SS Iron Chieftain was a bulk carrier that was built in Scotland in 1937 for the Australian Broken Hill Pty, Ltd (BHP) to carry iron ore. A Japanese submarine sank her by torpedo off the coast of New South Wales in 1942, killing 12 of her crew. Her wreck is protected by the Australian federal Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018. Building In 1936 and 1937 Lithgows in Port Glasgow built four sister ships for BHP. Iron Baron and Iron King were launched in 1936. and Iron Chieftain were launched in 1937. Iron Chieftain was launched in 22 October and completed in December. The four ships shared a similar layout, with a bridge and main superstructure amidships and engine room and funnel aft. All four ships had the same beam of and depth of . Iron Knight and Iron Chieftain had a registered length of , which was longer than Iron Baron and Iron King. Iron Chieftains tonnages were and . A Lithgows' subsidiary, David Rowan and Co of Glasgow, built the engines for all four sisters. Each ship had a single screw, driven by a quadruple-expansion steam engine, supplemented by an exhaust steam turbine driving a steam compressor. The exhaust turbine drove the same shaft as the piston engine. Between them, Iron Chieftains piston engine and exhaust turbine were rated at 553 NHP and gave her a speed of . BHP registered Iron Chieftain in Melbourne. Her UK official number was 159570 and her call sign was VLJY. Second World War Iron Chieftain carried iron ore in Australian coastal waters. Japanese submarines attacked shipping in Australian waters, and particularly off the coast of New South Wales. Ore carriers acquired a reputation as "death ships" because the density of their cargo caused them to sink too quickly for their crew to launch lifeboats. Life-rafts were fitted on sloping skids to be launched quickly. At 1100 hrs on 3 June 1942 Iron Chieftain left Newcastle, laden with coke and materials for shipbuilding for shipyards at Whyalla, South Australia. That evening a heavy swell forced her to limit her speed to about . At 2240 hrs that night she was about east of Manly, NSW when a torpedo fired by hit her port side amidships. She sank quickly, and 12 of her crew were killed. Iron Chieftains crew launched her starboard lifeboat, with her Second Officer, Philip Brady, in command and carrying 24