# SS Beatus

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**SS *Beatus*** was a British cargo steamship that was built in 1925, sailed in a number of transatlantic [convoys](/source/Convoy#World_War_II) in 1940 and was sunk by a [U-boat](/source/U-boat#World_War_II_(1939–1945)) that October.

## Building

[Ropner Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd](/source/Robert_Ropner) of [Stockton-on-Tees](/source/Stockton-on-Tees), England built *Beatus*, completing her in February 1925.[1] She had nine [corrugated furnaces](/source/Corrugated_furnace) with a combined grate area of 190 square feet (18 m2) that heated three 180 [lbf/in2](/source/Pounds_per_square_inch) single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 7,500 square feet (697 m2).[1] The boilers fed a three-cylinder [triple expansion steam engine](/source/Marine_steam_engine#Triple_or_multiple_expansion) that was rated at 436 [NHP](/source/Horsepower#Nominal_horsepower) and drove a single screw.[1] The engine was built by Blair and Company, also of Stockton.[1]

*Beatus* was registered in [Cardiff](/source/Cardiff), managed by W.H. Seager & Co Ltd and owned by another of [William Seager](/source/William_Henry_Seager)'s companies, Tempus Shipping Co, Ltd.[1]

## Second World War career

By early 1940 *Beatus* was sailing in convoys.[6] In February 1940 she joined [Convoy SL 20](/source/Convoy_SL_20) from [Freetown](/source/Freetown), [Sierra Leone](/source/Sierra_Leone) to [Liverpool](/source/Port_of_Liverpool) with a cargo of wheat.[6] In May and June 1940 she brought a general cargo across the North Atlantic to the UK *via* [Bermuda](/source/Bermuda), where she joined [Convoy BHX 46](/source/Convoy_BHX_46).[7] and [Halifax](/source/Halifax_Port_Authority), [Nova Scotia](/source/Nova_Scotia), where BHX 46 joined [Convoy HX 46](/source/Convoy_HX_46).[8] In late July *Beatus* was carrying a cargo of steel and [pit props](/source/Pit_prop) when she joined another [HX convoy](/source/HX_convoys), [HX 60](/source/Convoy_HX_60), from Halifax, NS to Liverpool.[9] Between ocean voyages, *Beatus* sailed in a number of [North Sea](/source/North_Sea) coastal convoys.

## Convoy SC 7 and sinking

Early in October *Beatus* left [Trois-Rivières](/source/Trois-Rivi%C3%A8res), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), carrying a cargo of 1,626 tons of steel, 5,874 tons of timber and a deck cargo of crated aircraft bound for [Middlesbrough](/source/Middlesbrough) *via* the [Tyne](/source/River_Tyne). She went *via* [Sydney, Nova Scotia](/source/Sydney,_Nova_Scotia), where she joined [Convoy SC 7](/source/Convoy_SC_7) bound for Liverpool.[10] SC 7 left Sydney on 5 October. At first the convoy had only one escort ship, the [*Hastings*-class sloop](/source/Hastings-class_sloop) [sloop](/source/Sloop_of_war) [HMS *Scarborough*](/source/HMS_Scarborough_(L25)). A [wolfpack](/source/Wolfpack_(naval_tactic)) of [U-boats](/source/U-boat) found the convoy on 16 October and quickly overwhelmed it, sinking many ships over the next few days.

Between 2058 and 2104 hours on 18 October, SC 7 was about 100 miles (160 km) west by south of [Barra Head](/source/Barra_Head) in the [Outer Hebrides](/source/Outer_Hebrides) when , commanded by [Oberleutnant zur See](/source/Oberleutnant_zur_See) [Engelbert Endrass](/source/Engelbert_Endrass), attacked it. Endrass fired four torpedoes: one hit and sank the Swedish freighter [SS *Convallaria*](/source/SS_Convallaria); another hit *Beatus*.[5] Frank Holding, Assistant Steward on *Beatus*, recalled:

*"The next thing I heard was this explosion and a sound like breaking glass from down near the engine room. The ship stood still. When I went to the boat deck one of the lifeboats was already in the water, full of water... We knew we were sinking."*[11]
 All 37 crew members were rescued by a convoy escort, the [Flower-class corvette](/source/Flower-class_corvette) [HMS *Bluebell*](/source/HMS_Bluebell_(K80)), and were later landed at [Gourock](/source/Gourock).[5]

## Citations

1. Lloyd's Registry 1937.

1. [*Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships*](https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/33/33b0098.pdf). London: [Lloyd's Register](/source/Lloyd's_Register). 1933. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. [*Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships*](https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/34/34b0101.pdf). London: [Lloyd's Register](/source/Lloyd's_Register). 1934. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. Allen, Tony (5 November 2010). ["SS Beatus (+1940)"](http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?12949). *The Wreck Site*. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2013). ["Beatus"](http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/612.html). *Ships hit by U-boats*. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 8 August 2013.

1. Hague, Arnold. ["Convoy SL.20"](http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/sl2/index.html?sl.php?convoy=20!~slmain). *SL/MKS Convoy Series*. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. Hague, Arnold. ["Convoy BHX.46"](http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/bhx/index.html?bhx.php?convoy=46!~bhxmain). *BHX Convoy Series*. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. Hague, Arnold. ["Convoy HX.46"](http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hx/index.html?hx.php?convoy=46!~hxmain). *HX Convoy Series*. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. Hague, Arnold. ["Convoy HX.60"](http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hx/index.html?hx.php?convoy=60!~hxmain). *HX Convoy Series*. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. Hague, Arnold. ["Convoy SC.7"](http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/sc/index.html?sc.php?convoy=7!~scmain). *SC Convoy Series*. Don Kindell, ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. Tildesley, Kate. ["Voices from the Battle of the Atlantic"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110717092607/http://www.war-experience.org/history/keyaspects/atlantic/default.asp#ref31). Second World War Experience Centre. Archived from [the original](http://www.war-experience.org/history/keyaspects/atlantic/default.asp#ref31) on 17 July 2011.

## References

- [*Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships*](https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/37/37b0100.pdf). London: [Lloyd's Register](/source/Lloyd's_Register). 1937. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [SS Beatus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Beatus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Beatus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.