In 1903 Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering of Hull, Yorkshire built a pair of ferries for the Great Central Railway. City of Leeds was launched on 8 June 1903.^[1][2] Jane Robinson,^{[citation needed]} wife of the Great Central's chief mechanical engineer John G. Robinson, launched City of Leeds' sister ship City of Bradford on 23 July.^[3][4]

City of Bradford' registered length was 256.5 ft (78.2 m), her beam was 34.5 ft (10.5 m) and her depth was 15.7 ft (4.8 m). As built, her tonnages were 1,341 GRT and 735 NRT. She was registered at Grimsby. Her UK official number was 118913 and her code letters were VFRM.^[5]

City of Leeds and City of Bradford ran scheduled services between Grimsby and Hamburg. In 1913 City of Bradford's tonnages were revised to 1,349 GRT and 739 NRT.^[6]

When the First World War began at the end of July 1914, City of Leeds was caught unawares. The German Navy captured her off Heligoland^{[citation needed]} and took her to Hamburg as a prize. She was converted into a naval repair ship, then a tender ship and finally an escort ship. By 1916 she had been renamed Donau. In 1919 she was returned to Grimsby and her name was reverted to City of Bradford.^[4]

In 1923 City of Bradford's tonnages were revised again to 1,360 GRT and 677 NRT.^[7] In the same year the Great Central became part of the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), and City of Bradford became part of its fleet.^[8]

By 1930 City of Bradford was equipped for wireless telegraphy and her navigation equipment included submarine signalling.^[9] In 1934 the call sign MCXZ superseded her code letters.^[10] From 1935 Associated Humber Lines managed her.^{[citation needed]}

In 1936 the LNER sold City of Bradford to the Near East Shipping Co, which was managed from Haifa in Palestine.^[11] Her new owner renamed the ship Hanne and registered her in London.^[12]

In the Second World War Hanne was in the Mediterranean. In November 1940 she was part of Convoy AS 5 from Piraeus to Port Said.^[13] In February 1942 she was part of Convoy AT 29 from Alexandria to Tobruk.^[14]

Convoy AT 29 comprised only three merchant ships: the Palestinian Alisa, Danish Bintang, and Hanne. It had no naval escort. The three ships left Alexandria on 20 February 1942.^[14] Two days later German aircraft attacked the convoy, sinking Hanne off the coast of Egypt and Bintang off the coast of Libya. Four members of Hanne's crew and 19 members of Bintang's crew were killed.^[15][16]

• Duckworth, Christian; Langmuir, Graham (1968) [1948]. Railway and other Steamers. Prescot: T Stephenson and Sons. ISBN 978-0901314123.
• Harnack, Edwin P (1930) [1903]. All About Ships & Shipping (3rd ed.). London: Faber and Faber.

31°57′N 25°26′E / 31.950°N 25.433°E / 31.950; 25.433