SS Adriatic (1871)
 SS Adriatic in the Mersey
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Adriatic |
| Namesake | Adriatic Sea |
| Owner | White Star Line |
| Port of registry |  United Kingdom |
| Builder | Harland & Wolff, Belfast |
| Yard number | 77 |
| Launched | 17 October 1871 |
| Completed | 31 March 1872 |
| Maiden voyage | Liverpool–New York, 11 April 1872 |
| Refit | 1884 |
| Homeport | Liverpool |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 1899 |
| Notes | [1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Oceanic-class ocean liner |
| Tonnage | |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 40.9 ft (12.5 m)[2] |
| Depth | 31.0 ft (9.4 m)[2] |
| Decks | 2 |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) |
| Capacity | 850 passengers |
| Notes | [1] |
SS Adriatic was the first of two
History
During the remainder of 1871 and the early part of 1872, Adriatic was fitted out. As a part of this process, a technology new to that era was tried on the ship. Up to this point, ships' cabins had been lit by oil lamps, but the builders decided to try new gas lamps on Adriatic and her sister, Celtic. A machine was added to the engine room to produce gas from oil. This worked well, initially, but the motion of the ship caused gas leaks to develop at the joints in the pipework and the system had to be removed.[3]
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Adriatic left on her maiden voyage on 11 April 1872, sailing from Liverpool to New York, under Captain Sir Digby Murray, who had captained the maiden voyage of the White Star's first ship,
A month later, during a subsequent Atlantic crossing to New York, Adriatic maintained an average speed of 14.52 knots and won the Blue Riband away from the Cunard Line's Scotia, which she had held since 1863.[4] On 4 January 1873, Adriatic rescued the crew of the Norwegian
In December of the same year, in St. Georges Channel, Adriatic ran down and sank the sailing vessel Harvest Queen in an accident that resulted in the loss of all life aboard Harvest Queen. Harvest Queen sank so quickly that the crew of Adriatic could not identify what ship they had hit, and only a records search later showed who the victim had been.[9] On 19 July 1878, Adriatic collided with Hengist 18 nautical miles (33 km) off Holyhead in dense fog.[10] Later that day, she collided with and sank the brig G. A. Pike off of South Wales, killing five crew on board Pike. Blame was fixed on Adriatic for excessive speed.[11]
In 1884, Adriatic underwent a refit, during which accommodations for 50 second class passengers were added.[4]
On 4 October 1889 the Adriatic crashed into the New York piers while docking. Her starboard anchor crashed 50ft (15.45m) through the new dock house with the well-wishers running away for cover.[6]
In 1897, she was deemed too old for regular trans-Atlantic service, and was laid up as a reserve ship for the Line, at Birkenhead. When RMS Oceanic entered service in 1899, Adriatic was sold for scrap, arriving in Preston on 12 February.[4]
See also
- RMS Adriatic (1906) - later namesake ship of the White Star Line.
References
- ^ a b "Adriatic I of the White Star Line". Titanic-Titanic. 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Lloyd's Register. 1874. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
- ISBN 0-85177-563-2.
- ^ ISBN 0-946378-16-9.
- ^ "Latest Shipping Intelligence". Daily News. No. 8340. London. 18 January 1873.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7110-3366-5.
- ^ "Admiralty Court, May 25 and 26". The Times. No. 28326. London. 27 May 1875. col B-C, p. 13.
- ^ "The Collision Between the Adriatic and Columbus". Liverpool Mercury. No. 8535. Liverpool. 27 May 1875.
- ^ John S. Gibbs (January–December 1892). "Lanterns". Arthur's Home Magazine. Vol. 62. T.S. Arthur & Sons. p. 421. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ "Foundering of a Brig". Glasgow Herald. No. 12037. Glasgow. 22 July 1878.
- ^ "The White Star Liner Adriatic: A Ship with a Curse, or just Numerous Cases of Negligence?". Titanic and Other White Star Ships. 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
External links
