SS Clearton
| |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Clearton |
| Operator: | R. Chapman & Son, Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| Builder: | Richardson, Duck & Co Ltd, Stockton-on-Tees |
| Completed: | 1919 |
| Fate: | sunk on 1 July 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 5,219 tons |
| Capacity: | 7,320 tons |
| Crew: | 34 |
The SS Clearton was a British steam merchant ship of 5,219 tons displacement. She was built in 1919 by Richardson, Duck & Co Ltd, Stockton-on-Tees for the shipping firm of R. Chapman & Son, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She was homeported in Newcastle.
Career and loss
During the Second World War she was used on convoy duties, carrying vital food supplies to Britain. Her last convoy, SL-36, took her from Rosario, Argentina to Manchester, via Freetown, Sierra Leone, where she arrived on the 15th June 1940. She was carrying a cargo of 7,320 tons of cereals, commanded by her Master, John Edward Elsdon.
At 11.55 hours on 1 July, 1940, the Clearton was torpedoed and damaged by U-102 about 180 miles west of Ushant. At 13.25 hours, the now straggling vessel was again torpedoed by the U-boat and sank 042° 240 miles from Smalls. Eight crew members were lost, out of a total complement of 34. The master, 24 crew members and one gunner were picked up by HMS Vansittart, which had sunk U-102 shortly after the last attack and brought the survivors to Plymouth.
