. Other US Army units that Cheshire carried during the war included the 263rd Regiment, which was part of the 66th Infantry Division, and the 329th Regiment, which was part of the 83rd Infantry Division.Template:Citation needed

The MoWT later used Cheshire as a repatriation ship.<ref name=Helgason3348/>

Final years

On 5 October 1948 the MoWT returned Cheshire to Bibby Line,<ref name=Helgason3348/> which resumed its passenger service between Britain and Rangoon.Template:Sfn

By 1946 CheshireTemplate:'s navigation equipment included radar.Template:Sfn By 1955 it also included a gyrocompass.Template:Sfn

Toward the end of her career she attended at least one of the UK's nuclear bomb tests on Christmas Island. On 11 July 1957 she arrived in Newport, Wales, where John Cashmore Ltd scrapped her.<ref name=SBS/>

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