SS Sirius (1885)
Sirius near Oslo
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History | |
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Name | Sirius |
Namesake | The star Sirius |
Owner | Bergen Steamship Company |
Port of registry | Bergen |
Route |
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Builder | Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg, Germany |
Cost | 350,435 kr |
Yard number | 76 |
Launched | 26 February 1885 |
Completed | April 1885 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sunk by a Dyrøya , on 18 May 1940 |
General characteristics | |
Type |
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Tonnage |
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Length |
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Beam |
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Draught |
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Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Capacity | 70 passengers (before 1927 cargo ship conversion) |
Crew | 18 (1940) |
SS Sirius was a Norwegian iron-hulled steamship built in Germany in 1885. Sirius spent over 55 years sailing with cargo, regular passengers and tourists between Norway and Europe, and on the Norwegian coast. In 1894-1895, she served a year on the Hurtigruten route on the coast of Norway, before reverting to her former duties.
Sirius was rebuilt twice, the final rebuild in 1927 converting her to a dedicated cargo ship, a role which she fulfilled for the rest of her existence. Following the 1940 German invasion of Norway, she was requisitioned by the Norwegian government and carried supplies for both the civilian authorities and the military until bombed and sunk by a German aircraft on 18 May 1940.
Construction and characteristics
Sirius was built as yard number 76 at the
Sirius was divided into three passenger classes for 70 passengers, with 24 First Class cabins, 22 cabins in the Second Class and 24 in the Third Class section of the ship. The passenger accommodation was located at the main deck, while the cargo holds were situated afore and abaft of the engine room.[2][6]
Sirius was named after the star Sirius, in keeping with Bergen Steamship Company's tradition of naming their ships after heavenly objects.[7]
Early service
The Bergen Steamship Company's initial use for Sirius was as a passenger/cargo vessel connecting the various ports of Norway with the North-German port city of Hamburg. In this regard, she sailed between Hamburg and Norwegian ports as far apart as Kristiansand and Vadsø.[2]
She also carried tourists during the summer season. On one occasion in 1890, Sirius encountered the German royal yacht
In 1890, following a great fire which destroyed large parts of the port city of Hammerfest, the Norwegian Internal Affairs Department despatched Sirius from Tromsø with 50 barrels of bread, butter, coffee and flour to Hammerfest as emergency aid.[9]
Hurtigruten service
In 1894, the year after businessman
Sirius ended her stint on the Hurtigruten route on 1 July 1895, when Nordenfjeldske stepped in in accordance with the contract. While on Hurtigruten service, Sirius had set out on her northbound route from Brattøra in Trondheim each Thursday at 08:00.[2]
Passenger/cargo and tourist service
Once finished with her year on the Hurtigruten service, Sirius returned to her Hamburg-Norway route. Every spring, she was taken out of service for cleaning and maintenance, before being employed as a tourist cruise ship on the coast of Norway during the summer season.[2]
In 1896, Sirius had electric lighting installed,[2] and in 1898 she stood in on the route from Bergen to Newcastle in England for ships undergoing maintenance.[12]
1908 rebuild and continued traffic
In 1908, Sirius was taken out of service for a comprehensive rebuild.
Following the rebuild, Sirius was employed both on her previous passenger/cargo routes, and on a route between Norway and Iceland.[2] The route between Hamburg and Norway sailed by Sirius and other ships was interrupted by the First World War in 1914–18, and was resumed as a reduced service between Hamburg and Bergen in 1918. By 1918, Sirius was an old and rat-infested ship, barely fit for passenger transport, and was replaced on the route by newer vessels.[14]
Cargo ship conversion
In 1927, Sirius had further rebuilding carried out. The rebuild, which cost 108,000 kr, saw the removal of her passenger accommodation and a conversion to carry only cargo. Twelve cabins were retained, although not used for regular passenger traffic. As a cargo ship, she had a tonnage of 944 gross register tons (GRT) (534 net register tons (NRT)). For the rest of her career, she carried cargo between the Norwegian capital city of Oslo and Norway's northernmost county, Finnmark. By 1930, she had been assigned the code letters JVTL, and had wireless radio on board.[2][5][13][15] In 1934, the code letters were changed to LEUS and remained so for the remainder of the ship's life.[16]
Second World War
German invasion
When Germany invaded neutral Norway on 9 April 1940, Sirius was located in Northern Norway. On 8 April, the day before the Germans launched their attack on Norway, she had left Narvik, bound for Tromsø. Along with other ships in the still-unoccupied areas of Norway, Sirius was requisitioned by the Norwegian authorities to support the war effort against the Germans.[2][13] Following her requisition, Sirius sailed as a supply ship for the Norwegian civilian authorities and military in Northern Norway.[17] In all, the Norwegian government requisitioned 30 ships during the April–June fighting in Norway, of which six were sunk by the Germans.[18]
Sinking
On 18 May, Sirius was on her way from Tromsø to
In the late evening of 18 May, Sirius was spotted by a German bomber aircraft
The wreck of Sirius lies north of Dyrøya, at depths between 45 metres (148 ft) and 75 metres (246 ft).[6]
References
- Notes
- Citations
- ^ a b "Sirius (5615399)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Bakka 2003, p. 49
- ^ Storberget 1993, p. 24
- ^ a b Solemdal 1946, p. 141
- ^ a b "D/S Sirius". Sjømannsforeningene på Agder (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Krogstad, Peter (21 December 2007). "På havets bunn står skutene...". Bladet Vesterålen (in Norwegian): 56.
- ^ Svanberg 1990, p. 109
- ^ Güßfeldt 1891, p. 272
- ^ Sivertsen 1973, p. 251
- ^ Bakka 2003, pp. 35-39, 49
- ^ Bakka 2003, p. 39
- ^ Danielsen 1991, p. 25
- ^ a b c d e f Lawson, Siri Holm. "D/S Sirius". Warsailors.com. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Solemdal 1946, p. 145
- ^ Register of Ships (1930–31 ed.). "Scan of page 'Sir'" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Register of Ships (1934–35 ed.). "Scan of page 'Sir-Siv'" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Abelsen 1986, p. 302
- ^ Pettersen 1992, p. 47
- ^ a b c Nordanger 1975, pp. 30-31
- ^ a b Hafsten, Larsstuvold, Olsen and Stenersen 2005, p. 51
- ^ Vold 1995, p. 266
- Bibliography
- Abelsen, Frank (1986). Norwegian naval ships 1939–1945 (in Norwegian and English). Oslo: Sem & Stenersen AS. ISBN 82-7046-050-8.
- Bakka, Dag Jr. (2003). Hurtigruten – Sjøveien mot nord (in Norwegian) (2nd, revised ed.). Bergen: Seagull Publishing. ISBN 82-91258-17-1.
- Danielsen, Per Eirik (1991). Sjø-postruter på utlandet (historikk og stempler) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk filatelistforbund og Filatelistisk forlag. ISBN 8290272480.
- Güßfeldt, Paul (1891). Keiser Wilhelm II's Reiser i Norge i Aarene 1889 og 1890 (in Norwegian). Christiania: Cammermeyer. ISBN 82-7046-074-5.
- Haarr, Geirr H. (2010). The Battle for Norway – April–June 1940. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-057-4.
- Hafsten, Bjørn; Ulf Larsstuvold; Bjørn Olsen; Sten Stenersen (2005). Flyalarm – luftkrigen over Norge 1939–1945 (in Norwegian) (2nd, revised ed.). Oslo: Sem og Stenersen AS. ISBN 82-7046-074-5.
- Lunde, Henrik O. (2009). Hitler's pre-emptive war: The Battle for Norway, 1940. Newbury: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-932033-92-2.
- Nordanger, Trygve (1975). Lang kyst! – en fortelling om fartøyer og folk på norskekysten under krigen (in Norwegian). Bergen: Nordanger. ISBN 8270510416.
- Pettersen, Lauritz (1992). Handelsflåten i krig 1939–1945: Hjemmeflåten – Mellom venn og fiende (in Norwegian). Oslo: Grøndahl og Dreyers Forlag A/S. ISBN 82-504-1897-2.
- Sivertsen, Jørgen (1973). Hammerfest: 1789-1914 (in Norwegian). Hammerfest: Hammerfest Municipality. ISBN 8271310011.
- Solemdal, M. (1946). Atlanterhavstravere og andre travere (in Norwegian). Bergen: Eide.
- Storberget, Bjørn (1993). Posten på kystens riksvei (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norwegian Postal Museum.
- Svanberg, Erling (1990). Langs vei og lei i Nordland – samferdsel i Nordland gjennom 3000 år (in Norwegian). Bodø: Nordland County Municipality. ISBN 82-7416-021-5.
- Vold, Ottar (1995). Felttoget 1940: avdelingenes påkjenninger og tap (in Norwegian). Oslo: Rikstrygdeverket. ISBN 8255104135.