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Isthmian Name: | Birmingham City | Period: | Ancient |
| Gross Tonnage: | 6,194 | Net: | 3,844 |
| Dimensions: | 395' 5" x 55' 0" x 31' 4" | MC Type: | 1037 |
| Builder: | Chickasaw Shipbuilding & Car Co. Chickasaw, AL | Hull # USMC Hull # Date of Build: Delivered: | 2 1920 6/20 |
| Engines: | 3SB(Spt), 9cf, GS180, HS8919 FD | Engine Builder: | Hooven, Owens Rentschler Co. Hamilton, Ontario |
| Navigation: | GyC | Decks, etc.: | 1 Deck(Stl) & Shelter Deck(Stl), Web Frames & Longitudinal Framing, Fitted for Oil Fuel |
| Began Isthmian Service: | 1920 | Ended Isthmian Service: | 1943 |
----------------------------------- Vessel History ----------------------------------- |
Date | Vessel # | Vessel Name | Vessel Owner | Call Ltrs | Home Port | Flag |
1920 | 220160 | Birmingham City | U.S. Steel Products Co. New York | LWRC | New York | US |
1930 | 220160 | Birmingham City | August: Isthmian Lines, Inc. New York | LWRC | New York | US |
1933 | 220160 | Birmingham City | Isthmian Lines, Inc. New York | KUTT | New York | US |
| Disposition Date | Comments |
| 1943 | 1/8 - The vessel sailed from Trinidad, BWI to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with 10,000 tons general cargo, Michael Francis Barry Master, serving as the Commodore's flagship in Convoy TB-1. While steaming 6 knots, position 07.12 N, 55.37 W, about 50 miles North of Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, a torpedo struck the American tanker BROAD ARROW off the BIRMINGHAM CITY's port beam, with the resulting fire lighting up the entire convoy of 12 vessels and 4 escorts. Just a minute later at 11:41 PM, a torpedo fired from U-124 (Mohr) struck the vessel on the port side amidships at the #3 hold. The explosion blew the port lifeboats off the ship, destroyed the fireroom bulkhead, causing the ship to sink on an even keel in 3 minutes. The surviving 9 officers, 29 crewmen and 18 armed guards immediately abandoned ship. The #1 motor lifeboat capsized on launching, tossing the men into the water, drowning several. Survivors also left the ship in the #3 boat, while others jumped and swam to several rafts. The men righted #1 and emptied the rafts. The USS PC-577 rescued the survivors 10 hours after the attack. Three officers, 2 crewmen and 5 armed guards died, most from drowning. The survivors landed at Paramaribo, Surinam. |
| The information on this page is the kind contribution of Skip Lewis. Skip, whose dad sailed for Isthmian, is an avid collector and researcher of everything Isthmian. In his quest, he has used many sources and publications including Lloyd's of London and Imperial Steel by John Atherton. Thank you, Skip. Copyright © 2003-2007 - All rights reserved. |
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