View source for SS British Chivalry

{{Short description|British oil tanker sunk during World War II}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
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{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header         =
|Ship country        = United Kingdom
|Ship flag           = {{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship name           =  ''British Chivalry''
|Ship namesake       =
|Ship owner          = [[British Tanker Company]]
|Ship operator       =
|Ship registry       = London
|Ship route          =
|Ship ordered        =
|Ship awarded        = 
|Ship builder        = [[Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company]], [[Jarrow]]
|Ship original cost  =
|Ship yard number    = 979
|Ship way number     =
|Ship laid down      =
|Ship launched       = 24 January 1929
|Ship sponsor        =
|Ship christened     =
|Ship completed      = February 1929
|Ship acquired       =
|Ship maiden voyage  =
|Ship in service     =
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|Ship identification = * [[Official number]]: 161198<ref>{{harvnb|Lloyd's Register 1930}}</ref>
* [[Code letters]]: LCVK
*{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Victor}}{{ICS|Kilo}}
|Ship motto          =
|Ship nickname       =
|Ship honours        =
|Ship fate           = Sunk, 22 February 1944 	
|Ship notes          =
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption       = <ref name="tynebuiltships">
{{cite web
|url        = http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/B-Ships/britishchivalry1929.html
|title      = BRITISH CHIVALRY
|work       = Tyne Built Ships & Shipbuilders
|year       = 2012
|access-date = 10 November 2012
}}</ref>
|Ship class           =   
|Ship type            = [[Oil tanker]]
|Ship tonnage         = *{{GRT|7118}}
*{{NRT|4238}}
*{{DWT|11220}}
|Ship displacement    = 
|Ship length          = {{Convert|440|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam            = {{Convert|57|ft|1|in|abbr=on}}
|Ship height          =
|Ship draught         =   
|Ship depth           = {{Convert|33|ft|11|in|abbr=on}}
|Ship hold depth      = 
|Ship decks           =
|Ship deck clearance  =
|Ship power           =
|Ship propulsion      = 553 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|nhp]] [[quadruple expansion steam engine]], 1 screw
|Ship speed           = {{Convert|10|kn|lk=in}} 
|Ship range           =
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'''SS ''British Chivalry''''' was a British [[oil tanker]] sunk by a [[Japan]]ese [[submarine]] in the [[Indian Ocean]] in 1944.

==Construction==
The steel-hulled ship was built by [[Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company]] of [[Jarrow]] in northern England for the [[British Tanker Company]], the transportation arm of the [[Anglo-Persian Oil Company]]. Launched on 24 January 1929, the {{GRT|7118}} ship was {{Convert|440|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} long and {{Convert|57|ft|1|in|abbr=on}} in the beam, and powered by a 553 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|nhp]] [[quadruple expansion steam engine]] which gave her a top speed of {{Convert|10|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name="tynebuiltships"/>

==Sinking==
On 22 February 1944 ''British Chivalry'' was sailing alone in the Indian Ocean, south-west of [[Addu Atoll]] in the [[Maldive Islands]], on a voyage from [[Melbourne]] to [[Abadan]] while in ballast. At 10.30 a.m. the ship was attacked by the Japanese submarine {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-37||2}}, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Nakagawa Hajime. The submarine first fired two torpedoes. These were spotted, and the ship took evasive action, so that one torpedo passed astern, but the second hit the ship in the engine room, killing most of the crew there. The survivors abandoned ship, as ''I-37'' surfaced and shelled and finally torpedoed the ship, sinking her in position {{Coord|00|50|S|68|00|E|region:MV-01_type:event|display=inline, title}}.<ref name="mercantile">{{cite web 
|url        = https://sites.google.com/a/mercantilemarine.org/mercantile-marine/ss-british-chivalry
|title      = SS ''British Chivalry''
|work       = Mercantile Marine
|year       = 2012
|access-date = 10 November 2012
}}</ref>

''I-37'' took the ship's captain, Walter Hill, as a prisoner. It then moved off and opened fire with machine guns on the lifeboats. For the next two hours it circled, firing indiscriminately at the lifeboats and men in the water before finally moving off. Fourteen men were killed and another five mortally wounded. The thirty-eight survivors were adrift for 37 days before finally being rescued by the British [[cargo liner]] MV ''Delane''. Captain Hill was held as a prisoner at [[Penang]] until the end of the war.<ref name="mercantile"/>

In 1948 Lieutenant-Commander Nakagawa was tried by the [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East|War Crimes Tribunal]] for the murders of the crews of ''British Chivalry'', and those of {{MV|Sutlej||2}} on 24 February 1944, and {{MV|Ascot||2}} on 29 February 1944.<ref name="wrecksite">{{cite web
|url        = http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?57897
|title      = I-37 SUBMARINE 1941-1944
|work       = wrecksite.eu
|year       = 2012
|access-date = 10 November 2012
}}</ref>

He was found guilty and sentenced to eight years hard labour at [[Sugamo Prison]], Tokyo, but was released in 1954 after only six years, following the end of the Allied occupation.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/anecdotes/1943.html
 |title       = The sinking of the Australian Hospital Ship ''Centaur''
 |first       = Robert
 |last        = Lewis
 |work        = anzacday.org.au
 |year        = 2011
 |access-date  = 10 November 2012
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130410111639/http://anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/anecdotes/1943.html
 |archive-date = 10 April 2013
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref> It was not until 1978 that it was revealed that Nakagawa, while in command of the submarine {{Ship|Japanese submarine|I-177||2}}, had also been responsible for the sinking of the Australian hospital ship {{Ship|AHS|Centaur||2}} in April 1943, with the loss of 268 lives.<ref name="wrecksite"/>

The men killed aboard ''British Chivalry'' are commemorated on Panel 19 of the [[Tower Hill Memorial]] in London.<ref name="mercantile"/>

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==

*{{cite web 
|url        = https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/30/30b0177.pdf
|title      = Steamers and Motorships
|work       = [[Lloyds Register]]
|date       = 1930–1931
|access-date = 10 November 2012
|ref        = {{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1930}}
}}

{{February 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:British Chivalry}}
[[Category:1929 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Tyne]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Japanese submarines]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1944]]
[[Category:Oil tankers]]