SS Doric (1883)
SS Doric
| |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | Doric |
Owner | White Star Line |
Operator | |
Route | United Kingdom−New Zealand |
Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
Yard number | 153 |
Launched | 10 March 1883[1] |
Completed | 4 July 1883 |
Maiden voyage | London−Wellington, 6 January 1885 |
Out of service | 1906 |
Fate | Sold to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company in 1906 and renamed Asia. |
United States | |
Name | Asia |
Owner | Pacific Mail Steamship Company |
Route | San Francisco, California−Hong Kong |
Acquired | 1906 |
Out of service | 1911 |
Fate | Wrecked 23 April 1911[2] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ocean liner |
Tonnage | 4,784 gross register tons (GRT) |
Length | 440.1 ft (134.1 m) |
Beam | 44.2 ft (13.5 m) |
Height | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
SS Doric was a British
As early as 1885, the Doric, like her sister ship and the
It was in 1906 that the Doric made her last crossing under this contract, while the O&O gradually withdrew from the market. She was then sold to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company which employed her on the same route, this time under the name of Asia. It was within the framework of this service that the ship ran aground on rocks on 23 April 1911. Her passengers came out unharmed from the accident, but the ship was quickly looted and set on fire by local fishermen.
History
Construction and service to New Zealand
The ship was constructed by
Ismay's plans when he ordered these ships were unknown, but it was likely that he originally planned the project for the route to New Zealand. At that time, in fact, two companies, the Shaw, Savill Line and the Albion Line had just merged to form the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line to compete with the New Zealand Shipping Company, which was preparing to have five ships delivered brand new. The route from London to Wellington therefore seems poised to prosper. Following the amalgamation in November 1882, the owners of the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line entered into negotiations with Ismay to plan a joint service, benefiting from the experience of the White Star Line. An agreement was quickly formed between the two companies[7][8]
The Doric then continued her charter contract throughout 1884, and joined the joint service on 6 January 1885, on the Wellington route, passing on the outward journey through Tenerife, Cape Town and Tanzania, and to return via Cape Horn, Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro. Crews were provided by White Star, but ships were managed by Shaw, Savill and Albion. The crossings were calm and uneventful.[9]
In 1893, the White Star acquired a new ship on the route, the Gothic. The Doric and the Coptic were then no longer useful on this route where the traffic was down.[10]
Service on the Pacific and fate
In May 1895, the Doric was returned to Harland & Wolff shipyards where her facilities were improved, and its machines changed to the more economical alternative triple expansion machines, which increased her tonnage and speed.
Doric left San Francisco for her last White Star and Occidental & Oriental voyage on 8 August 1906.[11] In 1906 Doric was sold to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company for £50,000, who renamed her Asia.[12] Still assigned to the same route, the ship made her first crossing on 11 June 1907 under her new colors, after a rapid overhaul.[13] On 23 April 1911 Doric ran aground in foggy conditions and was wrecked near Taichow Islands, Wenzhou, South China.[14] Once all of the crew and passengers had been safely rescued, the ship was looted by local fishermen who subsequently burnt the remains of the vessel.[13]
Legacy
The ship in Rudyard Kipling's poem "McAndrew's Hymn" was inspired by the Doric; in a letter to illustrator Howard Pyle he wrote "-but it may help you a little to know that the ship "McAndrew’s Hymn" belongs to is the old Doric, once an Atlantic White Star I think, and now a Shaw, Savill, Albion boat running to New Zealand via the Cape of Good Hope and home round the horn..."[15][6]
Characteristics
The Doric was a slightly larger version of the
Externally, the ship was, like all ships of the time built for the White Star Line, an elongated ship, provided with a fairly low funnel in the colors of the company (brown ocher surmounted by a black cuff). The funnel was surrounded by four masts that could carry sails. The ship was mainly propelled by steam, her machines being among the first to be built by the Harland & Wolff shipyards after those of the Ionic. They were alternative compound machines operating a propeller capable of propelling the ship at 13 knots. In 1895, they were replaced by triple expansion machines, which were more modern and economical, and allowed her to reach a speed of 14 knots.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Doric (I)". White Star Line History Website Project. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "SS Doric (1st)". Titanic and Other White Star Ships. 26 November 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ a b Haws 1990, p. 39
- ^ "SS Doric (2nd)". Titanic and Other White Star Ships. 2 December 2006. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ de Kerbrech 2009, p. 36
- ^ a b c d e de Kerbrech 2009, p. 38
- ^ "S/S Doric (1), White Star Line". Norway Heritage. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 71
- ^ Haws 1990, p. 40
- ^ de Kerbrech 2009, p. 58
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 70
- ^ "The Fleets: White Star Line". TheShipsList. 13 February 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ a b de Kerbrech 2009, p. 39
- ^ Eaton & Haas 1989, p. 249
- ^ Wilson, Alastair. "McAndrew's Hymn". kipling.org. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 201
Bibliography
- Anderson, Roy Claude (1964). White Star. Prescot: T. Stephenson & Sons Ltd. OCLC 3134809.
- de Kerbrech, Richard (2009). Ships of the White Star Line. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3366-5.
- Eaton, John; Haas, Charles (1989). Falling Star, Misadventures of White Star Line Ships. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-084-5.
- Haws, Duncan (1990). White Star Line. Merchant Fleets. Vol. 17. Hereford: TCL Publications. OCLC 50214776.