SS Traffic (1911)
History | |
---|---|
France | |
Name |
|
Owner |
|
Operator |
|
Port of registry | Cherbourg |
Ordered | 19 July 1910 |
Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
Yard number | 423 |
Way number | No1 |
Laid down | 22 December 1910 |
Launched | 27 April 1911 |
Completed | 27 May 1911 |
Maiden voyage | 31 May 1911 |
In service | 27 May 1911 |
Fate | Torpedoed and sunk on 17 January, 1941; wreck raised and scrapped later that year |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 640 GRT |
Length | 186 ft (57 m) |
Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
Height | 14 ft (4.3 m) keel to bulkwark |
Draught | 8 ft 1 in (2.46 m) |
Decks | 5 |
Installed power | 1 13 ft × 11 ft (4.0 m × 3.4 m) S.E. boiler with 3 furnaces |
Propulsion | Twin compound reciprocating powering two triple-bladed propellers. |
Speed | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
Capacity | 1,200 passengers and mail |
Crew | 23 |
SS Traffic was a
, her role was to transport Third Class passengers and mails between the port and the liners anchored in the harbour, while the Nomadic was tasked with transporting First Class and Second Class passengers.In April 1912, she transported immigrants from port to the Titanic, and continued to serve White Star until 1927, without interruption. During World War I, she took part in the landing of soldiers from the United States. In 1927, she was sold to the Société Cherbourgeoise Transbordement, before joining the Société Cherbourgeoise de Remorquage et de Sauvetage in 1934, which renamed her Ingenieur Reibell.
In June 1940, the French Navy scuttled Ingenieur Reibell ahead of the German advance on the port of Cherbourg. Shortly after, the Germans refloated her to convert the vessel into an escort ship. In January 1941, she was torpedoed and sunk by the British. Her wreck was salvaged and scrapped.
Background and construction
At the start of the 20th century, the port of Cherbourg, France, was on the verge of becoming an essential stopover for most of the British and German ocean liners traveling between Europe and the United States. In 1907, White Star Line established a regular stop there on its newly created route between Southampton, United Kingdom and New York, United States. From 1909, the Cherbourg stopover took on a new dimension and a ferry terminal (which was not completed until 1912) was built to accommodate passengers arriving by special trains from Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris.[1] Despite major work, however, the port posed a major problem: large liners could not dock there because of shallow water. Boarding was therefore done by means of tenders coming to meet them with passengers and luggage.[2]
To this end, White Star Line recovered in 1907, an old tender, renamed the Gallic, which took care of the ferrying of passengers.
Led by Thomas Andrews, the designers of Harland & Wolff designed the two tenders as miniature liners. Thus the Traffic was provided with a
Harland and Wolff
Early life serving Olympic and Titanic
On 31 May 1911, after her sea trials, the Olympic docked at Liverpool, United Kingdom, her home port and headquarters of the White Star Line, to be presented to the gathered crowd.[10] It was on this same day that the Titanic was launched.[11] The two tenders left the Olympic at the exit of Belfast Lough, at the mouth of the Lagan, to head for Cherbourg.[12] Sailing at a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), they reached their destination on 3 June 1911.[13]
Although British-owned and flying the flag of the White Star Line, the
The Traffic offered service for the first time when the Olympic docked at Cherbourg for its maiden voyage, on 14 June 1911.[7] Her service on that day was not exemplary, since a number of deficiencies were noted in the transport of mail and baggage. Bruce Ismay, who was not satisfied, asked that better efforts be made for the next ferrying. However, the problems were quickly resolved and during the three other Olympic stopovers in Cherbourg between June and September, the ferrying went smoothly.[13] In April 1912, she transported third-class passengers, mail, and baggage to the Titanic during the vessel's stopover in Cherbourg on her maiden voyage.[14] The next day, Traffic again carried immigrants to another White Star liner, the Adriatic, which would bring Titanic survivors back to England a few days later.[7]
A few days after the sinking of the Titanic, the Olympic made a stopover in Cherbourg where she was solemnly welcomed. The flags were at half mast, and the Nomadic and Traffic officers wore black ties as a sign of mourning. The crew of the Olympic then went on strike and refused to go back to sea until lifeboats were added to the liner. The forced immobilization of the latter paralyzed for a time the two tenders in the port of Cherbourg. The crew's request was finally satisfied and service resumed.[15]
Wartime and postwar
The declaration of the
Traffic and Nomadic were sold to Société Cherbourgeoise Transbordement in 1927,
On 30 July 1933, Cherbourg inaugurated its new ferry terminal which now allowed liners to come to the
World War II, sinking and scrapping
In September 1939, the Ingenieur Reibell was again requisitioned by the French Navy, and this time transformed into a
References
- ^ Codet et al. 2011, pp. 220–221
- ^ Codet et al. 2011, p. 83
- ^ Gallic I of White Star Line
- ^ Piouffre 2009, p. 50
- ^ Piouffre 2009, pp. 49–51
- ^ Piouffre 2009, p. 51
- ^ a b c d e f g Le Nomadic et le Traffic
- ^ Piouffre 2009, p. 59.
- ^ a b c Traffic
- ^ Piouffre 2009, p. 56
- ^ Piouffre 2009, p. 57
- ^ Piouffre 2009, p. 61
- ^ a b Olivier Mendez, "S.S. Nomadic: l'histoire vivante", Latitude 41°, no. 5, November 1999, p. 4
- ^ The Building of the Titanic
- ^ a b c Olivier Mendez, "S.S. Nomadic : l'histoire vivante," Latitude 41°, No. 5, November 1999, p. 8
- ^ Philippe Delaunoy, "Nomadic at war", The Lone Star, Winter edition, December 2015, p. 4
- ^ a b c Chirnside 2004, p. 321
- ISBN 2-913-920-39-X.
- ^ @NomadicCollect1 (22 June 2018). "White Star Line tender Traffic being destroyed in Cherbourg in spring 1941" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 August 2021 – via Twitter.[unreliable source?]
Bibliography
- Chirnside, Mark (2004). The Olympic-class ships: Olympic, Titanic, Britannic. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2868-3.
- Codet, François; Mendez, Olivier; Dufief, Alain; Gavard-Perret, Franck (2011). Les Français du Titanic (in French). Rennes: Marine Editions. ISBN 978-2-35743-065-5.
- Delaunoy, Philippe (2015). Nomadic at war. Nomadic Preservation Society.
- Piouffre, Gérard (2009). Le Titanic ne répond plus (in French). Paris: Larousse. ISBN 978-2-03-584196-4.