SS Polar Chief

The ship as Anglo-Norse in 1927
History
Name	1897: Montcalm 1914: "HMS Audacious" 1916: RFA Crenella 1918: Crenella 1923: Rey Alfonso 1927: Anglo-Norse 1929: Polar Chief 1941: Empire Chief 1946: Polar Chief
Namesake	1897: Marquis de Montcalm 1916: the genus Crenella
Owner	1897: African SS Co 1903: Elder, Dempster 1903: Canadian Pacific Rly 1916: Admiralty 1917: Shipping Controller 1919: Anglo-Saxon Petroleum 1920: Velefa Shipping Co 1924: LA Millis 1924: Christian Nielsen & Co 1925: HM Wrangell & Co 1927: Anglo Norse Co 1929: Falkland Whaling Co 1941: Ministry of War Transport 1946: Falkland Whaling Co
Operator	1896: Elder, Dempster 1898: Atlantic Transport Line 1900: Elder, Dempster 1903: Canadian Pacific 1914: Royal Navy 1916: Frederick Leyland 1916: Lane & MacAndrews or Anglo-Saxon Petroleum for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary 1918: Anglo-Saxon Petroleum 1920: Runciman & Co 1923: Christian Nielsen & Co 1927: HM Wrangell & Co 1929: Hans Borge 1929: Falkland Whaling Co 1941: Christian Salvesen & Co Ltd 1946: Falkland Whaling Company
Port of registry	1897: Liverpool 1916: London 1923: Larvik 1925: Haugesund 1927: Tønsberg 1929: Jersey 1946: Leith
Route	1898–1900: London – New York 1900–02: New Orleans – Cape Town 1903–14: Avonmouth – Montreal
Builder	Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Co, Jarrow
Yard number	724
Launched	17 May 1897
Completed	August 1897
Commissioned	August 1914
Decommissioned	1923
Maiden voyage	3 September 1897
Out of service	1920–23, 1930, 1939
Refit	1916, 1929
Identification	UK Official number 106869 1897–1916: Code letters PTDS by 1913: w/t Call sign MLZ Pennant numbers X04, X71, YZ.143 1917–23: Code letters JNLQ 1923–29: Code letters LDJN 1930–52: Call sign GFMT
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Type	1897: Cargo liner 1914: Troop ship 1914–15: Dummy battleship 1915–16: Store ship 1916–23: Oil tanker 1923–27: Whale oil tanker 1927–52: Factory ship & whale oil tanker
Tonnage	1897: 5,466 GRT, 3,575 NRT 1900: 6,981 GRT, 5,284 NRT 1901: 5,505 GRT, 3,508 NRT 1916: 7,035 GRT, 5,371 NRT 1922: 5,772 GRT, 3,608 NRT 1929: 7,172 GRT, 4,348 NRT 1939: 8,040 GRT, 6,279 NRT
Length	445.0 ft (135.6 m)
Beam	52.5 ft (16.0 m)
Depth	27.6 ft (8.4 m)
Decks	2
Installed power	664 NHP
Propulsion	1 × Triple expansion engine 1 × Propeller
Speed	12.5 knots (23 km/h)
Capacity	1897: 12 2nd Class passengers Refrigerated cargo: 15,340 cubic feet (434 m3)
Sensors and processing systems	by 1911: submarine signalling by 1931: Wireless direction finding by 1948: Echo sounding device, radar
Notes	Sister ships: Montrose, Monteagle, Montfort

SS Polar Chief was a merchant steamship that was built in England in 1897 and scrapped in Scotland in 1952. In her 55-year career she had previously been called Montcalm, RFA Crenella, Crenella, Rey Alfonso, Anglo-Norse and Empire Chief. Early in the First World War she spent eight months pretending to be the battleship HMS Audacious.

The ship was built in Newcastle upon Tyne as the cargo liner Montcalm. In the First World War she was a troop ship, a dummy battleship and a depot ship, and then in 1916 was converted into the oil tanker Crenella. She spent about 20 months in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, survived being hit by a torpedo in 1917, and returned to civilian service in 1919.

In 1923 she was sold to Norwegian buyers who renamed her Rey Alfonso and had her converted to carry whale oil. In 1927 she was sold back to UK owners who renamed her Anglo-Norse and had her equipped as a whaling factory ship. In 1929 new owners bought her and renamed her Polar Chief. She was laid up in Norway in September 1939, but returned to Britain that December.

In the Second World War the ship carried heavy fuel oil and other cargoes as well as whale products. In 1941 the Ministry of War Transport acquired her and renamed her Empire Chief. In 1942 she ran aground, but was refloated and repaired. In 1946 she was returned to commercial ownership and her name was returned to Polar Chief. In 1952 she was scrapped by two shipbreakers in the west of Scotland.