Archive for the 'The Great Ships' Category

Originally named Tyrrhenia, Lancastria was the sister of Cameronia (II) of the Anchor Line, which Cunard owned from 1911 until 1935.

Built by Wm. Beardmore & Co. of Glasgow, Tyrrhenia was launched in 1920 and made her maiden voyage, Glasgow-Québec-Montréal, on 13 June 1922. She then ran from Liverpool to Canada, Boston or New York until placed on the Hamburg-New York route in 1923. Refitted and renamed Lancastria during the winter of 1923-24, she then served New York from Liverpool, Southampton or London until 1932, after which Lancastria was used mostly for cruising.

Requisitioned for use as a troopship in 1940, Lancastria was bombed and sunk at St. Nazaire on 17 June 1940, during the evacuation of France. As many as 9,000 people (mostly British troops) were on board. At least 3,000 (and perhaps as many as 5,000) died in the costliest British merchant ship loss of the war.

Winston Churchill felt the country’s morale could not bear the burden of such terrible news and newspapers were ordered not to print the story. Survivors were forbidden under the King’s Regulations to mention the disaster and people killed were listed as “missing in action”. This led to the assumption by most bereaved relatives that they probably died during the bloody retreat through France. However, the story of the sinking finally broke in New York newspapers on 26th July 1940 and was soon after wards taken up by the British press.

The official report is still sealed until the year 2040 under the Official Secrets Act. If it could be proved that Sharpe was ordered by Ministry of Defense Officials to ignore his maximum load restriction there could be considerable grounds for compensation claims against the British Government. Currently the evidence for this remains under lock and key for another 31 years.

Built by J.& G. Thomson of Glasgow, City of New York was launched in March 1888. As originally built, she carried three stacks and three masts rigged for sails, as shown on several cards on this page. She made her maiden voyage on 1 August 1888, from Liverpool to New York.

In 1886, Inman was acquired by the International Navigation Co., an American firm that also operated the American and Red Star Lines. For a period of time, the line was known as Inman & International, and it was for I & I that City of New York earned her only Blue Ribband. This came at the expense of her sister, City of Paris, in a 20.11 knot eastbound crossing in August 1892, the last of nine record-setting voyages by Inman-built ships.

In 1892, I & I was awarded a United States Mail contract by Congress. The enabling legislation permitted City of New York and City of Paris to be transferred to American registry even though they were built abroad, in exchange for a commitment to build two new express steamers in the United States. The American flag was raised on the ship in the middle of a snowstorm in New York Bay, on 22 February 1893, with President Benjamin Harrison in attendance. At the same time, the ship was renamed New York and the line’s name was changed from I & I back to the American Line. With these changes, the Inman name and its distinctive “City of” ship names disappeared from the North Atlantic.

Three days later, New York took her first American Line sailing, from New York to Southampton. She remained on that route until 1898, when the Spanish American War began. She served as an auxiliary cruiser named Harvard during the War and was refitted in 1901, emerging from this refit with only two funnels. She then returned to the New York-Southampton service, where she remained until World War I. After hostilities broke out in August 1914, her British terminus was changed to Liverpool.

When the United States entered the war, New York was again called into service as an armed merchant cruiser, under the name Plattsburg. After another refitting, which reduced her masts to two, she returned to American Line service, again as New York, in February 1920. Nine months later, in November, she took American’s last New York-Southampton sailing, after which she was sold to the Polish Navigation Co. in 1921. She changed ownership several times over the next few years, sailing for the Irish-American, United Transatlantic and American Black Sea Lines before being scrapped in 1923.

Built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Greenock.

Length (between perpendiculars) 455 ft.
Breadth 53 ft.
Depth 32 ft.
Loaded Draught 27 ft.
Gross Tonnage 7396 tons
Net Tonnage 4726 tons
Passengers 250 cabin
950 emigrants
Ordered 22nd Nov. 1905
Launched 27th June 1906
Delivered 31st August 1906
Speed 14 knots
Scotts ship no. 408
Scotts engine no. 478
Cost £107,000

There was accommodation for 200-2nd class and 1,000-3rd class passengers. Launched on June 6 1906, she sailed from Glasgow on her maiden voyage to Quebec and Montreal on June 29th of the same year.

In 1908 she was rebuilt to 8,135 tons and on November 20 1924, commenced her last passenger voyage from Glasgow to Portland.

In 1925 she was renamed “Carmia” and was used as a cargo ship until Dec.1929 when she was sold to Bernstein of Hamburg, who renamed her “Drachenstein”. She was scrapped in Germany in 1934.

This liner had three lives…

As Ohio:

Later, as Albertic:

The S/S Albertic was built in 1923 by A.G. Weser in Bremen, as the Munchen (2) for the North German Lloyd. In 1923 she was transferred to Royal Mail and renamed Ohio, without ever having been in service for NDL. She was taken over by the White Star Line in 1927, and renamed Albertic.

She had a tonnage of 18,940 tons gross, 12,504 under deck and 10,234 net.
Dimensions: 590.8 feet long, 72 feet beam and holds 37.6 feet deep and bridge deck 246 feet long.
She had two funnels, two masts, 3 steel decks, and a steel shade deck partly sheathed in wood.

4th steel deck in holds, web frames,10 bulkheads, partly asphalted and partly cemented.

She was fitted with electric light, submarine signaling device, wireless and direction finder.

There was a cellular double bottom, 523 feet long, 3,215 tons, forward peak tank 126 tons and aft peak tank 118 tons.

She had twin screws and quadruple expansion engines with 8 cylinders of 34, 48 13/16, 69 3/4 and 102 inches diameter each pair, stroke 63 inches, operating at 220 p.s.i. The engines delivered 2,788 nominal horsepower. There were 6 double ended and 1 single ended boilers, 52 corrugated furnaces, grate surface 1,015 sq. ft, heating surface 42,000 sq. ft. The engine was built by A.G. Weser.

Call sign: KNSG Official registration #: 147459.

There was accommodation for 229 1st calls, 523 2nd class and 690 3rd class passengers.

TSS TUSCANIA

Built by Fairfield Govan, Yard No 595
Built: 1922
Ship Type: Passenger Vessel
Ship’s Role: Glasgow New York and Mediterranean services
Tonnage: 16991 grt
Length: 552.3 feet
Breadth: 70.3 feet
Last Name: NEW YORK (1955)
Previous Names: NEA HELLAS (1939)
Propulsion: 6 steam turbines – twin screw – 16 knots
Launched: Tuesday, 04/10/1921
Owner History:
Anchor Line (Henderson Bros.), Glasgow 1939 General Steam Nav Co. of Greece (Goulabndris Bros.),
Maiden voyage from Glasgow to New York on 16 September 1922
Chartered to Cunard 1926 and repainted in Cunard colours
Sold 1939 to the Greek Line and renamed Nea Hellas
1941 Min of War Transport, UK (Anchor Line)
Requ by UK govt 1941 as troopship.
1947 returned to owners
Back to Greek line 1947
Renamed NEW YORK in 1955. Laid up 1959
Status: Arrived for Scrapping – 12/10/1961
Scrapped Onomichi, Japan

It’s that time again.

97 Years ago. Titanic.

Propellers. Giant.

Read the rest of this entry »

Captain Miranda was launched in Spain in 1930 and began her career as a cargo vessel. She is named after the Uruguayan hydrographer Captain Francisco Miranda (1868-1925) who served Uruguay as a cabinet officer, war secretary and later professor of marine geography at the Naval Academy of Uruguay.

Captain Miranda was active in various trades in Latin America after World War II. She became a hydrographic survey vessel for the Uruguayan Navy during the 1960s, and in 1978 she became a sailing ship again, with a modern schooner rig that was developed in the 1920s for racing yachts. With her schooner rigging and clipper bow, Captain Miranda looks more like a private yacht than a sail training vessel.

Previously:
SS Leviathan
RMS Celtic II
Tall Ship Astrid

Tall Ship Astrid

Astrid, built in 1918 in Scheveningen, the Netherlands, was built as a cargo ship, and traded in the Baltic until the mid seventies. A period of dubious trade under the Lebanese flag followed, until and a fire destroyed the ship and she was found off the English coast in 1984. Her strong hull survived, and she was saved by two British ex naval officers, who used her as a sail training ship for young people. She was given her imposing rig and made Atlantic crossings. Since 1998 Astrid is back in her native Holland and she has been fully restored and equipped as a luxury sailing ship.

Astrid is a seaworthy brig and enjoys admiring looks with her 16 sails and many miles of lines. She offers fantastic sailing opportunities with space for 24 guests on longer trips. Astrid’s sailing grounds include England, the Netherlands, Germany and the Baltic.

See more Great Ships HERE- archives for this category.
Some GS Posts:
SS Leviathan
RMS Celtic II

Tonnage : 19,602 tons gross, 14,189 under deck and 11,866 net.
Bridge 284 feet long on shade deck.
Propulsion : 4 steam turbines geared to 2 screw shafts; engine operating at 220 p.s.i.; 2,527 nominal horsepower; 3 double ended and 3 single ended boilers, 36 corrugated furnaces; grate surface 746 sq. ft.; forced draught; engine built by the same company as the hull.
Owners : Cunard Steam Ship Co. Ltd.
Port of registry : Liverpool.
Flag : British
Call sign : KLWD. Official registration # : 145923

The Samaria had passenger accommodation for 315 passengers on 1st class, 350 2nd, and 1500 3rd class. She had a crew of 434. Rigging : steel twin screw steamer : 2 steel decks; steel shelter deck partly sheathed with wood and steel shade deck sheathed in wood; 3rd steel deck in forward and after holds; 10 partly cemented bulkheads to shelter deck; flat keel; equipped with wireless, electric light, submarine signaling device and refrigerating machinery; fitted for oil fuel with a flash point above 150° F.