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HMAT A45 Bulla

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HMAT A45 Bulla
HMAT A45 Bulla 5.jpg
HMAT A45 Bulla 2.jpg
History
Name HMAT A45 Bulla
Owner Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen
Builder Tecklenborg at Geestemunde
Completed 1905
General characteristics
Type Steamship (Single screw)
Tonnage 5,099 tons
Length 124.8m
Beam 16.1m
Propulsion single screw
Speed 12 knots (22.2 kph)


Remarks

Originally built for Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, and named SS Hessen. She sailed into Melbourne on 3 Sep 1914, unaware that war had broken out, and was seized by the Commonwealth. Renamed Bulla and given the designation A45, she was manned by Australian officers and crew. During WW1 she had completed four journeys with artillery and medical staff to Egypt or Europe, a voyage as a troop ship in early 1917, and one as a cargo ship without passengers.


Bulla was transferred on 15 Apr 1918 to the Commonwealth Government Line who in 1926 sold her to Schuchmann Wilhelm of Hamburg. Renamed Weissesee she was sunk during the devastating air raid on Hamburg on 25 Jul 1943 that destroyed the city with massive loss of life. Raised in 1949, she was then broken up.


Soldiers carried

Fremantle to Port Suez 22 January - 15 February 1917

Other Voyages

  • 25 November 1915 from Sydney