View source for MS Belpamela

{{Short description|Norwegian heavy-lift ship}}
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|+SS ''Belpamela''
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|Ship name= Belpamela
|Ship owner= {{ubl|Rederiet Belmoira A/S (to 1935)|Skips A/S Belships Company Limited (from 1935)}}
|Ship operator= Christen Smith, Oslo
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|Ship builder= [[Armstrong Whitworth]], High Walker
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|Ship yard number=1028
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|Ship identification=[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]] LGMK
|Ship fate= Sank in storm, 13 April 1947
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|Ship type= Heavy lift ship
|Ship tonnage={{GT|3215}}
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|Ship length={{convert|329|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|49|ft|2|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
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|Ship depth={{convert|21|ft|2|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
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|Ship power=1 [[Sulzer (manufacturer)|Sulzer]] 4C60 diesel engine (four cylinder single acting diesel, {{convert|600|x|1060|mm|in|frac=8|order=flip}}, {{convert|1350|hp|kW|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} at 110 rpm)
|Ship propulsion=One screw propeller
|Ship speed= 11 knots
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The '''MS ''Belpamela''''' was a [[heavy-lift ship]] of the Norwegian shipping company [[Belships]]. The ship sank on 11&nbsp;April 1947 off Newfoundland while on passage from [[New York City|New York]] to [[Cherbourg]], after the cargo of 17 [[steam locomotive|locomotives]] shifted during a storm.

== Description ==
The ''Belpamela'' was a heavy lift motor cargo ship with two thirds of the superstructure in the front and an engine located aft. She had two large holds with particularly large hatches. The ship, with a load capacity of around 4,500 tons, was prepared for the transport of extremely heavy or particularly bulky loads on deck. The loading gear accordingly consisted of six 5-tonne loading beams, one 30-tonne heavy-lift loading boom and one 100-tonne heavy-lift boom. For moving and stowing the [[Break bulk cargo|bulky, heavy cargo]], the ''Belpamela'' was also equipped with rails in the hatches and several steam and electric winches on deck. The cargo holds were separated by a removable bulkhead so that long units could be stowed in the space.

== History ==
=== Pre-war ===
[[File:6229_DUCHESS_OF_HAMILTON_National_Railway_Museum_(5).jpg|left|thumb|Streamlined [[LMS Coronation Class|Coronation Class]] locomotive]]
The ''Belpamela'' was built by [[Armstrong Whitworth]] in February 1928 at its [[High Walker]] shipyard as [[yard number]] 1028. She was the [[lead ship]] of an order for two identical ships (the other was the {{MS|Belmoira}}). The ship was owned by Rederiet Belmoira A/S of [[Oslo]], while it [[Ship management|was managed]] by Christen Smith of Oslo. The ship was employed in the worldwide heavy lift transport. Typical cargoes consisted of locomotives and railway vehicles, but lightships, lighters and other smaller watercraft, aircraft or industrial plants of all kinds, such as oil rigs, etc. were also transported. Due to the unusual loads, newspapers, magazines and occasionally [[newsreels]] reported about the ship's operations. In October 1935 the ship was transferred to Skips A/S Belships Company Limited in Oslo, nothing changed in the management of Christen Smith. Notable cargoes include a batch of [[Vulcan Foundry]]-built [[China Railways KF]] series locomotives (including the preserved KF7) from [[Birkenhead]] to [[Shanghai]],{{sfnb|Hudson|Atkins|2007|p=18}} as well as a streamlined [[Coronation Scot]] train that the ''Belpamela'' transported from the [[Southampton]], England to [[Baltimore]], USA in January and February 1939 for exhibition at the [[1939 New York World's Fair]].{{sfnb|Rowledge|1987|p=80}}

=== World War II ===
In early March 1940, the ''Belpamela'' was ordered together with the Swedish steamer {{SS|Lagaholm}} from Baltimore to [[Malmö]] by the Royal Navy trawlers {{HMT|Northern Sky}} and {{HMT|Northern Princess}} to [[Kirkwall]] to search for [[contraband]]. In the early morning of March 2, the ''Belpamela'' was fired at by [[German submarine U-32 (1937)|''U 32'']] with three torpedoes, all of which detonated prematurely.  In a second attack at 7.15 a.m., ''U 32'' stopped the ''Lagaholm'' and sank it with gunfire after its crew had abandoned ship and were sitting in the lifeboats. They was picked up by the ''Belpamela'' and taken to Kirkwall and [[North Ronaldsay]]. On 12 July 1940, the ''Belpamela'' came under German control.

On 2&nbsp;April 1945, Scottish-based [[De Havilland Mosquito]] fighter-bombers attacked ships awaiting repairs at the Framnæs Mekaniske Værksted shipyard in [[Sandefjord]]. The MV ''Concordia'' and SS ''William Blumer'' were sunk, while the ''Belpamela'', ''Hektor'', ''Shios Espana'' and ''[[MS Kattegat (1928)|Kattegat]]'' were damaged. The ''Belpamela'' was towed to Oslo for repairs, where its completion was delayed until the end of the war due to sabotage by [[Odd Isøy]], a member of the [[Norwegian resistance movement|Norwegian resistance]].

=== Post-war ===
[[File:SNCF_141R_1185_(8136377810).jpg|thumb|An [[SNCF]] [[SNCF Class 141R|141&nbsp;R]] in [[Rennes]] (1969)]]
After the end of the war, the ship was repaired and continued its worldwide heavy lift journey. A large order from [[SNCF]], which had ordered a total of 1,340 [[2-8-2|Mikado]]-type [[SNCF Class 141R|141&nbsp;R]] locomotives from the United States and Canadian locomotive manufacturers to make up for war losses, took up particularly large space. In April 1947 the ''Belpamela'' was on a trip from [[New York City|New York]] to [[Cherbourg]] with 17 of these locomotives,<ref>{{cite web|title=Meldung über den Verlust der 17 Maschinen der Belpamela|periodical=|publisher=|url=https://twitter.com/conducteur_PSE/status/1163439768354603008/photo/1|url-status=|format=|access-date=2020-07-19|archive-url=|archive-date=|last=|date=|year=|language=|pages=|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=141R 1 à 1340|periodical=|publisher=|url=https://geillon.pagesperso-orange.fr/trains/141r/index.htm|url-status=|access-date=2020-07-19|archive-url=|archive-date=|last=|date=|year=|language=|pages=|quote=}}</ref> numbers 141.R.1220 to 141.R.1235 and 141.R.1241 from the manufacturer [[Montreal Locomotive Works]] . On the Atlantic, off the coast of [[Newfoundland]], the ship got into severe bad weather, in which the locomotives shifted and the ship sank at 37° 44′ N, 53° 3′ W, with the loss of the lives of nine crew members.

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{Cite magazine |last1=Hudson |first1=Mike |last2=Atkins |first2=Philip |date=September 2007 |title=Locos lost at sea: the all-time definitive record |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1277}}
*{{Cite book |last=Rowledge |first=J.W.P. |year=1987 |title=The LMS Pacifics |location=Newton Abbot |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=0-7153-8776-6}}
*{{Cite web| url=https://www.derbysulzers.com/shipbelmoira.html |title=Belmoira, Belpamela |work=derbysulzers.com |access-date=22 February 2021}}
* {{cite web | url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/30/30b0139.pdf  |access-date=22 February 2021 |title=Lloyds Register 1930–31 |p=BEL |website=Southampton City Library Service}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.warsailors.com/homefleetsingles/belpamela.html Entry for Belpamela in warsailors.com]

{{1947 shipwrecks}}

{{Coord|37|44|N|53|3|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belpamela}}
[[Category:Transport disasters in 1947]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Norway]]
[[Category:Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Tyne]]
[[Category:1928 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1947]]