Introduction

Starboard Elevation of HMS Pozarica - Created and Donated by Andrew Arthur co-creator of the HMS Andrew Site

In early 1998 I was fortunate to come into possession of a collection of monochrome photographs depicting views from what seemed to be a Royal Naval destroyer sized vessel.

I received the album with photo's from my friend Nigel Smith who manages the Woolworth's Store here in Perth, Scotland. Nigel had been cleaning out some long disused staff lockers when he came across the album.

 

 

The majority of the photo's are taken aboard the ship whilst she is involved in a convoy action obviously in polar seas. There are also photo's showing a bombed city centre (which later proved with the assistance of a magnifying glass to be Belfast, after a German air raid).

As there was no identity to any of the photographs, their content or their owner, I started a long and sometimes frustrating search for the required information.

 

 

Initially I used my local library, though when this proved fruitless I turned my attentions to the Internet, posting certain photo's to individuals, organisations and newsgroups with a request for help.

A number of individuals responded with well founded guesses, but nobody could give me a positive identification of the ship. What did seem obvious to most contributors was that the ship did not have the typical lines of a destroyer, sloop or corvette of the era.

 

 

After many dead ends, I decided to create my own set of web pages showing certain photographs from the collection and naming them "Mystery Ship"............

These pages certainly made a major difference to the volume and quality of information received.

 

 

My first lucky break was from a chap in Sweden (sorry I've forgotten your name) who suggested the ship might be (due to it's odd lines) a merchant ship, requisitioned and converted to military use, such as the Anti Aircraft Auxiliaries.

 

 

On further digging I found that there had been only eight such ships converted for seagoing purposes, three of them built by Harland & Wolff and one of these in Belfast!!

I contacted H & W who in turn pointed me in the direction of the 'Ulster Folk & Transport Museum' where the H & W photo archives are maintained.

 

 

Unfortunately, none of the three H & W ships (Alynbank, Springbank and Foylebank) matched my ship, though Mr Anderson of the museum was able to positively identify the locations within Belfast of my post blitz photographs.

After ruling out these three sisters I was then able to eliminate one by one each of the other "Ack Ack" ships until I was left with the sisters Palomares & Pozarica.

 

 

Unfortunately the two ships were very similar and due to a lack of good information I was unable to confirm which was my 'Lady', though I was positive she was one or the other and delighted at narrowing down my search to two vessels.

The sisters; both requisitioned from the 'MacAndrews Line' were fruit carriers built at Doxford, Sunderland (Godfrey Winn suggests "Pozarica" transported wine and passengers from Madeira) .

 

 

At the begining of April 1999 I received an email from Helen Kempster.

Helens' father 'George William Mitchell' had served aboard "Pozarica" right up to her loss in 1943. After much communication between myself and Georges' other daughter; 'Sue', I was finally able to positively identify my 'Mystery Ship" as H.M.S. Pozarica.

My sincere thanks go to everyone who helped me reach this far.

If you have, or require further information, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Paul Mitchell

H.M.S. Pozarica with oiler astern. May13th 1942.

Brief History of the "POZY"

Launched on the 6th September 1937 from Doxford and Sons, Sunderland yard. The MV Pozarica was completed for service as a MacAndrews Line fruit carrier in January 1938 with their Spanish service.

MV Pozarica prior to her Wartime Service and refit.

On the 20th June 1940 she was purchased by the Admiralty who set about converting her into an Anti Aircraft Auxiliary.

In total the Admiralty converted eight merchant ships to (Seagoing) Anti Aircraft Auxiliaries, apart from Pozarica (which was the fourth to be converted) and her sister Palomares, these were;

Alynbank, Springbank, Foylebank, Prince Robert, Tynwald and Ulster Queen.

Pozaricas' conversion took place at Fairfields yard in Govan on the Clyde.

Her sleek new warship lines included the following armaments:

Twin 4" guns - superfiring forward and singled aft.

  Two quadruple pom-poms at the quarterdeck break.

  Four 20mm Oerlikons, one in each bridge wing and the other two on either side of the funnel.

  The Radars are SW type 272 ( Surface Warning - The yellow one on the mainmast in top elevation)

 AW type 286 ( Air Warning the 'X' at the foremast head )

AR type 285 ( Air Ranging - on the director on the bridge

plus depth charges

In March 1941, whilst undergoing "working up" on the Clyde, Pozarica collided with the Canadian destroyer HMCS Restigouche. She joined the Western Approaches Command after repairs.

She was employed during her period with the Western Approaches Command, escorting small convoys across the Irish Sea between Milford Haven and the Ulster ports.

In May 1942, she collided with a merchant ship and was repaired in Belfast, the repairs finishing in time for her to join the infamous PQ17 convoy.

Map of Convoy PQ17

After surviving PQ17 and finally returning to the British Isles after a frustrating period in North Russia, Pozarica was sent to the Mediteranean to assist with "Operation Torch" (The allied invasion of North Africa).

On the 29th January 1943 whilst involved in a routine escort duty off the Algerian Coast, HMS Pozarica was attacked by a German torpedo bomber which disabled her by hitting her astern. She was towed into Bougie (now Bejaïa), where efforts were made to repair her.

Despite these efforts, H.M.S. Pozarica finally capsized and sunk on the 13th February 1943.

H.M.S. Pozarica - Bougie, Algeria

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