The Sinking of the Khedive Ismail

[spidge]

The Khedive Ismail was a 7513-ton vessel built in 1922 by Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Company. She was equiped with 1469 nominal horsepower turbine engines and could achieve a maximum speed of 17 knots. Her dimensions were 422.8 x 56.2 x 30.4 feet.
The liner was requistitioned from the British India Steam Navigation Company by the Ministry of War Transport, for use as a troop-ship. The vessel was carrying 1,511 people including 178 ships crew, 996 officers and men of the 301st Field Regiment, East African Artillery, 271 Royal Navy personnel, FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) and a detachment of 19 British Wrens. Also on board were 53 nursing sisters with one matron and 9 WTS ladies.
While en route from Mombasa (Kenya) to Colombo (Sri Lanka), the ship was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean at 14.33 hours, by a Japanese submarine.
It took less than two minutes for the ship to sink taking 1,297 of her passengers and crew with her.


The submarine I-27 (Captain Toshiaki Fukumura), was sunk by escorting vessels.


See the names here:
Women's Transport Service

There is also a book on the sinking with a colour image of the ship: Books by Brian Crabb

[Hugh]

ss KHEDIVE ISMAIL official number 162372 built 1922 as ACONCAGUA.
1935 renamed KHEDIVE ISAMIL, requisitioned by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) in 1940 as a troopship.

12th February 1944: Torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-27 (Fukumura), in the Indian Ocean S of the Maldive Islands near Addu Atoll, in position 00.57N 72.16E while on government service on a voyage from Mombassa to Colombo, with troops and medical staff, part of convoy KR 8 comprising 5 troop ships.

The Master, Capt Roderick William MacAuly Whiteman DSC, 119 crew, 12 gunners, 5 medical staff and 1134 troops were lost. 51 crew and 56 troops were rescued by HM destroyers PALADIN 1540/41 (G.69) (Lt-Cdr Rupert C. Egan) and landed at Addu Atoll, Maldive Islands, then embarked on HM cruiser HAWKINS 9860/17 (I 86) (Capt J.W. Josselyn DSC) landed at Columbo 17.2.1944.

Lt Toshiaki Fukumura and crew were lost on the same day when I-27 was sunk in the Indian Ocean in the One and a Half Degree Channel, Maldive Islands, in position 01.25N 72.22E by HM destroyers PETARD and PALADIN.

The sinking of the ss KEHEDIVE ISMAIL was the last incident involving the loss of women personnel during the war, but it was also the worst such in the entire history of the British Commonwealth.

The I-27 was hiding under survivors and flotsam but priority lay in destroying the submarine rather than rescuing survivors and so a depth charge attack was made, unfortunately killing some of the survivors in the water.

Lest We Forget.

Regards
Hugh

[spidge]

Hi Hugh,

Might this relate to the scene in "The Cruel Sea" or did U-boats use the same tactics.

[Nostalgair]

Thanks for the post.

In an interesting twist, I was walking Fisherman's Wharf at San Francisco recently when we happened upon a WWII US submarine on exhibition.

The chap I was with stopped. His next words related to the fact that it was the submarine that had sunk his father's ship when he was a POW; the USS Pampanito.

Small world.

Cheers

Owen

[Hugh]

Originally Posted by spidge

Hi Hugh,

Might this relate to the scene in "The Cruel Sea" or did U-boats use the same tactics.

Yes, Spidge same sort of thing although I am not sure if this tactic was common among the U-boats..I will see if I can find out more. Do you know if the Cruel Sea was based on fact or fiction? A good film though.

Regards
Hugh

[spidge]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Yes, Spidge same sort of thing although I am not sure if this tactic was common among the U-boats..I will see if I can find out more. Do you know if the Cruel Sea was based on fact or fiction? A good film though.

Regards
Hugh

It was a novel by Nicholas Monsarrat R.N.V.R.

Educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge. Joined R.N.V.R at start of WWII as a sub-lieutenant and rose to Lieutenant-Commander. Spent his time on convoy work, latterly in charge of a frigate. Director of UK Information Office in Johannesburg 1946-53, Ottawa 1953-56. Chairman of National War Memorial Health Foundation of South Africa. Awarded Heinemann Foundation Prize for Literature 1951, Coronation Medal 1953. Made Chevalier of the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem 1973. Died 1979. His ashes were scattered over the sea.

He also wrote other novels:

(book) Three Corvettes (1945)

(book) HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour (1952)

(book) The Kapillan Of Malta (1973)

(book) Monsarrat At Sea (1975)

(book) The Master Mariner (1978)

(autobiography) Life Is A Four-Letter Word (Vol1 1966/Vol2 1970)

[Paul]

FYI - In the September issue of Britain at War Magazine there will be a feature on the SS Khedive Ismail.

[spidge]

Originally Posted by Paul

FYI - In the September issue of Britain at War Magazine there will be a feature on the SS Khedive Ismail.

Good info Paul.

This will be of interest to a few here!

Cheers

Geoff