# SS Empire Bittern > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/SS_Empire_Bittern > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/SS_Empire_Bittern.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Empire_Bittern > Source revision: 1353226006 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|World War II merchant ship of the United Kingdom}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Redirect-distinguish|SS Bohemia|SS Bohemian}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=USS Artemis ID-2187.jpg |image_caption=''Artemis'' (U.S. Shipping Board Transport, 1917–1919) in port during or immediately after [World War I](/source/World_War_I) }} |section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country= |flag= |name=*''Iowa'' (1902–1913) *''Bohemia'' (1913–1917) *''Artemis'' (1917–1941) *''Empire Bittern'' (1941–1944) |namesake=State of [Iowa](/source/Iowa), Kingdom of [Bohemia](/source/Bohemia), goddess [Artemis](/source/Artemis), and [bittern](/source/bittern), a bird |owner=*White Diamond Steamship Co Ltd (1902-13) *[Hamburg America Line](/source/Hamburg_America_Line) (1913–1917) *[United States Shipping Board](/source/United_States_Shipping_Board) (1917–1934) *[United States Maritime Commission](/source/United_States_Maritime_Commission) (1934–1941) *[Ministry of War Transport](/source/Ministry_of_War_Transport) (1941–1944) |operator=*George Warren & Co Ltd (1902–1913) *[United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) (1919) *[Royal Mail Lines Ltd](/source/Royal_Mail_Steam_Packet_Company) (1941–1944) |registry=*{{flagicon|UKGBI|civil}} [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool) (1902–1913) *{{flagicon|Germany|empire}} [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg) (1913–1917) *{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [New York](/source/New_York_City) (1917–1941) *{{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} [London](/source/London) (1941–1944) |route= |ordered= |awarded= |builder=[Harland & Wolff](/source/Harland_%26_Wolff), [Belfast](/source/Belfast) |original_cost= |yard_number=349 |way_number= |laid_down= |launched=5 July 1902 |sponsor= |christened= |completed=11 November 1902 |acquired=by the US Shipping Board in April 1917; allocated to the US Navy 23 February 1919 (USSB ownership) |commissioned=8 April 1919 as USS ''Artemis'' (ID-2187) at [Hoboken, New Jersey](/source/Hoboken%2C_New_Jersey) |recommissioned= |decommissioned=18 October 1919 at [Brooklyn](/source/Brooklyn) |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service= |renamed= |refit= |struck=By the U.S. Navy 18 October 1919 |identification=*British [official number](/source/official_number) 115329 (1902–1913, 1941–1944) *US official number 215315 (1917–41) *[code letters](/source/code_letters): **{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Romeo}}{{ICS|Juliett}}{{ICS|Charlie}} TRJC (1902–1913) **{{ICS|Romeo}}{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Whiskey}}{{ICS|Delta}} RTWD (1913–1917) **{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Mike}}{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|Golf}} LHMG (1917–1941) *[call sign](/source/Maritime_call_sign): **{{ICS|Bravo}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Lima}} BCGL (1941–1944) |motto= |honors= |captured=Seized by the US in 1917 |fate=Sunk as a [blockship](/source/blockship) in [Normandy](/source/Normandy) in 1944 |notes=Laid up about 1923, "abandoned" out of registry 1933, transferred UK 1941. |badge= }} |section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= |type=[Cargo ship](/source/Cargo_ship) and [livestock carrier](/source/livestock_carrier) |tonnage=*{{GRT|8,370}}, {{NRT|5361}} (''Iowa'' 1909) *{{GRT|8,414}} |displacement={{convert|17837|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} |length={{cvt|500.5|ft|abbr=on}} |beam={{cvt|58.3|ft|abbr=on}} |draft={{convert|27|ft|abbr=on}} |depth={{cvt|34.0|ft|abbr=on}} |power=814 [NHP](/source/Horsepower) |propulsion=*2 × 3-cylinder [triple expansion steam engine](/source/triple_expansion_steam_engine) *2 × shafts |speed={{convert|12|kn|lk=in}} |range= |capacity= |complement=*Navy only: 329 officers and enlisted *Civilian crewed other than April—October 1919 |armament=*1 × {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} gun *1 × [{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} gun](/source/5%22%2F38_caliber_gun) (''Artemis'' USSB transport, unarmed naval service) |notes= }} }} '''''Empire Bittern''''' was a steamship, built as a livestock-carrying cargo ship in 1902 at [Belfast](/source/Belfast), Ireland as '''''Iowa''''' for the [White Diamond Steamship Company](/source/White_Diamond_Steamship_Company) Ltd of [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool). The ship was sold to the [Hamburg America Line](/source/Hamburg_America_Line) and renamed '''''Bohemia''''' in 1913. The German ship was seized by [U.S. Customs](/source/U.S._Customs) at [New York City](/source/New_York_City) at the start of American involvement in [World War I](/source/World_War_I), title transferred to the [United States Shipping Board](/source/United_States_Shipping_Board) (USSB) and renamed '''''Artemis'''''.For other ships with the same name, see [USS ''Artemis''](/source/USS_Artemis). She was the USSB United States Army Chartered Transport '''USACT ''Artemis''''' under time charter to the Army from 1917 to war's end.Army's owned hulls or [bareboat charter](/source/bareboat_charter) under full Army control and operation were termed U.S. Army Transport (USAT) with other chartered hulls during the First World War being distinguished as United States Army Chartered Transport (U.S.A.C.T.). Contemporary references the ship use USACT ''Artemis''. No such prefix was used for allocated ships without Army operation and crews during World War II. The ship's last Army chartered voyage reached New York on 23 February 1919. The ship was transferred to the Navy and commissioned 8 April 1919 as '''USS ''Artemis''''' with the designation ID-2187. On 18 October 1919 the ship was decommissioned and transferred back to the USSB (later the United States Maritime Commission (USMC)). Converted to cargo only, ''Artemis'' was a merchant ship until about 1923. The ship was laid up still showing in the U.S. register until 1933 when listed among the ships dropped from the register due to abandonment for age and deterioration. With the World War II emergency in shipping the ship was transferred to the [Ministry of War Transport](/source/Ministry_of_War_Transport) (MoWT) in 1941, becoming one of the [Empire ship](/source/Empire_ship)s, ''Empire Bittern''. The ship was operated for MoWT by Royal Mail Lines Ltd. and made several Atlantic crossings in convoy. In July 1944 ''Empire Bittern'' was sunk as a blockship in support of [Operation Overlord](/source/Operation_Overlord). ==Construction== ''Iowa'' was a steel-hulled, cargo steamship, specially fitted for carrying [livestock](/source/livestock), and built as [yard number](/source/yard_number) 349 by [Harland & Wolff Ltd](/source/Harland_%26_Wolff_Ltd) at [Belfast](/source/Belfast).{{cite book |last1=Haws |first1=Duncan |title=Furness, Withy |year=2000 |publisher=TCL Publications |place=Hereford |isbn=0-946378-38-X |pages=189–190}} She was [launched](/source/Ceremonial_ship_launching) on 5 July 1902 and completed on 11 November 1902.{{csr|register=MSI|id=1115329|access-date=13 November 2009}} ''Iowa'', a three deck with shelter deck ship, measured {{GRT|8,370}}, {{NRT|5361}} and was {{convert|500.5|ft|abbr=on}} long, with a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of {{convert|58.3|ft|abbr=on}} and a depth of {{convert|34.0|ft|abbr=on}}. She was powered by a pair of 3-cylinder [triple expansion steam engines](/source/Triple_expansion_engine), made by the shipbuilders and which had cylinders of {{convert|23.5|in|cm|abbr=on}}, {{convert|39|in|cm|abbr=on}} and {{convert|66|in|cm|abbr=on}} diameter by {{convert|48|in|cm|abbr=on}} stroke,{{cite web |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1909ST/page/n507/mode/1up |year=1908 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=[Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)}} totalling 814 [NHP](/source/Horsepower), driving twin screws and giving her a speed of {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}. She had five masts. ==Commercial service== ''Iowa'' was built for the White Diamond Steamship Company Ltd of [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool), a British-based business with its origins in the [White Diamond Line](/source/White_Diamond_Line), founded in [Boston](/source/Boston), Massachusetts by [Enoch Train](/source/Enoch_Train) in 1843.{{cite book |last1=Burrell |first1=David |title=Furness Withy: the centenary history of Furness, Withy and Company, Ltd., 1891-1991 |date=1992 |publisher=World Ship Society |place=Kendal |isbn=0-905617-70-3 |page=61}} It specialised in the livestock trade, particularly between Boston and Liverpool, and was operated under the management of George Warren & Co Ltd. On 19 November 1902, ''Iowa'' sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage.{{cite news |title=Shipping Intelligence |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19021120/204/0009 |access-date=17 October 2021 |work=The Scotsman |issue=18539 |date=20 November 1902 |place=Edinburgh |via=British Newspaper Archive |page=9}} In 1904 White Diamond deployed ''Iowa'' to open a new route between [Galveston](/source/Galveston) and Liverpool, bringing large cargos of cotton. George Warren was planning his retirement in 1912 and negotiated the sale of White Diamond, the Warren trading name, and its four ships to British shipowners [Furness Withy](/source/Furness_Withy), which already had a number of other trans-Atlantic cargo services.{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=W. H. |last2=Sawyer |first2=L. A. |title=The Empire Ships: A Record of British-built and acquired Merchant Ships during the Second World War |date=1990 |publisher=Lloyd's of London Press |place=London |isbn=1-85044-275-4 |pages=421–422 |edition=2nd}} Furness Withy considered ''Iowa'' too large for their services and sold her in 1913 to the [Hamburg America Line](/source/Hamburg_America_Line) who renamed her ''Bohemia'', and intended to convert her to an emigrant carrier with a capacity of 1200 passengers in [steerage](/source/steerage) class. The transformation was begun at Harland & Wolff's shipyard in [Southampton](/source/Southampton), but cancelled in February 1914.{{cite news |title=Significant Step by the Hamburg America Line |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/19140214/062/0007 |access-date=17 October 2021 |work=The Manchester Courier |issue=17871 |date=14 February 1914 |page=7|via=British Newspaper Archive}} After the outbreak of [World War I](/source/World_War_I) on 28 July 1914, many [German](/source/German_Empire) and [Austrian](/source/Austro-Hungarian_Empire) ships took refuge in neutral ports, including the United States. ''Bohemia'' arrived in New York on 15 August, reportedly flying the British ensign and disguised as a [White Star liner](/source/White_Star_Line) in order to deceive British patrols.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002949/19140815/104/0009 |title=Ocean Lanes Busy Again |access-date=17 October 2021 |work=The Hamilton Daily Times |issue=LVII/192 |date=15 August 1914 |place=Hamilton, ON |page=9|via=British Newspaper Archive}}{{cite news |title=The Fleets at Sea: Ruse of the Flag |work=The Times |issue=40774 |date=10 February 1915 |place=London |page=6}} ==United States Shipping Board== After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, due to her German registry, ''Bohemia'' was seized by American customs authorities.{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/artemis-screw-steamer-ii.html |title=Artemis II (Id. No. 2187) |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |date=23 March 2017 |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |access-date=14 October 2021}} Under a 30 June 1917 Executive Order the United States took possession and title to the seized enemy ships placing them in custody of the United States Shipping Board.{{cite report |date=1 December 1920 |title=First Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board |page=19 |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Shipping Board |url=https://www.fmc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Annual_Report_1917.pdf |access-date=13 October 2021}} ===Wartime service=== ''Bohemia'' was renamed ''Artemis'', armed with a main battery of one {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} and one {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} gun, and placed in service as a USSB transport on time charter to the Army with no formal agreement beyond the time charter. The ship was manned by the USSB with full responsibility for operation.{{cite report |date=January 1919 |title=Opinions of the Judge Advocate General of the Army |pages=464–465 |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Government Printing Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AyYuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA464 |access-date=14 October 2021}}The Army's JAG determined the Army bore no responsibility for operation of the ship and that USSB was fully responsible. The ship was the United States Army Chartered Transport (U.S.A.C.T.) ''Artemis'' during World War I and for over three months after the war ended, including voyages carrying horses and mules. In at least one case the ship while in convoy used the guns to fire on a submarine but missed.{{cite book |last1=Crowell |first1=Benedict |last2=Wilson |first2=Robert Forrest |year=1921 |title=The Road to France II |series=How America Went to War |volume=3 |place=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |lccn=21004109 |pages=524–525 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rEo4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA524 |access-date=14 October 2021}} Her guns were removed at [Norfolk, Virginia](/source/Norfolk%2C_Virginia), on 30 November 1918. On 22 January 1919 at [St. Nazaire](/source/St._Nazaire) the ship grounded with the inquiry finding the ship's master made an error by anchoring too close to shore. The French tugs ''Nord'' and ''Commerce'', without request, attempted to tow the ship but cast off without explanation. The board and Army [Judge Advocate General](/source/Judge_Advocate_General) (JAG) found that such an unrequested and casual attempt did not warrant a claim for salvage and that any charges related to the grounding paid by the Army were the responsibility of the USSB. ''Artemis'' completed her last voyage as an Army chartered transport at [New York City](/source/New_York_City) on 23 February 1919. thumb|right|''Artemis'' at Newport News after arriving from Europe with troops of the U.S. Army's 54th Pioneer Infantry Regiment on 26 June 1919 The Navy took control of ''Artemis'' at Fletcher's Drydock in [Hoboken, New Jersey](/source/Hoboken%2C_New_Jersey) assigning the identification number (ID. No.) 2187 and placed the ship in commission on 8 April 1919 as the second ship bearing the name. The ship was assigned to the [Cruiser and Transport Force](/source/Cruiser_and_Transport_Force) sailing for [France](/source/France) on 25 April reaching St. Nazaire on 8 May. ''Artemis'' left France for [Newport News, Virginia](/source/Newport_News%2C_Virginia) on 11 May arriving on 24 May. The ship made a second voyage from [Norfolk, Virginia](/source/Norfolk%2C_Virginia) on 1 June returning with troops and a cargo of trucks to Newport News arriving on 26 June. A third voyage left Norfolk on 2 July arriving St. Nazaire on 15 July and sailing from [Brest](/source/Brest%2C_France) on 21 July arriving at Norfolk on 3 August after which the ship underwent voyage repairs at Norfolk from 6–9 August. The ship's fourth and last voyage was to St. Nazaire arriving on 21 August and sailing for the return on 12 September arriving at pier 3, Army Base, [Brooklyn](/source/Brooklyn) on 23 September 1919. ''Artemis'' was decommissioned on 18 October 1919 at pier 2, Army Base. During her career as a Navy transport, she had brought home 11,760 troops. Her name was struck from the [Naval Vessel Register](/source/Naval_Vessel_Register) on 18 October, and the ship was returned to the USSB. ===Subsequent maritime career=== ''Artemis'' was repaired and fitted for cargo only use and after additional repair work was allocated to the France and Canada Steamship Corporation for service as an animal transport. At the time of the report, closing 30 June 1920, the ship had made several trans-Atlantic voyages in that capacity.{{cite report |date=1 December 1920 |title=Fourth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board |pages=127–128 |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Shipping Board |url=https://www.fmc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Annual_Report_1920.pdf |access-date=11 October 2021}} Laid up by 1923, ''Artemis'' remained inactive through the 1930s and into [World War II](/source/World_War_II), in the hands of the USSB and its successor, the USMC. The vessel was dropped from the U.S. register in 1933 noted as "Abandoned" defined as abandoned "due to age or deterioration."{{cite book |year=1933 |title=Merchant Vessels of the United States 1933 |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation & Steamboat Inspection |page=998 |hdl=2027/osu.32435066706912?urlappend=%3Bseq=998%3Bownerid=113189139-1002 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435066706912?urlappend=%3Bseq=998%3Bownerid=113189139-1002 |access-date=16 October 2021}} ==World War II== Acquired by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) in 1941, the ship was renamed ''Empire Bittern''. Her port of registry was London and she was operated under the management of Royal Mail Lines Ltd. ''Empire Bittern'' was a member of a number of convoys during World War II. Convoy HX 189 left [Halifax](/source/Halifax%2C_Nova_Scotia), [Nova Scotia](/source/Nova_Scotia) on 10 May 1942 and reached Liverpool on 20 May. ''Empire Bittern'' was to have joined the convoy, but did not sail, joining the following convoy, HX 190 instead.{{cite web|url=http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/hx189.html |title=Convoy HX 189 |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=13 November 2009}} Convoy HX 190 left Halifax, Nova Scotia on 17 May 1942 and reached Liverpool on 28 May.{{cite web|url=http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/hx190.html |title=Convoy HX 190 |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=13 November 2009}} On 23 July 1944, as part of [Operation Overlord](/source/Operation_Overlord), ''Empire Bittern'' was sunk as an additional [breakwater ship](/source/Mulberry_harbour) to reinforce Gooseberry 3 for [Mulberry "B"](/source/Mulberry_harbour) at [Gold Beach](/source/Gold_Beach) near [Arromanches-les-Bains](/source/Arromanches-les-Bains).{{cite web |title=Les Epaves des Mulberry – Gooseberry 3 – Gold Beach |publisher=Naufrages & Epaves au Ponant – Société d'Archéologie et de Mémoire Maritime |date=30 October 2017 |url=http://www.archeosousmarine.net/gooseberry3.php |access-date=15 October 2021}} ==Identification== [Official number](/source/Official_number)s are national ship identifiers. ''Iowa'' had the British official number 115329 and [code letters](/source/code_letters) TRJC until 1913,{{cite book |title=Mercantile Navy List |date=1910 |place=London |page=251 |url=https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?regtype=MNL&year=1910&name=IOWA&steamsail=Steam&page=251 |access-date=15 October 2021 |via=Crew List Index Project}} and then German code letters RTWD.{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/HECROS1915ST/page/n146/mode/1up |year=1914 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive}} From 1917 ''Artemis'' had the US official number 215315 and code letters LHMG.{{cite book |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/30/30b0090.pdf |year=1930 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=Steamers and Motorships |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=[Southampton City Council](/source/Southampton_City_Council) |access-date=13 November 2009}} ''Empire Bittern'' regained official number 115329 and had the [wireless telegraph](/source/Wireless_telegraphy) [call sign](/source/Maritime_call_sign) BCGL.{{cite book |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/41/41b0988.pdf |year=1941 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=Steamers and Motorships |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |access-date=13 November 2009}} ==Footnotes== {{reflist|group=note}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{navsource|12/172187}} *[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-a/id2187.htm USS Artemis (ID # 2187), 1919. Previously U.S. Army Transport Artemis (1917–1919)] *[https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/usnshtp/ap/w1ap-t16.htm Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center: World War I Era Transports -- with One Smokestack and Five or Six Masts] *[http://www.clydesideimages.co.uk/france-d-day---mulberry-harbours.html The D-Day Battlefields – The Mulberry Harbours] *{{DANFS}} {{Empire ships}} {{April 1917 shipwrecks}} {{July 1944 shipwrecks}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Bittern}} Category:1902 ships Category:Ships built in Belfast Category:Ships built by Harland & Wolff Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Category:Steamships of Germany Category:Passenger ships of Germany Category:Ships of the Hamburg America Line Category:World War I merchant ships of Germany Category:Maritime incidents in 1917 Category:World War I auxiliary ships of the United States Category:Transports of the United States Navy Category:Steamships of the United States Category:Ministry of War Transport ships Category:Empire ships Category:Maritime incidents in July 1944 Category:Operation Overlord Category:Livestock transportation vehicles --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [SS Empire Bittern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Empire_Bittern) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Empire_Bittern?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.