SS Chulmleigh was a British merchant ship of the mid-20th century. She was in service during the first years of the Second World War and was lost on the Kola Run in November 1942. Her crew underwent a 6-week ordeal before being rescued; only the master and eight crewmen survived.
Construction
Chulmleigh was built in 1938 by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd. of Southwick for the Dulverton Steamship Co., one of WJ Tatem's companies, and was intended for the movement of general cargo. She was 430 ft in length, with a capacity of 5,445 GRT and powered by a triple-expansion steam engine fed by two single-ended boilers, giving a maximum speed of 10.5 knots. She had a single deck, with a shelter deck and a cruiser stern. Chulmleigh was launched on 8 December 1937 and was completed in May 1938.
Service history
Chulmleigh entered service in 1938 with Dulverton but was later transferred to Atlantic Shipping & Trading Co., another of Tatem's companies. The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 found her at Colón, Panama, having completed a voyage to British Columbia and was returning to the UK via the Caribbean. Following her return she undertook several long-haul voyages over the next two years. In October 1939 she departed the UK, travelling with convoy OB 27 until dispersal for ports in South America; she returned in January 1940 with SL 18. After several coastal journeys she left the UK in March 1940 with OB 107 for North America, returning with HX 34 in April. In May 1940 Chulmleigh left with OB 155, joining OG 31 for West Africa and the South Atlantic, before arriving in Australia in August. She returned via the Cape and West Africa, joining SL 62 for passage back to the UK, and arriving in February 1941. In April 1941 she left the UK for West Africa with OB 308, returning with SL 77 in June. In August, while with ON 6 Chulmleigh was involved in a collision; after repairs she departed with ON 19, for North America. She returned with SC 54 en route to Iceland with Lend-Lease cargo for the Soviet Union. In November 1941 she sailed with PQ 5 for Archangel, remaining ice-bound there throughout the winter. After the thaw Chulmleigh sailed for home with QP13 in June 1942. In September 1942 Chulmleigh returned to Iceland for further passage to the Soviet Union. After the cancellation of PQ 19 due to the demands of Operation Torch and the PQ 17 disaster, she was selected for independent passage to Murmansk under Operation FB.
Fate
Chulmleigh left Iceland on 30 November 1942, heading north for the Barents Sea and taking advantage of the polar night but ran aground on 6 November at South Cape, on the main island of Spitzbergen. Unable to refloat and disabled by bombing, she was abandoned, her 58 strong crew setting off in three boats for Barentsburg, which was held by a Free Norwegian garrison. Chulmleigh was later dispatched by U-625, whose commander was credited with her destruction. Barentsburg lay in Isfjorden on the west coast, to the north. One boat was abandoned and the occupants crammed aboard the remaining two, 28 men in one and 29 in the other. The boats separated in the dark but continued north during 7 November. A storm began on 8 November, the crews began to experience hypothermia and one man died on 10 November. The survivors sighted land and at on 12 November and one boat crew got ashore in Isfjorden. Several attempts to raise the alarm failed in the winter blizzards and the crew were only discovered on 2 January 1943, by two Norwegian ski troops of the Barentsburg garrison. The captain and eight surviving crew were repatriated from Barentsburg, only from the landfall, to Thurso on 15 June. The remains of the ship were used as a navigation fix by aircraft and were still visible in 2004.
