RN AMC's (original) (raw)

Royal Navy Armed Merchant Cruisers

by Cliff McMullen (celtic2@grey-bruce.net)
(c) Cliff McMullen, 2001

At the very beginning of World War I British passenger liners were requisitioned by the Royal Navy for conversion to armed merchant cruisers in part to form the 10th Cruiser Squadron and also to relieve the strain on the regular cruisers by undertakinglone patrols, and later, convoy escort duties. Initially it was decided to also include the large ocean liners such as theAquitania and the Mauretania but it was found that their very large size precluded them from the practical employment as A.M.C.'s. The logistics involved in their large fuel consumption and in providing suitable ports for refuelling and resupplying was very limited. As well, their large silhouettes made them identifiable from long distances. The Mauretania although converted and armed was never commissioned as an A.M.C. while the Aquitania was only commissioned for two weeks, ending after she collided with the steamer Canadian on 22 August, 1914.

Also on the acquisitions list but never converted were the liners Olympic and theLusitania although both had been reinforced during construction to accommodate armaments in the event of war. The A.M.C.s were prominent in news reports with individual duals with their German counterparts as well as being part of squadrons throughout the world, such as at Coronel, the Falklands, and the Dardanelles. That they were largely unsuited in their role as warships is proven by the quick demise of the German A.M.C.s, proving highly vulnerable to hits due to a lack of any armour and they were gradually assigned to other duties as the war progressed. During the war seventeen of these were sunk, mainly from enemy action. As well as A.M.C.s, in 1917, fourteen others were fitted with anti-submarine weapons and classified as Escort Merchant Vessels, of which three were lost.

The most prominent employment of A.M.C.s was in the creation of the 10th Cruiser Squadron, used to maintain the blockade of the North Sea, its patrol area extending from the Norwegian coast far into the Atlantic and covering all approaches to the European continent from a northerly direction. In so doing they relieved twenty or more regular Navy cruisers for other duties. Forty-one different converted passenger ships served with the Squadron for some length of time, each armed with guns up to 6-inch calibre. The 10th Cruiser Squadron was finally paid off on 7th December, 1917.

Source: Liners In Battledress by David Williams - Vanwell Publishing Ltd. c-1989.

Ships of the 10th Cruiser Squadron:

Alcantara ( Royal Mail ) - torpedoed 29 Feb 1916 in action with the raider Greif
Almanzora ( Royal Mail )
Alsatian ( Allan ) - Squadron flagship
Ambrose ( Booth )
Andes ( Royal Mail )
Arlanza ( Royal Mail )
Armadale Castle ( Union Castle )
Avenger ( ex- Aotearoa ) ( Union SS Co NZ ) - torpedoed by U-boat 14 June 1917 in North Atlantic.
Bayano ( Elders & Fyffes ) - torpedoed by U27 on 11 March 1915 off Galloway.
Calyx ( ex- Calypso ) ( Thomas Wilson )
Caribbean ( Royal Mail )
Cedric ( White Star )
Changuinola ( Elders & Fyffes )
Clan McNaughton ( Clan ) - foundered 3 February 1915 off Northern Ireland.
Columbella ( Anchor )
Digby ( Furness Warren ) - became French Artois on 25 Nov 1915.
Ebro ( Royal Mail )
Eskimo ( Thomas Wilson )
Gloucestershire ( Bibby )
Hilary ( Booth ) - torpedoed by U-boat 25 May 1917 in Atlantic.
Hildebrand ( Booth )
India ( P&O ) - torpedoed by U22 in August 1915 off Norway.
Kildonan Castle ( Union Castle )
Mantua ( P&O )
Moldavia ( P&O ) - torpedoed by U-boat on 23 May 1918 in English Channel.
Motagua ( Elders & Fyffes )
Oceanic ( White Star ) - wrecked on Shetland Island 8 September 1914.
Ophir ( Orient )
Orbita ( Pacific SN Co )
Orcoma ( Pacific SN Co )
Oropesa ( Pacific SN Co ) - became French Champagne on 2 December 1915. torpedoed by U-boat on 9 October 1917 in Atlantic.
Orotava ( Pacific SN Co )
Orvieto ( Orient )
Otway ( Pacific SN Co ) - torpedoed by U-boat 23 July 1917 off West Scotland.
Patia ( Elders & Fyffes ) - torpedoed by UC49 on 13 June 1918 in Bristol Channel.
Patnea ( Elders & Fyffes )
Patuca ( Elders & Fyffes )
Teutonic ( White Star )
Victorian ( Allan )
Viknor ( ex- Viking ) ( Viking Cruising ) - mined off Northern Ireland 13 January 1915.
Virginian ( Allan )

Auxiliary Cruisers WWI ( first date is commissioning and second is date of return to owners or loss ) :

Alcantara - 10 March 1915. Torpedoed in action with raider Greif on 29 February 1916.
Almanzora - 23 August 1915. Returned 20 December 1919.
Alsatian - 11 August 1914. Returned 25 September 1919.
Ambrose - 20 November 1914. Converted to Submarine Tender on 20 October 1915.
Andes - 22 March 1915. Returned 22 October 1919.
Aquitania - for two weeks in August 1914. Re-acquired as Hospital Ship.
Arlanza - 23 March 1915. Returned 1 June 1920.
Armadale Castle - 11 August 1914. Returned 11 September 1919.
Avenger ( ex- Aotearoa ) - March 1916. Torpedoed by U-boat 14 June 1917 in North Atlantic.
Avoca - 14 January 1916. Returned 29 October 1919.
Bayano - 21 December 1914. Torpedoed by U27 11 March 1915 off Galloway.
Berrida - served between August and October 1914.
Calgarian - 22 September 1914. Torpedoed by U19 on 1 March 1918 off Northern Ireland.
Calyx ( ex- Calypso ) - 4 December 1914. Returned 26 June 1915.
Caribbean - 12 December 1914. Returned 31 May 1915.
Carmania - 14 August 1914. Returned 6 July 1916.
Caronia - 8 August 1914. Returned 22 September 1916.
Cedric - 4 December 1914. Returned 20 January 1916.
Celtic - 27 October 1914. Returned 11 January 1916.
Changuinola - January 1915. Returned 17 January 1920.
City of London - 8 January 1916. Returned 7 July 1919.
Clan McNaughton - December 1914. Foundered off Northern Ireland 3 February 1915.
Columbella - 30 November 1914. Returned 6 June 1919.
Digby - 21 December 1914. Became French Artois on 24 November 1915. Returned 6 January 1919.
Ebro - June 1915. Returned 2 October 1919.
Empress of Asia - 28 August 1914. Returned 20 March 1916.
Edinburgh Castle - 12 September 1914. Returned 12 July 1919.
Empress of Britain - 20 August 1914. Returned 11 May 1915.
Empress of Japan - 13 August 1914. Returned 27 October 1915.
Empress of Russia - 24 August 1914. Returned 12 February 1916.
Eskimo - 9 December 1914. Returned 31 March 1915.
Gloucestershire - 20 December 1915. Returned 24 July 1919.
Hilary - 7 December 1914. Torpedoed by U-boat on 25 May 1917 in Atlantic.
Hildebrand - 5 December 1914. Returned 17 January 1919.
Himalaya - 17 August 1914. Converted to Seaplane Tender in 1916.
India - April 1915. Torpedoed by U22 in August 1915 off Norway.
Kildonan Castle - 25 March 1916. Returned 1 January 1919.
Kinfaus Castle - 8 August 1914. Returned 15 February 1919.
Laconia - 27 October 1914. Returned 2 August 1916.
Laurentic - 25 November 1914. Mined on 23 January 1917 off N.W. Ireland.
Macedonia - 8 August 1914. Returned 17 November 1918.
Mantua - 15 August 1914. Returned 17 November 1918 or 26 December 1919.
Marmora - 10 August 1914. Torpedoed by U-boat on 23 July 1918 off Northern Ireland.
Mauritania - August 1914. Although converted she was not commissioned.
Moldavia - 27 November 1915. Torpedoed by U-boat on 23 May 1918 in English Channel.
Morea - served briefly as an AMC between April and July 1917.
Motagua - 21 November 1914. Returned 18 December 1919.
Oceanic - 9 August 1914. Wrecked on Shetland Island 8 September 1914.
Ophir - 26 February 1915. Returned August 1921.
Orama - 12 September 1914. Torpedoed by U-boat on 19 October 1917 in Atlantic.
Orbita - 21 June 1915. Returned 12 August 1919.
Orcoma - 23 March 1915. Returned 11 October 1919.
Oropesa - 8 December 1914. Became French Champagne on 2 December 1915. Torpedoed by U-boat on 9 October 1917 in Atlantic.
Orotava - 19 November 1914. Converted to Seaplane Tender about November 1916.
Orvieto - ex-Minelayer converted to AMC 26 May 1916. Returned 19 October 1919.
Otranto - 11 August 1914. Wrecked on Islay after collision on 6 October 1918
Otway - 23 November 1914. Torpedoed by U-boat 23 July 1917 off West Scotland.
Patia - 22 December 1914. Torpedoed by UC49 on 13 June 1918 in Bristol Channel.
Patuca - 16 December 1914. Returned 17 July 1919.
Princess - 9 January 1916. Returned 10 September 1917.
Scotia - 14 August 1914. Returned 1 August 1917.
Teutonic - 12 September 1914. Returned January 1919.
Victorian - 21 August 1914. Returned 31 January 1920.
Viknor ( ex- Viking ) - 12 December 1914. Mined on 13 January 1915 off Northern Ireland.
Virginian - 10 December 1914. Returned 31 January 1920.

Escort Merchant Ships WWI :

Bayano - 3 December 1917. Returned 1919. Second ship of the name.
Bostonian - 16 June 1917. Sunk 10 October 1917.
Camito - 26 February 1918. Returned 27 March 1919.
Carrigan Head - 3 August 1917. Returned 25 February 1919.
Coronado - 30 September 1918. Returned 20 March 1919.
Discoverer - 18 June 1917. Returned 1 March 1919.
Knight Templar - 29 May 1917. Returned 5 February 1919.
Lepanto - 8 February 1918. Returned 1919.
Mechanician - 20 June 1917. Sunk 20 January 1918.
Naldera - reported in 1917/18 but existence very doubtful - could be a misspelling of Naneric.
Naneric - 7 December 1917. Returned 11 March 1919.
Quernmore - 29 June 1917. Sunk 31 July 1917.
Sachem - 28 May 1917. Returned 28 March 1919.
Wyncote - 10 August 1917. Returned 12 March 1919.

Last Updated: 24 December, 2001.
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