SS Lesbian (1915)
History | |
---|---|
Name | SS Lesbian |
Namesake | Inhabitants of the island of Lesbos |
Owner | Ellerman Lines |
Port of registry | Liverpool |
Builder | W. Harkess & Sons, Middlesbrough[1] |
Yard number | 207[1] |
Launched | 3 April 1915[1] |
Completed | July 1915[1] |
Identification | UK official number: 137465[1] |
Fate | Sunk by U-35, 5 January 1917[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Cargo ship[1] |
Tonnage | 2,555 GRT[1] |
Length | 93.1 m (305 ft 5 in) (lpp)[1] |
Beam | 12.9 m (42 ft 4 in)[1] |
Propulsion | 1 × triple-expansion steam engine[1] |
Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h)[1] |
Armament | unknown |
SS Lesbian was a cargo ship built for the Ellerman Lines in 1915. On 5 January 1917 she was shelled and sunk by German U-boat U-35, the most successful U-boat participating in World War I, without loss of life.
Design and construction
Lesbian was a built as a
Career
Little information is available about Lesbian's short career, but details about her final voyage suggest that she may have been employed in cargo service between India and the United Kingdom. For her final voyage, she departed Calicut—where she had taken on a general cargo bound for London and Tees—in December 1916. After passing through the Suez Canal, Lesbian entered the Mediterranean and headed towards Malta. While 125 nautical miles (232 km) from there on 5 January 1917, she encountered U-35, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière.[3]
At 16:15 on 5 January 1917, U-35 shelled and sank Lesbian east of Malta at position 35°48′N 17°6′E / 35.800°N 17.100°E.
See also
- SS Lesbian (1923) was a 2,352 GRT British cargo ship which was built by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1923 for Ellerman Lines Ltd. During WWII she was seized in 1940 by the Vichy French forces and later scuttled in 1941.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Lesbian (1137465)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- ^ a b c "British merchant ships lost at sea due to enemy action, January–August 1917 in date order". World War 1 at Sea. Naval-History.net. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2009. The information on the website is extracted from British Vessels Lost at Sea: 1914–1918. His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1919.
- ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Lesbian". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- ^ Tennant, pp. 78–79.
- ^ Gibson and Prendergast, p. 130.
Bibliography
- Gibson, R. H.; Maurice Prendergast (2003) [1931]. The German Submarine War, 1914–1918. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 52924732.
- Tennent, A. J. (2006) [1990]. British Merchant Ships Sunk by U boats in the 1914–1918 War. Penzance: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-36-7.