Russian merchant cruiser Ural
As Ural
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History | |
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Name |
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Owner |
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Builder | Stettin |
Launched | 17 May 1890 |
Fate | Sunk on 27 May 1905 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type |
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Tonnage | |
Length |
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Beam | 51.8 ft (15.8 m) (as built) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Armament |
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Ural was an
Commercial service
Built in 1890 as Spree for
Whilst heading west across the Atlantic in November 1892, Spree's main propeller shaft broke and made a hole in the stern.[2] There was considerable panic amongst the passengers until it became clear that the ship's watertight compartments would keep it afloat. Two days later, the steamship Lake Huron was sighted and was able to tow Spree back to Ireland. There was only one casualty in the incident: a man who threw himself overboard and was drowned. The event was memorialized in a poem by William McGonagall.[3]
In 1899 she was completely rebuilt by AG Vulcan. She was lengthened to 526 ft (160 m), her tonnage increased to 7,840 GRT, new engines were fitted joined to twin screws to give a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). The number of funnels was increased to three, though she was reduced to two masts. Her accommodation was altered to carry 405 first-class, 114 second-class and 387 third-class passengers, and she was renamed Kaiserin Maria Theresia (some sources say Theresa.)[4]
Wartime service
She was sold to the
References
- ^ "S/S Spree, Norddeutscher Lloyd". Norway Heritage.
- ^ "The Spree's Great Peril". New York Times. 4 December 1892.
- ^ McGonagall, William (1892). "The Foundering of the Steamer "Spree"". McGonagall Online.
- ^ "Spree". www.johnheinl.net. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
Bibliography
- Frampton, Viktor; Stewart, Charles & Thorne, Phil (2007). "Question 38/43: Russian Auxiliary Cruiser Ural". Warship International. XLIV (2): 151–152. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Greger, Rene (1986). "Question 35/84". Warship International. XXIII (3): 318. ISSN 0043-0374.
External links
- The Ships List – Ships Descriptions Archived 2012-01-22 at the Wayback Machine