HMAT Bulla
The ship as Hessen | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hessen |
| Owner | Norddeutscher Lloyd |
| Port of registry | Bremen |
| Builder | Joh. C. Tecklenborg, Geestemunde |
| Yard number | 207 |
| Launched | 1905 |
| Christened | 2 September 1905 |
| Completed | 9 November 1905 |
| Out of service | 1914 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Seized by Australia in World War I |
| Name | HMAT Bulla |
| Operator | Commonwealth Line |
| Acquired | 1914 |
| Out of service | 1926 |
| Identification | A45 |
| Fate | Sold |
| Name | Weissesee |
| Operator | W. Schuchmann |
| Acquired | 1926 |
| Out of service | 1943 |
| Fate | Sunk by aircraft 25 July 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Franken-class cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 5,099 GRT, 3,206 NRT |
| Length | 409.3 ft (124.8 m) |
| Beam | 52.7 ft (16.1 m) |
| Depth | 27.9 ft (8.5 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 533 NHP; 3,000 ihp (2,200 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h) |
HMAT Bulla was built as the steamer Hessen for the German Line Norddeutscher Lloyd in 1905.[1] It could carry 3300 tons deadweight.[2]
1914 seizure
[edit]The NDL liner Hessen was seized by Australian forces on 3 September 1914,[3] when it sailed from Bremen into Melbourne, the German crew being unaware of the outbreak of World War I.[4] The vessel did not have a wireless radio, and had sailed from Antwerp on 19 July 1914, with hostilities in progress from 4 August 1914.[5] The seven crew and master Dietrich Reimers were taken into custody then released on parole in accordance with Articles 5(2), 6, and 7, of the Hague Convention.[6] Its cargo was then offloaded in Sydney and Brisbane.[7][8]
Australian WWI troopship
[edit]It became a troop transport for the war, becoming HMAT Hessen (A45) by February 1915,[9] and by September 1915, renamed as the HMAT Bulla (A45).[10][11] It was initially under the command of Captain R. A. T. Wilson,[12] initially ferrying troops and horses to Egypt, and formed part of the Gallipoli campaign.[13] It was subsequently considered unsuitable for troop transport.[14] Captain E. Clutterbuck took over from Wilson,[12] where the vessel was part of a storeship for that campaign.[15]
May 1919 saw the steamer return from London with trophies of war for the Australian War Museum.[16]
Post-WWI cargo steamer
[edit]It was transferred to the Commonwealth Government Line of Steamers in 1918,[citation needed] with Captain A. R. Pascall being the master about this time.[17] In 1920 the SS Bulla was used to transport 6400 bales of wool and 1400 bags of barley from Adelaide to London via Durban.[18]
The steamer was sold for £13 500[2] in 1926 to W. Schuchmann, who renamed it Weissesee (meaning 'white sea').[19][20]
WW2 sinking
[edit]Weissesee was bombed and sunk by aircraft at Hamburg, Germany, on 25 July 1943. The wreck was raised in 1949 and scrapped.[21]
References
[edit]- ↑ "HMAT & HMNZT Transport Ships". Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- 1 2 "Bulla resold". Daily Commercial News and Shipping List. No. 11, 965. New South Wales, Australia. 17 December 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Another liner seized". Geelong Advertiser. No. 21, 015. Victoria, Australia. 4 September 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ Jose, Arthur (1928). Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. IX. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. p. 543.
- ↑ "Another German steamer captured". The Age. No. 18552. Victoria, Australia. 4 September 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Crews of captured enemy ships- SS Hessen, Lothringen, Pfalz, Hobart,Alhana- released on parole". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ "Prizes of war". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 11, 013. New South Wales, Australia. 9 September 1914. p. 11. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "HOBART and HESSEN". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 11, 026. New South Wales, Australia. 24 September 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "A45 HMAT "Hessen" - Troopship Orders, 2 Feb. - 10 Mar 1915". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ "Steamers inward and outward bound". Daily Commercial News and Shipping List. No. 7681. New South Wales, Australia. 11 September 1915. p. 7. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "[Troopship and cargo carrier movement cards, 1914-18 War] HMAT BULLA (A45)". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Command of S.S. Bulla". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 25, 544. Victoria, Australia. 25 June 1928. p. 15. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "In the thick of it". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 920. Western Australia. 22 August 1915. p. 12 (Second Section). Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Australian ships". The Sun. No. 2724. New South Wales, Australia. 25 March 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Sailors' and Soldiers Parliament". Smith's Weekly. Vol. IV, no. 26. New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1922. p. 25. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "War Museum". The Mercury. Vol. CX, no. 15, 471. Tasmania, Australia. 29 May 1919. p. 4. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Wedding bells". Daily Telegraph. Vol. XL, no. 148. Tasmania, Australia. 22 June 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Shipping notes". Port Adelaide News. Vol. 7, no. 43. South Australia. 11 June 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "The Commonwealth Government Line of Steamers". TheShipsList. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ↑ "Shipping movements". The News. Vol. VIII, no. 1, 100. South Australia. 22 January 1927. p. 2 (Home edition). Retrieved 29 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Weissesee (1139012)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- 1905 ships
- Captured ships
- Cargo ships of Australia
- Cargo ships of Germany
- Maritime incidents in July 1943
- Merchant ships sunk by aircraft
- Ships built in Bremen (state)
- Steamships of Australia
- Steamships of Germany
- Troop ships of Australia
- World War I merchant ships of Germany
- World War II merchant ships of Germany
- Passenger ship stubs