SS Delphic (1925)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Route |
|
| Builder | Harland & Wolff |
| Launched | 19 September 1918 |
| Completed | 31 October 1918 |
| In service | 1918 |
| Out of service | 1948 |
| Fate | Scrapped July 1948 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type G freighter |
| Tonnage | 8002 Gross register tons |
| Length | 450 ft (140 m) |
| Beam | 58.4 ft (17.8 m) |
| Installed power | 2 Triple expansion steam engines |
| Propulsion | 2 propellors |
| Speed | 12.5–13 kn (23.2–24.1 km/h; 14.4–15.0 mph) |
The Delphic was a British freighter operated by the
In 1919, she was bought by the Atlantic Transport Line, which renamed her Mesaba and operated her for six years. She was then transferred to Atlantic's sister company, White Star, in 1925, and renamed Delphic, to replace another cargo ship of the same type that had been damaged the previous year, Bardic. For the next eight years, the ship served on the Australian service. In 1933, the company, preparing to merge with the Cunard Line, sold off its now unwanted ships. Delphic was sold, along with sister ship Gallic, to the Clan Line which renamed her Clan Farquhar. She continued to operate on the route to Australia until she was withdrawn for scrapping in 1948, after a total of thirty years of service.
History
In 1916, in the middle of the First World War, the
In May 1919, the ship, no longer required by the government, was sold to the Atlantic Transport Line and renamed Mesaba.
Renamed Delphic, the second company ship bearing this name, the original being a passenger-cargo liner of 1897,[7] the ship served Australia as a replacement for the Bardic, while the latter was repaired and assigned to another company in IMM.[8] By 1933, Delphic and Gallic were no longer required by the company, which was about to merge with the Cunard Line. Delphic was sold in October to the Clan Line for £53,000.[1]
Renamed Clan Farquhar, she continued to serve on the Australian route alongside the former Gallic, now Clan Colquhoun. In July 1948, after an uneventful career of fifteen years with Clan Line, she was scrapped at Milford Haven.[8]
Design
The Delphic was a wartime ship built quickly and for purely functional purposes, sporting a funnel and two masts that supported the loading cranes. Its navigating bridge was the only superstructure, located a little in front of the funnel, which bore the colours of the White Star Line (brown ochre topped with black).[9] With a length of 450 ft (140 m) and a beam of 58.4 ft (17.8 m), it measured 8,002 GRT and had six holds. Driven by two propellers powered by two triple expansion engines, she could reach a relatively low speed for the time, from 12.5–13 kn (23.2–24.1 km/h; 14.4–15.0 mph).[4] White Star had, during the 1920s, two other similar cargo ships, Bardic and Gallic, which differ only in their tonnage, slightly lower in the case of the latter.[10]
References
- ^ a b Richard de Kerbrech 2009, p. 206
- ^ Friedman 2014, p. 397
- ^ a b Mesaba (II), The Atlantic Transport Line. Accessed 13 June 2014.
- ^ a b Richard de Kerbrech 2009, p. 179
- ^ John Eaton and Charles Haas 1989, p. 201
- ^ Roy Anderson 1964, p. 215
- ^ Duncan Haws 1990, p. 50
- ^ a b Duncan Haws 1990, p. 84
- ^ Richard de Kerbrech 2009, p. 178,
- ^ Roy Anderson 1964, p. 313
Bibliography
- Roy Anderson (1964). White Star. T. Stephenson & Sons Ltd. p. 236.
- Richard de Kerbrech (2009). Ships of the White Star Line. Ian Allan Publishing. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-7110-3366-5.
- John Eaton and Charles Haas (1989). Falling Star, Misadventures of White Star Line Ships. Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 256. ISBN 1-85260-084-5.
- Duncan Haws (1990). Merchant Fleets : White Star Line. TCL Publications. p. 104. ISBN 0-946378-16-9.
- Friedman, Norman (2014). Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactic and Technology. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-189-2.