SS California (1923)

For other ships to have carried the name, see SS California.

SS California was a British 16,792 GRT steam turbine ocean liner built in Glasgow in 1923 for the Anchor Line. She was a sister ship of Cameronia, Tyrrhenia, Tuscania, Transylvania and Caledonia. In 1939 the Royal Navy requisitioned her. She was bombed and abandoned, along with the Duchess of York, west of Spain after a Luftwaffe attack in July 1943.

California passing the Statue of Liberty, New York, 1925
History
United Kingdom
Name	California
Namesake	California
Owner	Anchor Line
Port of registry	Glasgow
Route	Glasgow – New York
Builder	Alexander Stephen & Sons, Glasgow
Yard number	494[1]
Launched	17 April 1923[1]
Fate	Acquired by the Royal Navy
United Kingdom
Name	HMS California
Operator	Royal Navy
In service	1939
Identification	Official number: 1147871[2]
Fate	Crippled by German air attack 11 July 1943; sunk the next day by the Royal Navy
General characteristics
Tonnage	16,792 GRT,[1] 9,930 NRT
Length	553.0 ft (168.6 m)
Beam	70.4 ft (21.5 m)
Depth	33.8 ft (10.3 m)
Propulsion	6 steam turbines; twin screw
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h)[2]
Armament	DEMS

Building

Alexander Stephen & Sons of Linthouse, Glasgow built California for Henderson Brothers. Like her Anchor Line sisters (and unlike her Cunard sisters), she featured three funnels. The foremost and aftmost funnels were dummies, with only the central funnel being functional. The dummies were later removed sometime in the 1930s.

Career

Pre-War

The California carried passengers between Glasgow and New York via Derry and Boston, and she made about 20 crossings in winter seasons from Liverpool to Bombay. With the increase in international tourism, the ship's passenger accommodations were redesigned in May 1929 for 206 passengers in cabin class, 440 in tourist class, and 485 in third class.

World War II

As armed merchant cruiser HMS California in World War II

In 1939 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to an Armed Merchant Cruiser, and from 1942 she was a troopship.

Loss

On 8 July 1943 the small fast Convoy Faith, comprising Port Fairy, the troopships Duchess of York and California, and escorted by the destroyer HMS Douglas and frigate HMS Moyola, sailed Port Glasgow, Scotland, for Freetown, Sierra Leone. On the evening of 10 July the convoy rendezvoused with the Canadian destroyer HMCS Iroquois 500 miles (800 km) WSW of Land's End. On 11 July 1943 when about 300 miles (480 km) west of Vigo, Spain, the convoy was attacked by three Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft of Kampfgeschwader 40^[3] from Merignac near Bordeaux.

Focke Wulf Fw 200

Accurate high-altitude bombing left Duchess of York and California in flames.^[4] The attack cost the lives of 46 servicemen and crew,^[5] and both ships were abandoned. It was feared the flames from the troopships would attract U-boats, so in the early hours of 12 July^[4] they were sunk by Royal Navy torpedoes in position 41°15′N 15°24′W.^[6]