SS TAARA (FORMERLY SS FLEETWING PICTURED ABOVE)
CONVOY FS-559

SITE RELOCATED AND IDENTIFIED AS THAT OF THE TAARA IN 2026 BY SAM LISTER, BARRY LISTER AND MEMBERS OF BSAC EAB 11

Position ... 52 53 916 N / 001 44 672E (Haisborough Sands)  8 miles north east of Sea Palling

Cargo ... Coal, Blyth to the Thames

Builder ... S. P. Austin & Son Ltd (Sunderland)

Yard no ... 241

Construction ... Steel

Engine builder ... North Eastern Marine Engineers

Built ... 1907

Lost ... 6 / 8 / 41

Cause of loss ... Ran aground on Haisborough Sands

Engine ... x1 three cylinder triple expansion, 170 nhp

Engine cylinder sizes, hp 19 , ip31, lp 51 x 36 inch stroke (72 revolutions per minute)

Screw ... Diameter 14 feet, blades x4

Boiler ... x1, four furnaces (plain)

Boiler dimensions ... Diameter 16 feet 3 inches, length 11 feet

Construction ... Steel

Dimensions ... 73.1 x 11 x 4.7mtrs

Poop 24 feet, quarter deck 59 feet, bridge deck 50 feet, forecastle 27 feet

Double bottom ... Yes

Speed ... 9.5 knots

Owner at time of loss ... British Government, London

Type  .... Cargo. Well deck, Long raised quarter deck, engines and bridge midships, plumb bow, counter stern.

Below ... Barry Lister alongside the Taara's boiler. Courtesy of Sam Lister

Identification of the SS Taara

In the summer of 2026 Sam Lister of BSAC EAB11 was given the position of a site that was beleived to be that of the Afon Towey, this being one of seven merchant vessels of convoy FS - 559 that stranded on Haisborough Sands on the 6th August 1941 whilst southbound from Methil to Dagenham. Whilst the site was not considered to be one of a virgin nature, ie it had never been dived before, no formal identification of the site had ever been made. On diving the site Sam and her team undertook a brief survey of the site. This in turn showed the site to consist of one cylindrical boiler, a inverted inline vertical triple expansion engine, upright stern section, spare screw, plus additional wreckage. Of note, no bow section was seen on the site. Following on from the dive Sam and Barry researched the build specification of the Afon Towey, this in turn resulted in discovering that the Afon Towey was fitted with two boilers. This in turn now disproving the site as being that of the Afon Towey. Further research revealed that if the site was in fact one of the vessels lost from convoy FS-559 it could only be that of the Taara as she was the only vessel lost that was fitted out with a single boiler. With this in mind Sam contacted Norfolk Wreck Research and asked if we held any information on the Taara's build specification. To this end NWR was able to offer the cylinder sizes of the engine, boiler dimensions, ie length and diameter, the number of furnaces and type, plus details of the screw, ie diameter and number of blades. With this in mind Sam and her husband Barry arranged a second dive on the site so as to measure the various components as to see if they matched that of the Taara. On taking the on site measurements all of them showed themselves to be  consistent with those provided by NWR. In addition two ornate pieces of metalwork were recovered from the site. Once these were later cleaned they showed themselves to be builders plates / plaques , upon them was written S.P. Austin & Son, this being the builder of the Taara. It can now be concluded that the site at the position at the head of this page is that of the Taara.


Below ... Builders plate / plaque. Recovered and reported to the ROW by Mike Thomas of BSAC Branch EAB11

The missing bow section

As stated previously the site dived by Sam and her team was missing the bow section. Whilst in the area of the site team member Stan Moore noted on the dive boats plotter that there was an additional site charted in very close proximity to that of the Taara. This second site was later investigated by Sam and her team and in turn showed itself to be that of a bow. The Taara is recorded as haven broken in two when she stranded on Haisborough Sands, could this in turn be the missing bow section? Underwater searches of the immediate area showed no additional wreckage that would suggest this was part of another wreck. The anchor pictured is consistent with that of the Taara, this being a stockless Byere type. It can be safely concluded that the bow dived by the team is that of the Taara. Image Courtesy of Sam Lister

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Byere anchor markings.

To the left is an image of a Byere anchor. As can be seen the left hand fluke shows the mark of the swastika. Prior to the rise of the Nazi party and in turn their adoption of the swastika as their recognised emblem the swastika was seen as a symbol of good luck and well being, hence why Byere anchors were marked in this way prior to the Nazi party adopting the swastika as their own. The Taara was built in 1907, this being prior to the foming of the Nazi party, in turn beneath the marine growth that now covers the bow anchors will be found a swastika on the flukes.


Below ... Top of the bow. Courtesy of Sam Lister

Ownership history of the SS Taara 

Below is a potted history of the Taara's ownership up until the time of her loss. 

1907 ... Built as the Fleetwing for the Witherington & Everett Steamship Company

1915 - 1919 ... Interned by Germany during WW1

1919 ... Returned to Witherington & Everett Steamship Company

1920 ... Sold to Broomhill Steamships Ltd, Newcastle - Upon - Tyne

1936 ... Sold to J. Adamson of Parnu Estonia, (name changed to Taara)

!940 ... Requisitioned by the British government London WW11

1941 ... Lost on Haisborough Sands


Circumstances of loss

On August 6th 1941, and in bad weather, the steamship Taara was attached to the south bound convoy FS - 559, en route from Methil on the Firth of Forth to Dagenham. At the time of the Taara's loss there was a great deal of dispute as to the cause. Some sources claimed a wrong course change was to blame, other sources claimed other ships forced the Taara and six other merchant vessels out of the swept channel and onto the sands through not holding position in the convoy. In addition to this, several Masters and Officers claim that channel bouy no 8 was never sighted and believed the lamp not to be lit. There is also a degree of speculation suggesting that the escort vessel HMT Agate went off course and in turn led the Taara and the six other merchant vessels onto the sands. For what ever the reasons for this traggic incident, the events of the 6th August paid a heavy toll on both lives and ships.


Below ... Stern section showing the rudder and the screw. Courtesy of Sam Lister

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The 35ft Liverpool class lifeboat Harriot Dixon (pictured left) served as no2 lifeboat at Cromer from August 1934 - June 1964.

On the 6th August 1941 she saved 8 men from the stricken SS Taara. The acting Coxswain J. J. 'Jack' Davies was awarded the RNLI's Silver medal, and 2nd Coxswain Leslie J. Harrison & mechanic H. V. 'Joe' Linder were awarded Bronze medals. 

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In addition to the crew members rescued from the Taara by the Cromer lifeboat Harriot Dixon additional crew members were saved by the V class escorting destroyer Vimiera as pictured to the left. The following text is taken from a first hand account of the actions taken by the HMS Vimiera. Moving in as close to the sandbank as he dared, Lieut Cdr Angus Mackenzie in Vimiera signalled for shore-based lifeboats to be launched while trying to direct floats towards the nearest ship. Mackenzie was in a quandary. Through the spray, he could make out the wreck of the Taara. There were men visible in the water around her and others clinging to her masts. But the only way of reaching them was by a cutter and that meant pulling over the sands in seas that seemed “almost impossible”. Realising that the lifeboats could not possibly reach them in time to save them, he decided to seek volunteers for what he regarded as a ‘forlorn hope’. All the officers, including the ship’s doctor, offered to go and Mackenzie selected Sub-Lieutenant David O’Sullivan to take charge of a whaler with a crew of five consisting of Petty Officer James Errington, Acting Petty Officer Edmund Archer, Able Seamen Stanley Adams, Victor Benningfield DSM and Robert Briggs. “Personally,” Mackenzie admitted, “I did not think that they would be able to live in that sea let alone save anybody.” In fact, they exceeded all expectations, confounding their captain’s gloomy forecast by hauling themselves three times across a sea so bad that witnesses considered “boat work suicidal”. Towed each time to windward by a boat-hook from Vimiera, they succeeded by dint of their heroic and Herculean feat in rescuing 20 men clinging to a line trailing from the stern of the collier. In the course of what Mackenzie called their “exceptional” achievement spanning more than three exhausting hours more men from another of the grounded colliers were picked up by Vimiera as they floated past. 

Vessels lost on the sands from convoy FS - 559

SS Aberhill, SS Afon Towy, HMT Agate, SS Betty Hindley, SS Deerwood, SS Gallois, SS Oxshott, SS Tarra



Below ... Steering quadrant. Courtesy of Sam Lister

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S. P. Austin & Son Ltd (Builders of the SS Taara) Founded in 1826 by Peter Austin as the Nova Scotia Shipyard, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland. In 1869, with Iron ship building now leading the way, Austin's built their last wooden vessel. For the next couple of years the company focused on repairs to iron built vessels, and to aquiring the surrounding land to further expand their business. In 1874 the company built their first iron ship, and by 1881 were employing in excess of 400 men. During WW1 Austin's built 13 colliers and 5 small naval craft.By 1914 Austin's were employing some 800 men. In 1954 Austin's merged with W. Pickersgill and Son to become Austin and Pickersgill. In 1956 the yard closed.


Below ... Profile and deck plan of the Taara.

Tonnage ... Grt 1402, Under deck 1192, net 832

Masts ... x2. Fore 49 feet, main 51 feet

Holds ... x4. Hatch sizes, (1) Foreward 36 feet 4 inches x 21 feet 6 inches (2) 33 feet 6 inches x 22 feet 6 inches (3) 23 feet x 21 feet 6 inches (4) 21 feet x 19 feet 3 inches

Anchors ... 1st Bower (stockless) weight 28 cwts, 2nd Bower (stockless) weight27 cwts, 3rd Bower (stockless) weight 25 cwts. Of note all Bower anchors are Byere type patent. Stream anchor weight 7cwts, Kedge anchor weight 4 cwts. Of note, both the Stream and Kedge anchors are of the Rogers design.


Left... Double bottom cross section as incorporated in the Taara . A double bottom is a method of construction where the bottom of the ship has two separate layers of watertight hull floor. The outer layer forms the outer hull and the inner layer, ie the floor forms a watertight barrier should the outer hull be breached. Up until 2007, double bottomed vessels were allowed to utilise their DB's for fuel storage. In addition the DB can also be used for the storage of ballast water.

Below ... Spare screw. Courtesy of Sam Lister

Below ... Blake patent vertical donkey boiler as fitted in the Taara.

Manufactured by ... Blake Boiler & Wagon Engineers & Co

Working pressure ... 90lbs

Dimensions ... Diameter 6 feet 6 inches, height 14 feet 6 inches

To the left can be seen the  recessed area where the donkey boiler would have been located.

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North Eastern Marine Engineering (Builders of the SS Taara's engine) Formed in 1867 by John Frederick Spencer, the North Eastern Marine Engineering Company were Marine engine builders of Sunderland. In 1882, the Northumberland engine works and forge were established by the company at Wallsend. In 1889, the combined efforts of both the Sunderland works and the Wallsend works had supplied in the region of 100 triple expansion engines to various ship builders. In 1909 the company were the first to install an electrically operated cantilever crane in the North East. In 1938, N.E.M was, along with George Clark, another engineering company aquired by Richardson Westgarth and Co and became George Clark & NEM Ltd, this in turn becoming part of the Richardson Westgarth Group.

To the left can be seen a view from above showing the engine's low pressure  cylinder  cover. Note the radial strengthening ribs. The diameter of the low pressure cylinder is 51 inches.

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The Taara today (2026) Courtesy of Sam Lister

Today the Taara shows herself to be in an uright position in depths of 8-12mtrs. Orientation is  roughly North to South with the stern being the most southerly. The stern is the most in tact section of the main wreckage, this in turn retaining the upright steering quadrant, rudder and screw. Forward of the stern can be seen the spare screw and the funnel. Midships are located the three cylinder triple expansion engine and single cylindrical fire tube boiler. Forward of the boiler can be found a small amount of additional wreckage. From this point forward what is left of the main section of the Taara now sits beneath the sand. To the starboard side of midships can also be seen some scattered broken wreckage.

There is limited marine life on the wreck, some small plumose anemones and short animal turf,  this in turn being suggestive that the wreck has only recently re emerged from the sand bank. Of note ... When the site was last surveyed in 1993 the wreck was shown to be completely buried in the sand. Haisborough sands is in a constant state of flux, in turn wreck sites can be completely exposed one year and completely buried the following year, or vice versa.