SS Kingston Hill

SS Kingston Hill was a cargo ship built by William Hamilton & Co in Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde. She was completed in December 1940.^[1] She was managed by Counties Ship Management Co Ltd of London (CSM), an offshoot of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking company.^[3] She was a sister ship of SS Lulworth Hill, SS Marietta E, SS Michael E and SS Primrose Hill, which were also managed by CSM but owned by other R&K companies.

History
United Kingdom
Name	SS Kingston Hill
Namesake	Kingston Hill, south London
Operator	Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London
Builder	William Hamilton & Co, Port Glasgow[1]
Launched	17 October 1940
Completed	December 1940[1]
Out of service	8 June 1941[2]
Identification	UK official number 168045[1] Call sign GNMM[1]
Fate	Sunk by torpedo
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	7,628 GRT[1] tonnage under deck 7,217[1] 5,595 NRT[1]
Length	421.1 ft (128.4 m)[1] p/p
Beam	60.4 ft (18.4 m)[1]
Draught	35.8 ft (10.9 m)[1]
Installed power	520 NHP[1]
Propulsion	triple-expansion steam engine; screw[1]
Crew	62[2]
Notes	sister ships: SS Lulworth Hill, SS Marietta E, SS Michael E, SS Primrose Hill

Kingston Hill had a single 520 NHP triple-expansion steam engine^[1] driving a single screw. She had eight corrugated furnaces heating two 225 lb_f/in² single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 7,643 square feet (710 m²), plus one auxiliary boiler.^[1]

On 22 February 1941 Luftwaffe aircraft bombed and damaged the ship.^[2] She was repaired at Glasgow.^[2]

Approximate position of Kingston Hill's wreck

Sinking

In May 1941 Kingston Hill sailed from Cardiff and Glasgow laden with coal and general cargo for Alexandria in Egypt.^[2] To avoid the enemy-controlled waters of the Mediterranean she was heading via Cape Town, South Africa, but was unescorted.^[2] She was southwest of the Cape Verde Islands heading into the South Atlantic when the German submarine U-38 hit her with two torpedoes at 0108 hrs on 8 June 1941.^[2] She sank at 0125 hrs with the loss of her Master and 13 crew.^[2] 16 crew were rescued by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Achates and returned to Greenock.^[2] 26 crew were rescued by the US tanker Alabama and landed at Cape Town.^[2]