LUCK FOUR(ST.THOMAS)

[Tony Frost]

ex.ST.THOMAS South American Saint Line

[fitter]

J.L.Thompsons yard number 654, 1948. sister to yard number 643 St Essylt (2).
St Essylt (2) became Yunnan then Lucky two before being scrapped at Kaohsuing in 1979
St. Thomas became Yochow then Lucky Four
The St. Thomas and Saint Essylt(2) were both powered by Doxford 670LB5 engines (Nos 261 & 262)
When the founder of the South American Saint Line, Dick Street, died 11 days before the launch of St. Rosario in January 1961, the controlling shareholder Lord Howard de Walden decided to sell the company to Nerdum of London. When Nerdum failed, the conference rights of the company were sold to Houlder Brothers.
A merger between Barry Shipping & St. Quintin Shipping resulted in B&S shipping. Several ships were built at Thompsons either for B&S or Barry Shipping before the South American Saint Line was formed. These were:
Yard No 573 St. Helena in 1936 with a 4 cylinder White triple expansion engine with low pressure turbine . Torpedoed 1941
Yard No 574 St. Margaret in 1936 with a 4 cylinder White triple expansion engine with low pressure turbine . Torpedoed 1943
Yard No 575 St. Clears in 1936 with a 4 cylinder White triple expansion engine with low pressure turbine . Aground 1962
Yard No 582 St Rosario (2) In with a 4 cylinder White triple expansion engine with low pressure turbine. B.U. 1969
Yard No 589 St Elwyn in 1938 with a 4 cylinder White triple expansion engine with low pressure turbine . Torpedoed 1940
Yard No 600 St. Essylt (1) in 1940 Rich & Westgarth Doxford 670LB4 engine. Damaged by U375 and sank 1940
Yard No 705 St Rosario (2) in 1961 Doxford 670P4 engine, the only non turbo charged Doxford P engine. Taken over by Nerdum. Sold to Chapman and Willan in 1963, renamed Hermiston. in 1970 it became Hermione and in September 1980, trapped at Basrah as Maria Sofia, it was bombed by Iranian aircraft.

Doxfords were having trouble keeping up with crankshaft production when the St. Essylt (1) was built. They ordered a Crankshaft from Skoda in Czechoslovakia but this couldn't be built before the Germans invaded, so Doxfords turned to Belgium to have the crankshaft built, but when the Germans invaded the Netherlands, the contract was cancelled and it had eventually to be built in Britain. The Germans did eventually destroy the ship so it seemed doomed from the outset.

Patrick Thompson, son of Cyril Thompson, and the last of the Thompson shipbuilding family who died in October 2008, went to sea as an engineer with the Saint Line before returning to take his position in the yard.

[northeast]

Thanks for these really informative additions, fitter!

Here is another of her (him)

1948, 6855grt
J. L. Thompson, Sunderland (654) for the South American Saint Line
1965 YOCHOW, China Navigation
1971 LUCKY FOUR
Broken up at Whampoa 6/1978

[fitter]

Nice photograph of distinctive looking ships, modern for their time. Thanks for posting.