SS Letitia
SS Letitia was an ocean liner built in Scotland for service with the Anchor-Donaldson Line. She continued to serve with its successor company Donaldson Atlantic Line. At the start of the Second World War in September 1939, the British Admiralty requisitioned the ship for service and had it converted to serve as an armed merchant cruiser. She was withdrawn from this service in 1941 to become a troop ship.
Badly damaged in 1943, after being repaired the Letitia was used as a hospital ship in Canada. She was returned to civilian service in 1946 after the end of the war. She was bought by the Ministry of Transport, which renamed her as Empire Brent and assigned Donaldson Brothers and Black to manage her. She sailed on a number of voyages, at times carrying troops to the Far East, as well as being an emigration ship to Australia. She was briefly laid up in 1950. She was returned to service under charter to the Government of New Zealand as Captain Cook. She was withdrawn from service in 1960 and sold for scrap.
Career
Pre-war service
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan built Letitia, launching her on 14 October 1924 and completing her in April 1925. She initially sailed for the Glasgow-based Anchor-Donaldson Ltd, on their summer route between Liverpool, Quebec and Montreal with another Anchor-Donaldson steamer. In winter she sailed to Halifax and St John's, Newfoundland. Her maiden voyage was from Glasgow to Montreal on 24 April 1925. This was a joint venture between Cunard Line and Anchor-Donaldson Line. She underwent a refit in 1927, and with the reforming of the company into the Donaldson Atlantic Line in 1935, Letitia was one of the assets retained.Letitia ran aground twice in 1935. The first time was on 11 April at Cape Pappas, Patras, Greece, where she was refloated on 13 April. The second was on 16 August on the South Briggs Reef at the entrance to Belfast Lough. The passengers were disembarked, and on 20 August she was refloated.
Second World War
The Admiralty requisitioned Letitia on 9 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. She was refitted to arm her with eight and two guns, and entered Royal Navy service on 6 November 1939 with the pennant number F16.She spent most of her time in the Atlantic; initially between October 1939 and January 1940 deploying with the Halifax Escort Force. On 6 January 1940, Convoy HX 15 left Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving at Liverpool on 19 January. Letitia was an escort for the convoy. Most of 1940 was spent with the Northern Patrol, followed by the period of November 1940 to February 1941 with the Northern and Western Patrol. On 13 January 1941, Letitia ran aground at Halifax, Nova Scotia and was badly damaged. She was briefly with the Bermuda and Halifax Escort Force, before returning to the North Atlantic Escort Force between May and June 1941. By now however it had become clear to the Admiralty that using liners such as Letitia as armed merchant cruisers left them too exposed to attack, without offering substantially increased protection. The remaining merchant cruisers were withdrawn from service, Letitia being withdrawn on 7 June 1941, and were instead used as troop ships by the Ministry of War Transport.
On 10 January 1942 part of Convoy WS 15 sailed from Liverpool, with another part sailing from the Clyde on 11 January. The two parts combined off Orsay on 12 January. Letitia was with the Liverpool part and was destined for Durban. On 29 March 1942 Letitia arrived at Glasgow from Cape Town. On 22 August 1942, Convoy AT 20 sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia During the evening of 22 August, Letitia failed to react to an order to perform an emergency zig-zag and was sent to correct Letitia's actions. This set in motion a chain of events that led to a collision between and, which sank Ingraham. There was a further collision between HMT Awatea and. In November 1942, Convoy MFK 1Y left Gibraltar for the United Kingdom.
On 23 January 1943, Convoy WS 26 sailed from the Clyde, destined for Durban, South Africa via Freetown, Sierra Leone and Cape Town, South Africa. Letitia left the convoy at Freetown. On 27 February, Convoy KMF 10A formed off Orsay in conjunction with Convoy WS 27. On 18 May 1943, Convoy WS 30 left Liverpool, combining with Convoy KMF 15 off Orsay on 21 May. Letitia was a member of both these convoys.
File:Letitia 4233321.jpg|thumb|Letitia as a hospital ship arriving at Pier 21 in Halifax
On 4 November 1943, Convoy KMS left the United Kingdom for the Mediterranean. Letitia joined the convoy at Algiers and left at Philippeville. Letitia served in this role until 1943, when she was badly damaged. She was able to sail to the United States for repairs, after which she was used by the Canadian government as a hospital ship, carrying 200 medical personnel and with a capacity for 1,000 patients. She spent the remainder of the war carrying wounded Canadian personnel to the Pier 21 terminal at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was due to be reassigned to the Pacific Ocean when the war ended. She continued in service in the immediate aftermath of the war, repatriating Canadian service personnel. She was sold in 1946, during this period as a transport, to the Ministry of Transport, which renamed her Empire Brent. The Ministry assigned her to be operated on their behalf by her previous owners, now trading as Donaldson Bros & Black Ltd.