MV British Motorist (1924)

MV British Motorist, salvaged in Darwin Harbour
History
United Kingdom
Name	MV British Motorist
Operator	British Tanker Company Ltd.
Builder	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Newcastle upon Tyne[1]
Yard number	1162
Launched	14 August 1924
Fate	Sunk, 19 February 1942 Salvaged 1959, broken up 1960.
General characteristics
Type	Oil tanker
Tonnage	6,891 GRT
Length	440 ft 3 in (134.19 m)
Beam	57 ft (17 m)
Draught	33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
Propulsion	Oil engine, 2SCSA, 8cyl (24 x 50ins), 796nhp, Single screw
Crew	61

MV British Motorist was a 6,891 ton tanker, built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1924 for the British Tanker Company.

While under charter to the merchant navy, she was in port in Darwin, Australia when on 19 February 1942, she was hit by two bombs during the Japanese air raid on Darwin and was sunk, resting in 18–20 metres (59–66 ft) of water. She had been carrying oil, aviation fuel and petrol and was refuelling USS Peary when the raid commenced.

Two of her crew were killed out of 61 in the initial attack: the master Gilbert C. Bates and 2nd Radio Operator James H. Webster.

In 1959–1960, she was salvaged by Fujita Salvage Company, with the fore and aft sections of the hull welded together while the engine room was left, as it was too heavy to refloat. The welded fore and aft was towed back to Japan and broken up.[2]

What remains of British Motorist lies in Darwin Harbour at position 12°28.96′S 130°50.33′E.[3]

Footnotes

1. British Motorist.
2. "The Fujita Salvage Operation | Northern Territory Library". ntl.nt.gov.au. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
3. "World War II Shipwrecks". Northern Territory Government, Australia. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2010.

References

• "MV British Motorist (1924)". www.tynebuiltships.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2017.

Further reading

• Grose, Peter (2009). An Awkward Truth: the Bombing of Darwin, February 1942. Crow's Nest: NSW Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-643-2.

External links

• The Fujita Salvage Operation, Northern Territory Library online feature
• Northern Territory shipwrecks
• MV British Motorist shipwreck
• Photos of MV British Motorist