ROYAL NAVY SOUTH ATLANTIC COMMAND - ROYAL NAVY A B 36 SHIPS

8)ARAWA (ARMED M CRUISER)

Photo. IWM (FLS 840)

Armed Merchant Cruiser - F.12

Troopship

Built: 1921 as ESPERANCE BAY

Tonnage: 14,462 / 14,621 tons

Dimensions: 530.9ft x 68.3ft x 39.9ft

Propulsion: 2-shaft, 4 steam turbines DR, geared with Forced Draught Boilers giving 15 knots

Armament:7 x 6in guns and 2 x 3in AA guns

History
27/10/1939 commissioned as HMS Arawa, her crew being mostly Australian Reservists, and served on the China Station

October 1940 to the East Indies Station

November 1940 to the South Atlantic Station

18/1/1941 while on passage from the Clyde to Sierra Leone West of the canary Islands saw gunfire and heard a distress call from the tanker British Union. She cleared for action and approached at full speed. Thinking the attacker might be the Admiral Scheer she jettisoned her depth charges omitting to set them at safe. On arrival in the area she found oil wreckage and 7 survivours which she took to Freetown. The raider later turned out to be the Kormoran. Unfortunately the survivours were lost on their way home when their ship was sunk by the German cruiser Adm. Hipper.

25/7/1941 Paid off and used as troopship by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Later she was a repatriation ship for prisoners 

1945 returned to owner.

By http://forums.clydemaritime.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=5894#p11855

FOLLOWING PAGES ON THE SAME ARTICLE

7)AMARANTHUS (CORVETTE)

9)ARMERIA (CORVETTE)

10)ARRAN (ARMED TRAWLER)

11)ARCHER (AUX ACFT CARRIER)