Descendents of William James Patterson (6 Mar 1812 - 11 Dec 1892)
and Sarah Ann Jane Dibblee (3 May 1820- 8 Nov 1855)

Return to WWI Service Record of Carrol "Carl" Patterson

 

Medium sized pop up image 450 X 281, 72 dpi, 29 k

The NANKIN was built by Caird & Company, Yard Dock 320, for the Greenock United Kingdom.

Launch Date: 18 May 1912.

Destroyed: By fire, Nov 20, 1942.

Ship Type: Passenger Cargo Vessel

Gross Registered Tonnage: 6846

Length: 450' (137.2 m)

Breadth: 52' (15.8 m)

Draft: 28' (8.5 m)

Engine: 2 x quadruple expansion engires via twin screw.

Passengers: 94 (in peacetime). Many more berths were available when the ship was used as troopship during World War I.

Owner History:

1) Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (port of registry; London).

2) Deutsches Reich (1942 war prize).

Name History:

1) Nankin (1912-1942)

2) Leuthen (1942 following it's capture)

The SS Nankin was captured by the German raider Thor on May 10, 194. Thor's seaplane sighted the 7,130 ton Australian liner Nankin, en route to Bombay. From a distance of 13,000 yards, Thor opened fire with her 5.9" guns, scoring several hits. The Captain of the Nankin issued the order to abandon ship and lowered his flags. The crew attempted to scuttle the ship, but a German boarding party managed to repair the damage done to the ship's engines. The Nankin was renamed the Leuthen and taken as a prize ship. Following resupply and prisoner transfer, the vessel was taken to Japan eventually ending up in Yokohama Harbour. In the meantime Thor arrived in Yokohama on 9 October 1942 where she commenced refitting in preparation for another voyage. However on November 30 a series of explosions on the supply ship Uckermark destroyed her superstructure, sending a large amount of burning debris onto Thor, which was moored alongside. Both ships were rapidly set ablaze, along with the Nankin/Leuthen and the Japanese freighter Unkai Maru. All four ships were destroyed in the fire, and 12 of Thor's crew were killed. Thor was wrecked beyond repair, and was abandoned

 

 

Page last updated 30 Dec 2008
Contact Tim Patterson <tim.patterson@carleton.ca> to provide additions or corrections.