View source for SS Avondale Park

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Canada
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Canada|1921}} 
| Ship name                = ''Avondale Park''
| Ship owner               =*Canadian Government (1943)
*Ministry of War Transport (1944)
| Ship operator            =*Park Steamship Co Ltd (1943)
*Witherington & Everett (1944)
| Ship registry            = {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Montreal
| Ship route               = 
| Ship ordered             = 
| Ship builder             = [[Pictou Shipyard]], Foundation Maritime Ltd
| Ship original cost       = 
| Ship yard number         = 
| Ship way number          = 
| Ship laid down           = 
| Ship launched            = February 1944
| Ship completed           = May 1944
| Ship christened          = 
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| Ship maiden voyage       = 
| Ship in service          = 
| Ship out of service      = 
| Ship identification      =*Code Letters VDDN
*{{ICS|Victor}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|November}}
*UK [[Official Number]] 175378
| Ship fate                = Torpedoed and sunk by {{GS|U-2336||2}}, 7 May 1945
| Ship notes               = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption           = 
| Ship class               = 
| Ship tonnage             =*{{GRT|2,878}}
*{{NRT|1,653}}<!--
*x,xxx [[Deadweight tonnage|DWT]]-->
| Ship displacement        = 
| Ship length              = {{convert|315|ft|5|in|m|2|abbr=on}} 
| Ship beam                = {{convert|46|ft|5|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
| Ship height              = 
| Ship draught             = 
| Ship depth               = {{convert|22|ft|9|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
| Ship decks               = 
| Ship deck clearance      = 
| Ship ramps               = 
| Ship ice class           = 
| Ship sail plan           = 
| Ship power               = Triple expansion steam engine
| Ship propulsion          = Screw propeller
| Ship speed               = <!--{{convert|10|kn|km/h}}-->
| Ship capacity            = 
| Ship crew                = 34, plus 4 [[Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships|DEMS]] gunners
| Ship notes               = 
| Ship armament            =  *1 x [[4"/50 caliber gun|4 inch deck gun]] aft
*1 x [[3"/50 caliber gun|3 inch (76&nbsp;mm)/50 caliber gun]]
*4 x [[Oerlikon 20&nbsp;mm cannon|20 mm Oerlikon]]
*2 x Twin [[M2 Browning|.50 cal. Machine Guns]]
*20 x Rail Anti-Aircraft Rocket Launcher (Pillar Box) <ref>[http://merchantships2.tripod.com/dems/handout.html merchant ships, Park armament]</ref>
}}
|}

'''''Avondale Park''''' was a {{GRT|2872|link=off}} [[cargo ship]] which was built by [[Pictou Shipyard]] at [[Pictou, Nova Scotia]] in 1944. She was the last merchant ship to be sunk by [[Germany]] in the [[Second World War]], on 7 May 1945, the day of [[German Instrument of Surrender|German surrender]]. She was built as merchant [[steamship]] constructed for [[Canada]]’s [[Canadian Merchant Navy|Merchant Navy]] in 1944 as part of Canada's [[Park ship]] program.

==Description==
The ship was built by Foundation Maritime Limited's [[Pictou Shipyard]] in [[Pictou, Nova Scotia]]. She was launched in February 1944,<ref name=Uboat/> and completed in May 1944.<ref name="harvnb|Lloyd's Register 1944">{{harvnb|Lloyd's Register 1944}}</ref>

The ship was {{convert|315|ft|5|in|m|2}} long, with a beam of {{convert|46|ft|5|in|m|2}} and a depth of {{convert|22|ft|9|in|m|2}}. She had a GRT of 2,878 and a NRT of 1,653.<ref name="harvnb|Lloyd's Register 1944"/>

She was propelled by a [[triple expansion steam engine]] which had cylinders {{convert|20|in|cm}}, {{convert|31|in|cm}} and {{convert|55|in|cm}} diameter by {{convert|39|in|cm}} stroke. The engine was built by Canada Iron Foundries, [[Trois-Rivières|Three Rivers]], [[Quebec]].<ref name="harvnb|Lloyd's Register 1944"/>

[[File:Ssashbypark1944.jpg|thumbnail|350px|A Typical cargo Park ship. Launch of SS ''Ashby Park'' at the [[Pictou Shipyard]] in 1944]]

==History==
''Avondale Park'' was built for the Canadian Government and operated by the Park Steamship Co Ltd. The United Kingdom [[Official Number]] 175378 and [[code letters]] VDDN were allocated. Her port of registry was [[Montreal]], under the [[Flag of the United Kingdom|British flag]].<ref name="harvnb|Lloyd's Register 1944"/> She was later [[bareboat charter|chartered]] by the [[Ministry of War Transport]], who placed her under the management of Witherington & Etheridge, [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].<ref name=Uboat>
{{cite web
|url        = http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/3512.html
|title      = Avondale Park
|publisher  = Uboat
|access-date = 16 March 2010
}}</ref>

''Avondale Park'' was a member of Convoy EN 491, which departed [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] on 6 May 1945 bound for [[Belfast]] via [[Methil]]. On 7 May 1945, the convoy was attacked by {{GS|U-2336||2}} and two ships were sunk, {{SS|Sneland I||2}} and ''Avondale Park'', which became the last British merchant ship to be sunk during the Second World War.<ref name=Uboat/> The sinking, at just after 23:00 on 7 May 1945, was in the last hours of the Second World War in Europe, with the official surrender taking place at 23:01 on 8 May 1945.<ref name=Timegun>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.timegun.org/war_casualties.html
 |title       = War casualties or just victims of an arrogant Captain
 |publisher   = Timegun Travels
 |access-date  = 17 March 2010
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20091212132244/http://www.timegun.org/war_casualties.html
 |archive-date = 12 December 2009
 |df          = dmy-all
}}
</ref> ''Avondale Park'' sank at {{coord|56|05|N|02|32|W|display=inline,title}}. Two of the 38 crew were lost.<ref name=Uboat/> A signal had been sent to the U-boats on 4 May 1945 ordering them to surrender but ''U-2336'' did not receive the signal.<ref name=MM>
{{cite web
|url        = http://sites.google.com/a/mercantilemarine.org/mercantile-marine/War-time-Stories/h
|title      = The Birth of Radar as told by Ham and Jam
|publisher  = Mercantile Marine
|access-date = 16 March 2010
}}
</ref>

==See also==
* [[Actions of 7–8 May 1945]]

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==

*{{cite web
|url        = https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/44/44b1172.pdf 
|title      = Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships
|year       = 1944
|publisher  = Plimsoll Ship Data 
|access-date = 16 March 2010
|ref        = {{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1944}}
}}

{{Park ships}}
{{May 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avondale Park}}
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Canada]]
[[Category:Steamships of Canada]]
[[Category:Ministry of War Transport ships]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1945]]
[[Category:Fleet of the Canadian Merchant Navy]]