View source for SS Black Osprey

{{Short description|Cargo ship for the American Diamond Lines (1917)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image   = [[File:SS West Arrow.jpg|300px|SS ''West Arrow'' underway in mid 1918]]
|Ship caption = SS ''West Arrow'' underway in mid 1918
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header         =
|Ship name           = * 1918–1935: ''West Arrow''
* 1935–1941: ''Black Osprey''
|Ship namesake       =
|Ship owner          = * 1918: [[United States Shipping Board]]
* 1940: [[Ministry of War Transport]]
|Ship operator       = * c. 1926–1940: [[American Diamond Lines]]
* 1940–1941: [[Cairn Line]]
|Ship registry       = * 1918–1940: {{flagicon|United States}} United States
* 1941–1944: {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} United Kingdom
|Ship builder        = *[[Skinner & Eddy]]
*[[Seattle, Washington]]
|Ship yard number = 12{{sfn|Colton|2008|p=}}
|Ship laid down      =20 September 1917 as ''Jas. G. Eddy''<ref name=S&E>{{harvnb|Skinner|Eddy|1918|p=143}}</ref>
|Ship launched       = 19 January 1918<ref name=S&E />
|Ship completed      = 26 February 1918<ref name=S&E />
|Ship acquired       =
|Ship commissioned   =
|Ship decommissioned =
|Ship identification = [[Official Number]] 216012{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}
|Ship fate=torpedoed and sunk, 1941{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship type         = [[Cargo ship]]
|Ship tonnage      = *{{GRT|5,802}}{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}
*{{DWT|8,800|long}}<ref name=S&E />
|Ship displacement =
|Ship length       = {{convert|409|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} ([[length between perpendiculars|LPP]]){{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}
|Ship beam         ={{convert|54|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}
|Ship hold depth   =
|Ship draft        =
|Ship propulsion   = 1 × [[triple-expansion steam engine]]{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}
|Ship speed        ={{convert|10.5|knots|km/h}}{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}
|Ship capacity     =
|Ship crew         =
|Ship armament     =
|Ship notes        =
}}
|}
'''SS ''Black Osprey''''' was a [[cargo ship]] for the [[American Diamond Lines]] and the British [[Cairn Line]]. She was formerly known as '''SS ''West Arrow''''' when she was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] for the [[United States Shipping Board]] (USSB) during [[World War I]]. The ship was inspected by the [[United States Navy]] for possible use as '''USS ''West Arrow'' (ID-2585)''' but was neither taken into the Navy nor ever [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] under that name.

''West Arrow'' was built in 1918 for the USSB, as a part of the ''West'' boats, a series of steel-[[hull (watercraft)|hull]]ed cargo ships built on the [[West Coast of the United States]] for the World War I war effort. Information about her early career is largely absent, but by the 1920s, news reports revealed that the ship was sailing on the North Atlantic. By the mid-1920s, ''West Arrow'' was sailing for American Diamond on their cargo service to [[Rotterdam]] and [[Antwerp]]. In 1935, American Diamond changed the ship's name to ''Black Osprey'' and the ship continued in Rotterdam service.

After the outbreak of [[World War II]], ''Black Osprey'', still under the registry of the still-neutral United States, was detained twice by British authorities, before the U.S.-established "Neutrality Zone" ended ''Black Osprey''{{'}}s Dutch service in late 1939. Sailing under [[ship chartering|charter]] to the [[Isthmian Line]] in 1940, ''Black Osprey'' called at various ports in the Pacific Ocean. American Diamond sold ''Black Osprey'' to the British [[Ministry of War Transport]] in late 1940. During the ship's first transatlantic crossing under the British flag, she was sunk by {{GS|U-96|1940|6}} on 18 February 1941, with the loss of 25 men. The 11 survivors were picked up by a Norwegian ship and landed in at [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]].

== Design and construction ==
The ''West'' ships were [[cargo ship]]s of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the [[West Coast of the United States]] for the USSB for emergency use during [[World War I]]. All were given names that began with the word ''West'', like ''West Arrow'',<ref name="Crowell 1921 358–59">{{harvnb|Crowell|Wilson|1921| pp= 358–59}}</ref> one of some 24 ''West'' ships built by [[Skinner & Eddy]] of [[Seattle, Washington]].{{sfn|Colton|2008|p=}}<ref group=Note>Skinner & Eddy was an emergency shipyard that only operated from 1916 until about 1920.</ref> ''West Arrow'' (Skinner & Eddy No. 12){{sfn|Colton|2008|p=}} was [[keel laying|laid down]] on 20 September 1917 under the name ''Jas. G. Eddy'', [[ship naming and launching|launched]] as ''West Arrow'' on 19 January 1918, and completed on 26 February 1918.<ref name=S&E />

The ship was {{GRT|5,802|disp=long}},{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}} and was {{convert|409|ft|5|in|m}} long ([[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]]) and {{convert|54|ft|2|in|m}} [[beam (nautical)|abeam]]. ''West Arrow'' had a steel [[hull (watercraft)|hull]] and a [[deadweight tonnage]] of {{DWT|8,800}}.<ref name=S&E /> The ship had a single [[steam turbine]] that drove her single [[screw propeller]], and moved the ship at a {{convert|10.5|knots|km/h|adj=on}} pace.{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}}

== Career ==
''West Arrow'' was inspected by the [[13th Naval District]] of the [[United States Navy]] after completion and was assigned the identification number of 2585. Had she been [[ship commissioning|commissioned]], she would have been known as USS ''West Arrow'' (ID-2585), but the Navy neither took over the ship nor commissioned her.<ref name=DANFS>
{{cite DANFS
|author = Naval Historical Center
|title  = West Arrow
|url    = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w5/west_arrow.htm
|short  = on

}}</ref>

Little is known of ''West Arrow''{{'}}s early career, with almost no information regarding her World War I activities. During that war, many of the ''West'' ships carried grain products to the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, but it is not known whether ''West Arrow'' did so or not.<ref name="Crowell 1921 358–59"/> One early mention of ''West Arrow'' in contemporary news accounts is found in ''[[The Washington Post]]'', which reported in February 1921 that the cargo ship had delivered 742 "[[dairy cattle|milch cows]]" to [[Bremen]] as a gift from American farmers from Texas and [[Kansas]].<ref>
{{cite news
|title = Teutons fete 23 U. S. lads
|newspaper  = The Washington Post
|date  = 13 February 1921
|page  = 11
}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported in September 1923 that ''West Arrow'', heading from [[Liverpool]] to Boston, had been struck by the [[White Star Line]] [[ocean liner]] {{RMS|Haverford||2}} {{convert|1000|nmi|km}} west of [[Cobh|Queenstown]], Ireland. ''Haverford'', headed from [[Philadelphia]] to Liverpool with passengers, struck the cargo ship on the [[port (direction)|port]] side, {{convert|10|ft|m}} from the [[bow (ship)|bow]]. A radio dispatch from ''West Arrow'' reported that she was proceeding under her own power and was not taking on any water.<ref>
{{cite news
|title = White Star Liner hits Ship Board freighter
|work  = The New York Times
|date  = 20 September 1923
|page  = 5
}}</ref> By March 1926, ''West Arrow'' was sailing for [[American Diamond Lines]]<ref group=Note>[[American Diamond Lines]] was founded by the [[United States Shipping Board]] for cargo service between the United States and [[Rotterdam]] and [[Antwerp]], and was managed from about 1920 by the Black Diamond Steamship Company of New York. See: {{harvnb|de la Pedraja Tomán|1994|p= 80}}</ref> in New York – [[Rotterdam]] service on a U.S. government-subsidized mail route.<ref name=NYT-ships_under>
{{cite news
|last  = Carter
|first = John
|title = Ships under American flag obtain federal assistance
|work  = The New York Times
|date  = 21 March 1926
|page  = X20
}}</ref> In July 1932, the ship was moved to a new [[Baltimore]] – [[Antwerp]] route,<ref>
{{cite news
|title = Baltimore port gets new Antwerp service
|work  = The New York Times
|date  = 5 July 1932
|page  = 28
}}</ref> but by December 1934 was again sailing to Rotterdam.<ref>
{{cite news
|title = Shipping and Mails
|work  = The New York Times
|date  = 3 December 1934
|page  = 35
}}</ref>

In 1935, American Diamond changed the name of ''West Arrow'' to ''Black Osprey'',{{sfn|Miramar Ship Index}} which remained on the Rotterdam route into 1936. In March of that year, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''—reporting on a large gold shipment from the United States to [[The Netherlands|Holland]]—speculated that ''Black Osprey'' was the ship that had been selected to carry $345,000 of gold for export.<ref>
{{cite news
|title = $345,000 gold engaged here for shipment to Holland
|work  = The Wall Street Journal
|date  = 3 March 1936
|page  = 9
}}</ref> On 24 March 1938,<ref>[[List of shipwrecks in 1938]]</ref> ''Black Osprey'' was sailing in a dense fog off St. Catherine's Point on the [[Isle of Wight]] when she struck the {{GRT|311}} British cargo ship ''Chagford'', which sank within five minutes. Three of ''Chagford'''s six-man crew were picked up by ''Black Osprey'', whose crew searched in vain for three hours for the other three men. After the fog lifted, the ''Chagford'' survivors were transferred to a fishing vessel that landed the crewmen, and ''Black Osprey'' resumed her Rotterdam – Philadelphia journey.<ref>
{{cite news
|title = London steamer sunk in fog
|work  = The Times
|date  = 20 September 1923
}}</ref>

==World War II==
After the outbreak of [[World War II]] in September 1939, ''Black Osprey'', still registered in the neutral-United States, was seized by British authorities on 6 September and detained at [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]]. After carefully inspecting the ship for any [[contraband]], the British released the ship after a week.<ref>
{{cite news
|agency = [[Associated Press]]
|title  = British free American ship
|work   = Los Angeles Times
|date   = 14 September 1939
|page   = A <!-- yes, this is the correct page number for that edition -->
}}</ref> However, on 31 October, the British again seized ''Black Osprey'', and had not yet released her by 8 November, when the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] released a list of 40 American ships that had been detained by [[belligerent]]s.<ref>
{{cite news
|agency = Associated Press
|title  = Belligerents detain 40 ships
|work   = Los Angeles Times
|date   = 9 November 1939
|page   = 2
}}</ref>

The United States established a "Neutrality Zone"—a zone where American-flagged ships could not enter—in late 1939. As a result, American Diamond was unable to continue its Dutch route, and [[ship chartering|chartered]] the eight vessels it employed in that service (which included ''Black Osprey'') to other U.S. companies.<ref>{{harvnb|de la Pedraja Tomán|1994|pp= 80–81}}</ref> ''Black Osprey'' was one of several chartered to the [[Isthmian Line]],<ref name=NYT-british_seek>
{{cite news
|title = British seek ships of Black Diamond
|work  = The New York Times
|date  = 23 November 1940
|page  = 31
}}</ref> and made voyages in the Pacific, calling at ports such as Singapore and [[Honolulu]] in 1940.<ref>
{{cite news
|agency = Associated Press
|title  = Arrivals and clearances at Pacific ports
|work   = Los Angeles Times
|date   = 20 September 1940
|page   = A14
}}</ref> After a [[typhoon]] with winds in excess of {{convert|115|mph}} hit [[Wake Island]] in early October, ''Black Osprey'' was diverted through heavy seas to check on the welfare of the 35 men on the island, all found to be safe.<ref>
{{cite news
|title = Wake Island, clipper base, hit by typhoon
|work  = The New York Times
|date  = 19 October 1940
|page  = A
}}</ref>

In November, American Diamond sought the permission of the [[United States Maritime Commission]] (USMC), a successor to the [[United States Shipping Board]], to sell ''Black Osprey'' and seven other ships to the British.<ref name=NYT-british_seek /> The USMC granted the permission,<ref>
{{cite news
|title = Cargo ship is sold by Diamond Line
|work  = The New York Times
|date  = 1 February 1941
|page  = 33
}}</ref> and ''Black Osprey'' was sold to the [[Ministry of War Transport]] for operation by the [[Cairn Line]] of [[Newcastle-upon-Tyne]], for about $50 per [[deadweight ton]], or around $440,000.<ref name=NYT-british_seek />

The deal was completed before ''Black Osprey''{{'}}s 10 December sailing from Philadelphia to Baltimore under the British flag. ''Black Osprey'' then sailed from Baltimore on 25 January 1941 for [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], where she arrived on 30 January.<ref name=CPDB>
{{cite web
|title      = Port Arrivals/Departures: Black Osprey
|url        = http://convoyweb.org.uk/ports/index.html?search.php?vessel=BLACK+OSPREY~armain
|work       = Arnold Hague's Ports Database
|publisher  = Convoy Web
|access-date = 2 September 2008
}}</ref> ''Black Osprey'', loaded with a cargo of steel,<ref>
{{cite AHCD
|convoytype   = HX
|convoynumber = 107
|access-date   = 2 September 2008
}}</ref> joined convoy HX 107 that sailed from that port for Liverpool on 3 February.<ref name=CPDB /> After falling behind in the convoy, ''Black Osprey'' was torpedoed by [[German submarine U-96 (1940)|''U-96'']] under the command of ''[[Fregattenkapitän]]'' [[Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock]] at 02:27 on 18 February south of Iceland, near position {{coord|61|18|N|18|6|W|display=inline,title}}. The ship's master and 24 crewmen died in the attack. ''Black Osprey''{{'}}s 11 survivors were picked up by the Norwegian refrigerated cargo ship ''Mosdale'' and landed at [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]].<ref>
{{cite web
|last       = Helgason
|first      = Guðmundur
|title      = Allied Ships hit by U-boats: Black Osprey
|url        = http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/769.html
|work       = The U-Boat War 1939–1945
|publisher  = uboat.net
|access-date = 2 September 2008
}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web
| url        = http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/list?search_op=OR&IDNo=2216012
| title      = ''West Arrow''
| work       = Miramar Ship Index
| publisher  = R.B.Haworth
| access-date = 2 September 2008
|ref         = {{harvid|Miramar Ship Index}}
}}
* {{cite web
 |last=Colton 
 |first=Tim 
 |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwone/skinnereddy.htm 
 |title=Skinner & Eddy, Seattle WA 
 |year=2008 
 |work=Shipbuildinghistory.com 
 |publisher=The Colton Company 
 |access-date=2 September 2008 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916103507/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwone/skinnereddy.htm 
 |archive-date=16 September 2008 
 |url-status=dead 
}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Crowell  | first1 = Benedict  | author-link = Benedict Crowell |last2 =Wilson |first2= Robert Forrest | title = The Road to France: The Transportation of Troops and Military Supplies, 1917–1918 | series = How America Went to War: An Account From Official Sources of the Nation's War Activities, 1917–1920 | location = [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]] | publisher = [[Yale University Press]] | year = 1921 | oclc = 18696066 }}
* {{cite book
|last = de la Pedraja Tomán
|first = René
|title = A Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Shipping Industry: Since the Introduction of Steam
|chapter = Black Diamond Steamship Corporation
|location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
|publisher = [[Greenwood Press]]
|year = 1994
|isbn = 978-0-313-27225-7
|oclc = 29311518
}}
* {{cite DANFS | author = Naval Historical Center | title = West Arrow | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w5/west_arrow.htm | access-date = 2 September 2008}}
*{{cite journal
|last1     = Skinner 
|last2     = Eddy
|title     = Consistent Building Record
|type      = display advertisement
|journal   = Pacific Marine Review
|location  = San Francisco
|publisher = J. S. Hines
|date      = October 1918
|page      = 143
|oclc      = 2449383
}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{navsource|12/172585|West Arrow (ID-2585)}}

{{good article}}
{{1938 shipwrecks}}
{{February 1941 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Osprey}}
[[Category:Design 1013 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Skinner & Eddy]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War I merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War I auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1938]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1941]]