Hertford

SS Hertford was a refrigerated cargo steamship that was launched in Germany in 1917, seized by the United Kingdom in 1920 as World War I reparations, and sunk by a U-boat in 1942 with the loss of four members of her crew. She was launched as Rheinland for Hamburg America Line, but was completed in 1920 as Friesland. The UK Shipping Controller seized her that same year, and in 1922 sold her to the Federal Steam Navigation Co Ltd, who renamed her Hertford. This was the first of two ships in the Federal Steam fleet to be called Hertford. The second was a motor ship that was built in England in 1948, transferred to P&O in 1973, sold and renamed in 1976 and scrapped in 1985. Building Bremer Vulkan built Rheinland at Bremen-Vegesack, launching her in October 1917. Bremer Vulkan then built her sister ships Sauerland in 1918, Wendland in 1919 and Münsterland in 1920.