SS Kassandra Louloudis

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Kassandra Louloudis in 1919 as Bondwoso
History
Netherlands
Name
  • War Lurcher (1919)
  • Bondowoso (1919–1936)
OwnerWm. Ruys & Sons Company
OperatorNV Rotterdamsche Lloyd
Ordered1 April 1918
BuilderWilliam Gray & Company
Yard number914
Launched26 August 1919
Completed25 October 1919
HomeportRotterdam
Identification
  • Call sign: HNCK (1919–1934)
  • Call sign: PEDO
FateSold to the Goulandris Brothers of Greece
Greece
NameKassandra Louloudis
OwnerGoulandris Brothers of Greece
Port of registryAndros
Acquired6 June 1936
Identification
  • Call sign: SVUC
FateSunk on 18 March 1942
General characteristics
Class & typeWar-class oil freighter
Tonnage5,106 GRT
Length400 ft (120 m)
Beam52 ft (16 m)
Depth28 ft (8.5 m)
Installed power3 cyl engine, 517 nominal horsepower
Propulsion1 × propeller
Speed10.5 kn (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)

SS Kassandra Louloudis was a freighter. She was originally built for the British but was completed for the Dutch in 1919 and sold to the Greeks in 1936. The freighter was sunk on 18 March 1942 by the German submarine U-124 off southern of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Construction

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Kassandra Louloudis, was originally ordered on 1 April 1918[1] as yard number 914[2] and launched on 26 August 1919[3] as War Lurcher, was built by William Gray & Company in West Hartlepool, United Kingdom.[4] She was completed on 25 October 1919[3] as Bondowoso for the Dutch company NV Rotterdamsche Lloyd[4] and registered in Rotterdam.[5] She was given the call sign HNCK.[3]

Specifications

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The freighter had a length of 400 feet (120 m), a beam of 52 feet (16 m), and a depth of 28 feet (8.5 m). She was 5,106 gross register tons.[6] Bondowoso could travel a maximum speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph).[7] She had a three-cylinder engine with one propeller, capable of 517 nominal horsepower. The ship was built by Central Marine Engineering Works, a subsidiary of William Gray & Company.[5]

Service history

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Bondowoso was originally owned by the Dutch company Wm. Ruys & Sons Company,[3] operated by NV Rotterdamsche Lloyd,[4] and registered in Rotterdam.[5] In 1934, her call sign was changed to PDEO.[3]

On 6 June 1936,[3] the freighter was sold to the Goulandris Brothers of Greece, renamed to Kassandra Louloudis,[4][8] and registered in Andros.[9] She was given the call sign SVUC.[3]

On 15 January 1941, the freighter departed Hoboken, New Jersey, bound for Athens. She carried 12,000,000 pounds (5,400,000 kg) of foodstuffs, medical supplies, clothing, twenty-five ambulances, and hospital trucks. The cargo cost US$1,176,000.[10]

Sinking

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Kassandra Louloudis left New York City on 15 March 1942, bound for Cristóbal, Colón.[4] She carried a cargo of "chain and hoist parts, monkey wrenches, pipe fittings, assorted hardware, conduit, turnbuckles, tires, cash registers, pneumatic tools and parts, brass rods, soap, a steel safe, and nine hundred rolls of roofing mat."[8]

As she approached Diamond Shoals in thick fog[8] on 17 March, she found herself traveling in a group of ships. The ship ahead of the freighter, an American oil tanker named Acme,[7] was struck by a torpedo from U-124 at 23:52 hours (11:52 PM) on 17 March.[11] Kassandra Louloudis' captain ordered his freighter to zig-zag, come to full speed, and head west.[12]

U-124 fired two torpedoes at the freighter. One of them missed, but the other struck the port side[12] of Kassandra Louloudis at 01:14 hours (1:14 AM) on 18 March.[4] The engines were operational, but the freighter's steering gear had been knocked out. An SOS was sent out via an emergency antenna after manually cranking a backup generator. The engines were shut down and the lifeboats were launched, and all 35 men escaped the ship uninjured.[8] They were rescued by USCGC Dione,[4] the cutter that had previously rescued the survivors of Acme. Dione took the survivors of both ships to Norfolk, Virginia.[8]

Wreck

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The wreck of Kassandra Louloudis is in 70 feet (21 m) beneath the water. The wreck is fairly intact, though the bow seems to be missing save for some anchor chains.[7] The highest point of the wrecksite are three boilers amidships.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "SS KASSANDRA LOULOUDI". ShipVault. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Steel Steamer Report for Bondowoso, 4th November 1919". Lloyd's Register Foundation. 4 November 1919. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Bondowoso - ID 1040". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank [Maritime Historical Database Foundation] (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Helgason, Guðmundur. "Kassandra Louloudis". uboat.net. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Bondowoso". Tees Built Ships. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  6. ^ "The Kassandra Louloudis". Dive Hatteras. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Hudy, Paul M. "Wreck of the Kassandra Louloudis". Wreck Diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Kassandra Louloudis". Sunken Ships of the Outer Banks. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Kassandra Louloudis". Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  10. ^ "RED CROSS WILL SHIP SUPPLIES TO GREECE; Freighter to Leave Soon With Medical Supplies and Food". The New York Times. 5 January 1941. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  11. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Acme". uboat.net. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  12. ^ a b Bunch, Jim (10 July 2017). "Kassandra Louloudis". U-Boats Off the Outer Banks. History Press. pp. 80–81. ISBN 9781439661734.