HALL Oswald

On 24th September 1918 HMS Otranto sailed from New York bound for Glasgow and Liverpool as part of convoy HX50. The convoy was escorted by the US Cruisers Louisiana and St Louis. On board HMS Otranton were 362 crew and 665 American troops, and later, the crew of a French sailing ship which had been accidentally run down by the Otranto. As the convoy approached the North Channel the weather deteriorated rapidly with gale force winds resulting in very heavy seas and poor visibility.

On the morning of 6th October 1918, land was spotted by officers on board HMS Otranto and HMS Kashmir, another ship in the convoy. Tragically the two ships turned towards each other as they steered away from the danger of hidden rocks off what turned out to be the Isle of Islay. At 8.45am the two ships collided despite the crews of both ships desperately trying to avoid the collision, the Kashmir striking Otranto amidships on her port side almost at right angles. Both ships were badly damaged and quickly drifted apart, losing sight of each other in the bad weather. The Kashmir survived but HMS Otranto was doomed. The ship broke up after finally running aground at Machir Bay off the Islay of Islay, 431 men lost their lives.

It was the worst convoy disaster in the whole of the war. At the subsequent inquiry both ships were found equally to blame for the incident.