Caldew (trawler)

Caldew was a British steam fishing trawler. Launched in 1914 as Maristo, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for service in the First World War the following year. Maristo survived the war and resumed trawling for the next two decades, being renamed Caldew in that time.

History
 United Kingdom
Name: Maristo
Owner: James Thomas, Milford Haven
Port of registry: Milford Haven, Wales
Builder: Smith's Dock Company Ltd., North Shields
Yard number: 580[1]
Launched: 10 May 1914
Completed: November 1914
In service: 1914–1917
Identification: M14[1]
Fate:
  • Requisitioned by Royal Navy as a minesweeper, December 1915
  • Sold to Wyre Steam Trawling Co. Ltd., 16 October 1917
History
 Royal Navy
Name: HMT Maristo
Operator: Royal Navy
Acquired: December 1915
In service: 1915–1919
Homeport: Portsmouth, England
Identification: No.1978[1]
Fate: Returned to owners September 1919
History
 United Kingdom
Name: Caldew
Owner: Wyre Steam Trawling Co. Ltd., Fleetwood
Port of registry: Fleetwood, England
Acquired: 16 October 1917
In service: 1917–1938
Identification: FD347[1]
Fate: Sold to St. Andrew´s Steam Fishing Co Ltd., 1938
History
 United Kingdom
Name: Caldew
Owner: St. Andrew´s Steam Fishing Co Ltd., Fleetwood
Port of registry: Fleetwood, England
Acquired: 1938
In service: 1938–1939
Identification: FD347[1]
Fate: Sunk by U-33, 24 September 1939
General characteristics [1][2][3]
Tonnage:
Length: 129.7 ft (39.5 m)
Beam: 23.5 ft (7.2 m)
Height: 12.7 ft (3.9 m)
Propulsion: 97 hp T.3-cylinder by Smith's Dock Company Ltd., Middlesbrough
Crew:
  • 10 (1914)
  • 12 (1939)

On 27 September 1939, four weeks after the outbreak of the Second World War, the Caldew was intercepted by U-33 on a normal fishing trip south of the Faroe Islands. The submarine proceeded to order the trawler's crew into a lifeboat, after which the Caldew was sunk by U-33's deck gun. The crew were rescued but were captured by a German destroyer, who interned them in Germany. The crew of the Caldew were not liberated until the end of the war, and were the only British fishermen to be taken prisoner during the war.

Construction and design

Maristo was constructed in North Shields by Smith's Dock Company Ltd., who also constructed the 97-horsepower T.3-cylinder engine.[2] The steam trawler weighed 257 gross register tons (GRT) and 115 net register tons (NRT), with a length of 129.7 ft (39.5 m), a beam of 23.5 ft (7.2 m), and a height of 12.7 ft (3.9 m).[1][2] Maristo was launched on 10 May 1914 and was registered in Milford Haven by owner James Thomas on 6 November of the same year.[1]

History

Early service

In December 1915, a year after Maristo's registration, the trawler was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for active service in the First World War.[1] During the conflict, the trawler was based at Portsmouth as a minesweeper.[1][2] At some point in 1917, Caldew claimed an unconfirmed kill on a German submarine along with the armed trawler HMT Caliph.[1][2][3] The trawler was sold to Wyre Steam Trawling Co. Ltd of Fleetwood on 26 October 1917 and was returned to the company in September 1919, ten months after the end of the war.[1][2] Maristo had been renamed Caldew by 30 September 1921, as she was registered at Fleetwood under the latter name on that day.[1]

On 14 February 1931, Caldew, along with fellow trawlers Dhoon and River Clyde, responded to a distress call made by the Finnish steamship Malve, which had ran aground on the island of Tiree in gale-force winds.[1] The three trawlers stood by to assist, but Malve failed to refloat and was eventually abandoned by its crew.[1] 4 years later, on 6 April 1935, Caldew collided with fellow Fleetwood trawler Ospray II while trawling south of Gigha.[1] The collision tore a large hole in the Ospray II, causing fatal damage and leading to the trawler's sinking less than an hour later.[4] The two skippers of the trawlers were blamed in an inquiry for not keeping watch at the time of the collision, and both had their certificates of competence revoked for a year.[5] The Caldew was sold to St. Andrew's Steam Fishing Co Ltd. in 1938.[1]

Sinking

On 16 September 1939, fifteen days after the outbreak of the Second World War, the Caldew, captained by Skipper Thomas Kane with twelve crewmen on board, set sail from Fleetwood to the Faroe Islands fishing grounds.[1] After landing one of the crew members in the Faroes on 21 September, the ship began to trawl off the island chain.[1] On 24 September, Caldew was stopped by U-33 south of the Faroes.[1] The crew were ordered to sail away from the ship in a lifeboat, after which the trawler was sunk by the German submarine's 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun at 60.47°N 6.20°W / 60.47; -6.20.[1] The Caldew's crew were rescued by the Swedish steamer Kronprinsessan Margaeta, which itself was intercepted by the German destroyer Friedrich Ihn and torpedo boat Iltis on 27 September.[1][6] The destroyer interned the crew and transported them to Germany, where they were held at Sandbostel and Milag 8 prisoner of war camps.[1] Skipper Kane and three hands were repatriated in prisoner exchanges during the war, while the remainder of the crew were liberated at the end of the war.[1] The Caldew was the forty-second ship and the fifth trawler to be sunk by U-boats during the war, while the crew were the first Allied seamen and only British civilian seamen to be taken prisoner by German forces during the war.[7][8]

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References
  1. "S.T. Caldew FD347". The Bosun's Watch. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  2. "Screw Steamer MARISTO built by Smith's Dock Company Ltd". Tees Built Ships. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  3. "Maristo M14". Milford Trawlers. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  4. "Ospray II". Scottish Shipwrecks. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  5. "260359 - Caldew". Lancashire County Council – Red Rose Collections. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  6. "Caldew – British Steam trawler". Uboat. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  7. "The crew of Caldew in the POW camp". The Bosun's Watch. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  8. "Ship losses by month – September 1939". Uboat. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
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