Name Tiberton Port of registry Newcastle upon Tyne Completed March 1920 Length 126 m | Owner R Chapman & Son Yard number B50 Launched 1920 | |
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Builder Richardson, Duck & Co Ltd, Stockton on Tees | ||
The SS Tiberton was a British steam cargo ship that was sunk during World War II by the German submarine U-23.
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Service
Registered to owners R. Chapman & Son, Newcastle upon Tyne, Great Britain, the SS Tiberton was launched in 1920 and served in Great Britain's Merchant Navy through the 1920s and 1930s. Operating from her homeport of Newcastle, she sailed to numerous countries including Chile, Australia and Norway.
On 14 June 1928, Tiberton ran aground at Bahía Blanca, Argentina. She was refloated on 17 June 1928.
Sinking
It is believed that (whilst transporting her cargo of iron ore to Middlesbrough (or Immingham, Humberside) Great Britain from Narvik, Norway) the SS Tiberton was struck by a single torpedo from German submarine U-23 under the command of Otto Kretschmer sinking "without trace".
The SS Tiberton was not sailing in convoy, nor was she well protected when U-23 (on her eighth sailing and active patrol in the North Sea) launched the G7e torpedo that caused her to sink at 04:05hrs (CET) on 19 February 1940. All 33 of her crew were killed.
On 10 April 1940 the SS Tiberton was officially registered with Lloyd's as Missing / Untraced and a Joint Arbitration Committee considered her a "war loss". The crew were commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London (Panel 108).
Location of Sinking
There are several estimations of the location of her sinking in the North Sea.