HMS Sansovino (F162)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | C-1-S-AY1 finished as Infantry landing ship |
| Name: | HMS Sansovino |
| Builder: | Consolidated Steel Corporation, Wilmington, California |
| Launched: | 29 July 1943 |
| Completed: | November 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 1945 |
| Out of service: | Returned to Ministry of War Transport in June 1946 |
| Renamed: |
Built as Cape Compass Empire Cutlass in 1943 HMS Sansovino in 1945 Empire Cutlass in June 1946 Hai Ou in 1948 Empire Cutlass in 1950 Hai Ou in 1960 |
| Fate: |
Returned to US Navy in 1947 Decommissioned and laid up in 1948 Sold in 1960 Scrapped in 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 7,177 tons grt |
| Length: | 396 ft (121 m) |
| Beam: | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines |
| Boats and landing craft carried: | sixteen Landing Craft Assault |
| Armament: |
1 x 4 in gun 1 x 12 pdr gun 12 x 20mm guns |
HMS Sansovino was an infantry landing ship in service with the Royal Navy during the late stages of the Second World War.
She was built by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Wilmington, California as the Cape Compass.
War Transport
She was transferred under the terms of lend lease shortly after being completed in 1943 under the name Empire Cutlass.[1] She was taken over by the Ministry of War Transport and operated by Furness, Withy & Co.
She was converted to carry sixteen Landing Craft Assault for the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. On D-Day she carried the South Lancashire Regiment for Sword Beach[2]. She had near misses from two torpedoes and suffered heavy shelling from Le Havre.
Later in June while in the Solent, a V-1 flying bomb brought down by her barrage balloon exploded on her starboard side. [3] She continued to ferry troops from England to France after repairs. On 21 November she was damaged by an oyster mine in the English Channel, but no casualties were reported.[4] She was sent for repairs in Falmouth.
In 1945 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and commissioned as HMS Sansovino, under which name she served out the remainder of the war.[1]
On 18 January 1946 she was in the Pacific when the MV Highland Brigade, carrying two thousand Indian troops, struck a mine off Singapore.[5] The Sansovino, which was carrying troops of the 2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment from Soerabaja, came to the aid of the stricken Highland Brigade, and took 110 Indian troops off with her landing craft.[5] The Highland Brigade was subsequently towed into Singapore.[5] She was returned to the Ministry of War Transport in June 1946, which returned her to Furness, Withy & Co under her original name of Empire Cutlass.[1][6] She was returned to the US Navy in 1947 and operated by the United States Maritime Commission.[6] In 1948 it was arranged that she would be sold to China, and she was renamed Hai Ou in preparation. The arrangement was subsequently postponed, and by 1950 she had been renamed Empire Cutlass and was laid up in the James River, Virginia.[6] She returned to service in 1960, when the deal finally went ahead. She was renamed Hai Ou, and entered service with the China Merchants Steam Navigation Co., of Taiwan.[6] She sailed with them until 1970, when she was sold for breaking up, being scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan by 15 October 1970.[6][7]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. pp. p. 70.
- ↑ http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/sword/en_page.php?page=3
- ↑ http://www.rocassoc.org.uk/open/items/seaborne.htm
- ↑ Neill. Infantry Soldier. pp. p. 66.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "MV HIGHLAND BRIGADE". Imperial War Museum. http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpcgi.exe?AC=GET_RECORD&XC=/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpcgi.exe&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwmcollections.org.uk%2FqryPhotoImg.php&TN=Uncat&SN=AUTO14668&SE=7810&RN=0&MR=25&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=1&XP=&RF=phoResults&EF=&DF=PhotoImgDetailed&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=1&ID=&MF=&MQ=&TI=0&DT=&ST=0&IR=168106&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&BG=0&FG=0&QS=. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "EMPIRE - C". mariners-l.co.uk. http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/EmpireC.html. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ↑ "Search result for "1169740"". Miramar Ship Index. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/list?search_op=OR&IDNo=1169740. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Neill, George W. (2001). Infantry Soldier: Holding the Line at the Battle of the Bulge. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806133805.
- Finch, Ted (2001). "EMPIRE - C". THE 'EMPIRE' SHIPS. mariners-l.co.uk. http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/EmpireC.html. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- Haworth, R (2006). "Search result for "1169740"". Miramar Ship Index. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/list?search_op=OR&IDNo=1169740. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- "MV HIGHLAND BRIGADE". Royal Navy 1939-1945. Imperial War Museum. http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpcgi.exe?AC=GET_RECORD&XC=/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpcgi.exe&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwmcollections.org.uk%2FqryPhotoImg.php&TN=Uncat&SN=AUTO14668&SE=7810&RN=0&MR=25&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=1&XP=&RF=phoResults&EF=&DF=PhotoImgDetailed&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=1&ID=&MF=&MQ=&TI=0&DT=&ST=0&IR=168106&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&BG=0&FG=0&QS=. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
