SS Iron Knight was a 4,812 GRT Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n iron ore carrier

Bulk carrier

A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...

  which was sunk during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 by a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese submarine.

History

Iron Knight was built by Lithgows Ltd

Lithgows

Lithgows Limited, was a British shipbuilding company based in Kingston, Port Glasgow, on the River Clyde in Scotland.-Founding:The Company was established by Joseph Russell and his partners Anderson Rodger and William Lithgow who leased the Bay Yard in Port Glasgow from Cunliffe & Dunlop and...

, Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons...

 for Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Broken Hill. She was completed in October 1937 and was homeported in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 under the British Flag

Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...

.

On 8 February 1943, Iron Knight was part of Convoy OC 8 from Whyalla, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 up the east coast of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 to Newcastle, New South Wales

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

. At 2:30 am, a torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 fired by Japanese submarine I-21

Japanese submarine I-21

was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which saw service during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She displaced 1,950 tons and had a speed of . I-21 was the most successful Japanese submarine to operate in Australian waters, participating in the attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 and sinking...

 at escorts HMAS Townsville

HMAS Townsville (J205)

HMAS Townsville , named after the city of Townsville, Queensland, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy ....

 and HMAS Mildura

HMAS Mildura

HMAS Mildura , named for the city of Mildura, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy .-Construction:...

 passed under the bow of Townsville and struck Iron Knight, which was at the head of the convoy. Her position was 36°51′S 149°44′E.

Iron Knight sank, bow first, within two minutes. Out of the crew of 50 only 14 survived after climbing on board a single lifeboat. The convoy steamed ahead and the survivors were picked up by the French destroyer Le Triomphant

French destroyer Le Triomphant

The Triomphant was a Fantasque class destroyer of the French Navy-Phony war:At the outbreak of World War II, in September 1939, Triomphant under capitaine de frégate Pothau, was part of the 2nd Light Squadron, in the 8th Large Destroyer Division, which also included her sister-ships Malin and...

 ten days later.

The wreck of the Iron Knight was discovered in waters off the town of Bermagui

Bermagui, New South Wales

Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. The name is derived from the Dyirringanj word, permageua, possibly meaning 'canoe with paddles'....

, New South Wales at a depth of approximately 125 metres (410.1 ft). The wreck was officially declared a protected wreck on 4 August 2006. The crew of Iron Knight who lost their lives in the attack are commemorated on the Newcastle Mercantile Marine Memorial, outside Newcastle railway station

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers

IMO ship identification number

The IMO ship identification number is made of the three letters "IMO" followed by the seven-digit number assigned to all ships by IHS Fairplay when constructed. This is a unique seven digit number that is assigned to propelled, sea-going merchant ships of 100 GT and above...

. Iron Knight had the UK Official Number 159568 and used the Code Letters

Code letters

Code letters were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of radio, code letters were also used as radio callsigns.-History:...

VLJZ.