The ship was 396 feet 5 inches (120.83 m) long between perpendiculars,[3] 417 feet 9 inches (127.33 m) overall,[4] with a beam of 60 feet 1 inch (18.31 m). She had a depth of 35 feet 0 inches (10.67 m).[3] She was assessed at 7,177 GRT,[1] 4,823 NRT.[3] Her DWT was 6,440.[2]
Built as the merchant vessel Cape Washington, the ship was launched on 30 November 1943,[5] and completed on 31 January 1944 as the landing ship Empire Crossbow.[1][4] She was transferred to the British Ministry of War Transport under the Lend-Lease scheme.[3] The Official Number 168908 and Code Letters MYMV were allocated. Her port of registry was London.[6]Empire Crossbow departed from Wilmington on her maiden voyage on 7 February 1944. She sailed via the Panama Canal to Bermuda, sustaining some damage in storms in the Caribbean. At Bermuda, it was estimated that repairs would take 14 days to complete. Empire Crossbow joined a convoy and departed Bermuda on 24 February, the day she had arrived there. She arrived at Greenock, Renfrewshire on 6 March.[7]Empire Crossbow departed the River Clyde on 26 March and sailed via Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire and Weymouth Bay, Dorset to the Cowes Roads, of the Isle of Wight, arriving on 30 March.[8]
Empire Crossbow was transferred to the Royal Navy and commissioned as HMS Sainfoin in November 1944.[5] She was named after the racehorse Sainfoin, the winner of the 1890 Epsom Derby.[14] Her armament consisted 1 × 4-inch (102 mm) gun, 1 × 12-pounder (3-inch (76.2 mm)) gun, 12 × 20 mm (0.8 in) anti-aircraft guns,[5] and 2 × 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns. She also carried 18 LCAs and could accommodate 1,500 troops.[15]
On 16 October 1945,[18] during Sainfoin's voyage back to the United Kingdom, Sainfoin received a distress call from the hospital shipSS Takliwa, which was carrying 820 repatriated prisoners of war from Hong Kong to Madras, India. It took Sainfoin four hours to reach Takliwa,[19] which had run aground at Indira Point, Great Nicobar, and caught fire.[18] Using her LCAs, Sainfoin rescued all 1,083 people on board Takliwa, as well as the ship's cat. During the rescue, three of Sainfoin's LCAs were lost.[19]Sainfoin's mascot, a baboon named Mortimer,[20] took a liking to the cat. On arrival at Bombay, the cat promptly went ashore.[19] Mortimer's intended fate was to be given to a zoo in the United Kingdom, but he grew too big and dangerous, so he was euthanased before Sainfoin reached the United Kingdom.[20]
Post-war, Sainfoin assisted in mopping up operations in the Dutch East Indies. On one occasion, a pregnant woman went into labour whilst men from Sainfoin were assisting in one such operation. She was transferred to the ship for medical attention. A healthy baby boy was born on board. He was given the name Sainfoin.[21]Sainfoin was at Singapore when the news came through that she was to be paid off. She sailed the following day;[22] her destination was Greenock. A number of her crew volunteered for service on the voyage to return the ship to the United States, but their request was denied.[23]
HMS Sainfoin was returned to merchant service, with the name reverting to Empire Crossbow in September 1946.[15] She was returned to the United States in September 1946 and re-entered merchant service under her original name, Cape Washington, the following year.[1] She was laid up in the James River until 1964, when she was sold on 1 December for $47,206 to Peck Iron & Metal Co for dismantling.[4]Cape Washington was scrapped at Portsmouth, Virginia.[1]
References
^ abcdeMitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN1-85044-275-4.
