HMT Slamat
From Our Contribution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMT Slamat |
| Owner | Rotterdamsche Lloyd (Koninklijke, KRL, Ruys Willem & Co.) |
| Builder | Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde - Royal Schelde |
| Yard number | 176 |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Fate | sunk by German aircraft 27 Apr 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger |
| Tonnage | 11,406 tons |
| Length | 147.1m |
| Beam | 18.9m |
| Depth | 8.78m |
| Propulsion | Twin screw |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Capacity | crew of 193 + 21 gunners as a troopship |
Remarks
Built for service between Rotterdam and the Dutch East Indies. Following the fall of Holland to Germany in 1940 the Dutch ships moved to Australian waters. HMT Slamat was converted as a troopship, and together with the Nieuw Holland, Christiaan Huygens, and Indrapoera formed Convoy US 5A carryinmg troops from Australia to the Middle East. Slamat then spent the rest of 1940, and early months of 1941 carrying British Empire troops from India to Egypt. In January 1941 she participated in Convoy US 8, before returning to the Mediterranean. She was a member of Convoy AG 14 which travelled to Greece to evacuate British Empire troops. Salamat was ordered to Nauplia to embark men for Crete and began embarking troops from small craft as the harbour was blocked by a sunken ship. Ordered to leave while men were still waiting to embark, Salamat continued loading troops until she had half of her capacity before sailing.
The Slamat was caught some 60 miles (100 km) north of Crete by Ju-88 and possibly Me-110 aircraft and was bombed and sunk. The destroyers HMS Diamond and HMS Wryneck rescued at least 700 men from the Slamat, but were eventually bombed and sunk as well. The total loss was 983 men.
Soldiers carried
Sydney to Kantara, Egypt via Colombo 12 September to 13 Oct 1940
- † Francis James Marchant boarded in Fremantle 22 Sep 1940