View source for RMS Ivernia (1899)

{{short description|British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Line}}
{{other ships|RMS Ivernia}}
<noinclude>{{Requested move notice|1=RMS Ivernia (1899)|2=Talk:SS Ivernia#Requested move 30 September 2024}}
</noinclude>{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image 
|Ship image=[[File:S.S._Ivernia_(ca._1900).jpg|300px|Ivernia]]
|Ship caption=Cunard Liner ''Ivernia''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|government}}
|Ship name=SS ''Ivernia''
|Ship namesake= [[Iverni]]
|Ship owner=[[Cunard Line]]
|Ship builder=[[Swan Hunter|C. S. Swan & Hunter]], [[Tyne and Wear]]
|Ship yard number=247 <ref>{{cite web |title=Record Yard no. 247, Ivernia |url=https://calmview.twmuseums.org.uk/calmview/TreeBrowse.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&field=RefNo&key=DS.SWH%2f4%2f5%2f2%2f247 |website=Tyne and Wear Archives Catalogue |publisher=Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums |access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref>
|Ship operator=[[File:House flag of the Cunard Line.svg|border|20px]] Cunard Line
|Ship registry={{flagicon|United Kingdom|government}} [[Liverpool]], [[United Kingdom]]
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship original cost=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=6 December 1898 <ref name="launch">{{cite journal |last1=Maw |first1=W H |last2=Dredge |first2=J |title=The Cunard Liner "Ivernia" |journal=Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal |date=22 September 1899 |volume=68 |page=368}}</ref>
|Ship launched=21 September 1899 <ref name="launch" />
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=The [[Henry Liddell, 2nd Earl of Ravensworth|Countess of Ravensworth]]<ref name="launch" />
|Ship completed= 
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship maiden voyage= 14 April 1900, Liverpool to New York <ref name="maiden voyage">{{Citation |title=UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists|contribution=BT27/318/17 - Ivernia, Liverpool to New York |publisher=The National Archives, Kew |date=14 April 1900}}</ref>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=*July-October 1911
*following major flooding from [[#Daunt Rock Incident|a collision]]<ref name="refit">{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=The Ivernia Departs For Boston |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000425/19111019/106/0006?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=18,149 |work=Cork Examiner |date=18 October 1911}}</ref>
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
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|Ship identification=
|Ship motto= 
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Torpedoed and sunk, 1 January 1917
|Ship notes=Completed deep-sea trials 27 March 1900, off Liverpool <ref name="trials">{{cite journal |last1=Maw |first1=W H |last2=Dredge |first2=J |title=Launches and Trial Trips |journal=Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal |date=6 April 1900 |volume=69 |page=463}}</ref>
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= 
|Ship type= [[Ocean liner]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|13,900|disp=long}}<ref name="launch" /><ref name="trials" />
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= *{{convert|600|ft|m|abbr=on}} total<ref name="launch" />
*{{convert|580|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]]<ref name="launch" />
|Ship beam= {{convert|64.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="launch" />
|Ship height= {{convert|140|ft|m|abbr=on}} from keel to top of funnel<ref name="launch" />
|Ship draught= 
|Ship depth= {{convert|41.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} (depth moulded to Upper Deck)<ref name="launch" />
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=*6 passenger decks
*8 decks overall<ref name="design" />
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship power=*9 single-ended [[Scotch marine boiler|scotch boilers]]
*Steam pressure of 210psi
*12,000 indicated horsepower<ref name="engines" />
|Ship propulsion=Steam quadruple-expansion engines geared to twin propellers
|Ship speed=*{{convert|16.8|kn|lk=in}} (achieved on trials)<ref name="trials" />
*{{convert|16.25|kn|lk=in}} (contract stipulation)<ref name="trials" />
|Ship range=  
|Ship endurance=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=*1,964 passengers
*(164 First Class, 200 Second Class, 1,600 Third Class)
|Ship troops=
|Ship crew=
|Ship armament=
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=*sister ship to [[RMS Saxonia (1899)|RMS ''Saxonia'']]
*half-sister to [[RMS Carpathia|RMS ''Carpathia'']]

}}
|}
'''SS ''Ivernia''''' was a British [[ocean liner]] owned by the [[Cunard Line]], built by the company [[Swan Hunter|C. S. Swan & Hunter]] of [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[England]], and launched in 1899. The ''Ivernia'' was one of Cunard's intermediate ships, that catered to the vast immigrant trade. Like her sisters, she saw military service during [[World War I]], and was sunk in 1917 after being struck by a torpedo.

[[RMS Saxonia (1899)|''Saxonia'']] was the larger sister ship of ''Ivernia'', and was launched three months later at [[John Brown & Company]] of [[Clydebank]], leaving ''Ivernia'' the largest Cunard steamer during those months.

[[RMS Carpathia|''Carpathia'']] was a smaller half-sister of ''Ivernia'' and ''Saxonia'', built at the same yard as ''Ivernia'' and launched in 1902, to a modified design based on her older half-sisters. ''Carpathia'' was made famous for its role in the aftermath of the [[Sinking of the Titanic#Rescue and departure|sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'']] in 1912.

==Design==
===Conception===
In 1898, the Cunard Line commissioned C. S. Swan & Hunter, based on the North bank of the [[River Tyne]] in [[Wallsend]], to construct one of two new intermediate-sized liners intended to work the Liverpool-Boston route across the [[Atlantic ocean|North Atlantic]]. Unlike the leading Cunard liners at the time, [[RMS Campania|RMS ''Campania'']] and [[RMS Lucania|RMS ''Lucania'']], the new ''Ivernia'' class would focus on cargo and economy. Space otherwise taken by engine and boiler machinery would instead be freed for cargo at the cost of some speed.<ref name="design">{{cite journal |last1=Maw |first1=W H |last2=Dredge |first2=J |title=The Cunard Liner "Ivernia" |journal=Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal |date=21 September 1900 |volume=70 |pages=368–369}}</ref>

Cunard produced a plan on 3 August 1898 at their Derby Road works in Liverpool to accompany a contract specification for Swan & Hunter, and this was reviewed by William Denton, director of the yard, three days later with some adjustments that led to the appearance of ''Ivernia'' diverging from that of her sister ''Saxonia''. The design was of a {{convert|580|ft|m|abbr=on}} vessel with passenger and cargo capacity over 8 decks.<ref name="plan">{{Citation |last=Denton |first=W |title=Tyne and Wear Archives Catalogue |contribution=Rough outline of Proposed Twin-Screw Steamer |publisher=Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums |url=https://calmview.twmuseums.org.uk/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=DS.SWH%2F4%2FPL%2F2%2F247%2F1}}</ref>

First class saloons were on the top deck, the [[Deck (ship)#Common names for decks|''Promenade Deck'']]. Below this was the {{convert|280|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Deck (ship)#Common names for decks|''Bridge Deck'']] consisting of a main house accomodating first-class cabins, a separate rear house for second-class cabins, and a small forward house for the officers mess. The [[Deck (ship)#Common names for decks|''Shelter Deck'']] spanned the full length of the ship and mainly housed the second class passengers, along with the first and second class dining saloons within a central house under the Bridge Deck. The enclosed [[Deck (ship)#Common names for decks|''Upper Deck'']] housed crew, some cargo, and the third class promenade. Beneath this was the [[Main deck|''Main Deck'']] which housed third class cabins forward, and dormitory accomadation aft. Below was the [[Deck (ship)#Common names for decks|''Lower Deck'']] and a forward [[Orlop deck|''Orlop Deck'']], housing cargo and refrigerated goods. Finally, the [[Fire room|boiler room]] and [[engine room]] sat back-to-back in the middle of the ship on top of the [[Double hull|double bottom]], separated from deep forward and after cargo and [[Ballast tank|ballast holds]] by 10 [[Ship floodability|watertight bulkheads]] extending up to the Upper Deck.<ref name="plan" />

At launch, ''Ivernia'' was equipped with 18 lifeboats, with 8 on the Promenade Deck, two just forward of the bridge on the Bridge Deck, four atop the second class accomodation on the Bridge Deck (paired and served by only two, not four, [[davit]]s), and four at the aft of the Shelter Deck.

[[File:Section of the Ivernia.jpg|center|thumb|text-top|500px|A longitudinal section plan of the ''Ivernia'' at launch in 1899, showing deck and bulkhead layout]]
===Power and Propulsion===
The engines were designed and built by [[Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company]], neighbours of C. S. Swan & Hunter on Tyneside, and were quadruple-expansion engines. The designer was Andrew Laing, who also designed the triple-expansion engines that powered the RMS ''Lucania'' to capture the [[Blue Riband]] accolade for fastest average speed crossing the Atlantic in 1894. The quadruple-expansion design could output 12,000 indicated horsepower, with cylinders of 28, 41, 58.5, and 84 inches in diameter, from high to low pressure, and a common stroke of 54 inches. These were fed by nine single-ended [[Scotch marine boiler|scotch boilers]] {{convert|15.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|11.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep and equipped with the [[James Howden|Howden]] [[Draft (boiler)|forced draught]] system with air drawn into the furnaces with use of a fan. The two engines were connected by [[Armstrong Whitworth]] shafts to twin three-bladed [[Bronze#Composition|manganese bronze]] propellers on a pair of steel bosses.<ref name="engines">{{cite journal |last1=Maw |first1=W H |last2=Dredge |first2=J |title=The Quadruple Expansion Engines of the Cunard Liner "Ivernia" |journal=Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal |date=5 October 1900 |volume=70 |page=436}}</ref>

Starting and reversing of the direction of the propeller shaft was conducted by a separate, small engine. An additional larger [[List of boiler types by manufacturer#donkey boiler|donkey boiler]] was situated behind the funnel across the Main and Upper decks to provide steam for deck machinery and other uses.<ref name="engines" />

These engines allowed ''Ivernia'' to achieve a speed of 16.8 knots when completing its deep-sea trials in late May 1900, after [[fitting-out]] was complete. This exceeded the design contract stipulation of a 16.25 knots top speed, and made ''Ivernia'' the fastest of the three sisters.<ref name="trials" />

Electric lighting throughout the ship was fed from a [[Dynamo | dynamo generator]] providing a [[direct current]] from a dynamo room just behind the funnel on the Upper Deck.<ref name="plan" />

==Operational history==

===Early history===
''Ivernia'' arrived on the [[River Mersey]] on 27 march 1900, after a five-day journey from the Tyne, and her passengers complimented her stability in rough weather during her delivery voyage.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=The Ivernia Arrives At Liverpool |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000287/19000329/010/0003?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=13,649 |work=Shields Daily Gazette |date=29 March 1900}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Departure of the Ivernia |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000287/19000324/022/0003?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=13,645 |work=Shields Daily Gazette |date=24 March 1900}}</ref>

''Ivernia'' undertook her maiden transatlantic voyage on 14 April 1900<ref name="maiden voyage" /> from [[Liverpool]] to [[New York City]], as the liners that were intended to work that route were conducting troop transport duties for the [[Second Boer War]].<ref name=trials /> On board for this maiden voyage was Charles Sheriton Swan, son of [[Charles Sheridan Swan]], co-founder of the builder's yard.<ref name="maiden voyage" /> Only a few weeks later, together with her sister ship RMS ''Saxonia'', the ''Ivernia'' began working on Cunard's service from Liverpool to [[Boston]] and then later on the immigrant run the Cunard Line had established from [[Rijeka|Fiume]] and [[Trieste]] to New York.<ref>Neil McCart, ''Atlantic Liners of the Cunard Line'' (1990), pp. 35-36.</ref>

===Wireless history===
In 1901, Cunard began outfitting its ships with a [[Marconi Company|Marconi]] wireless system, beginning with RMS ''Lucania'' on 21 May, followed by [[RMS Campania|RMS ''Campania'']], [[RMS Umbria|RMS ''Umbria'']] and [[RMS Etruria|RMS ''Etruria'']]. .<ref name=Hancock>{{cite book |last=Hancock |first=H.E. |title=Wireless at Sea |publisher=Marconi International Marine Communication Company |year=1950 |location=Chelmsford |page=44}}</ref>

With a longer-than-usual stopover in Liverpool of 14 days between February 4th & 18th 1902, construction of a hut for a wireless operator would have been possible in preparation for Ivernia's Marconi equipment.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Arrival of the Ivernia |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000647/19020205/086/0003?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=14555|work=Liverpool Daily Post|date=5 February 1902}}</ref> Two months later, ''Ivernia'' arrived from Boston on April 10th, when the Cunard engineers at Liverpool had the opportunity to complete the fitting of the wireless aparatus.<ref>{{Citation |title=UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists|contribution=BT26/193/26 - Ivernia, Boston to Liverpool |publisher=The National Archives, Kew |date=10 April 1902}}</ref> 
''Ivernia'' sailed with a Marconi system installed and operational for the first time on 15 April 1902, with her first broadcast from 30 miles off shore reporting "All well" back to Liverpool.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Cunard Boston Steamer Fitted |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000081/19020417/001/0012?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=16945 |work=Liverpool Mercury |date=17 April 1902}}</ref>

In 1909, sending a message to the [[United States of America|United States]] from ''Ivernia'' would cost a passenger 8s. 4d. for a ten-word message, or 6s for 12 words to the [[United Kingdom|UK]].

===Daunt Rock Incident===
''Ivernia'' departed Boston on a routine voyage on 16 May 1911, under the command of Captain Thomas Potter, and was approaching [[Cobh|Queenstown]] harbour on 24 May.<ref name="daunt voyage">{{Citation |title=UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists|contribution=BT26/482/9-16 - Ivernia, Boston to Queenstown |publisher=The National Archives, Kew |date=24 May 1911}}</ref> Heavy fog closed in around noon, and she struck Daunt Rock only {{convert|9|mi|km|2|abbr=on}} from the port. The forward hull of the ship was badly damaged in multiple places, but ''Ivernia'' successfully made it into the inner harbour while taking on water. All passengers were disembarked to Queenstown while ''Ivernia'' was at anchor in the Kinloch Channel, but as dusk approached and the forward holds continued to take on water, Captain Potter made the decision to have the ship towed to the mud banks near Corkbeg Island on the eastern side of the harbour. Divers assessed the damage, and powerful pumps brought aboard, but the water continued to slowly rise.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Crippled Ivernia |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19110526/038/0005?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=9818 |work=Liverpool Echo |date=26 May 1911}}</ref>

728 passengers were on board at the time of the accident, and the crew were able to remain on board throughout the salvage process. An unnamed first-class passenger reported they had felt the impact from the smoking room, and emerged onto the deck to see the Captain and officers calmly discussing the matter at the bridge. So calm was the atmosphere that lunch was still served, with an orchestra playing for entertainment. Nevertheless it was apparent to the passenger that the ship was slowly sinking by the head.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=ACCIDENT TO LINER DAMAGED ON GAUNT'S ROCK - Experience On The Ivernia |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000264/19110525/431/0012?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=16528 |work=Western Daily Press |date=31 May 1911}}</ref>

[[Lloyd's Register]] surveyor Herbert W Dove inspected the ship on 1 June, and reported flooding as high as the Main Deck and even the Shelter Deck at high water. The vessel was moved to [[Haulbowline]] for temporary repair and then returned to Liverpool for repair and refurbishment, should it be refloated.<ref name="daunt repair">{{Citation |last=Dove |first=Herbert W. |title=Correspondence|contribution=Regarding the bulkheads of the steamer "Ivernia" |publisher=Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping, Heritage and Education Centre |ref=lrf-pun-nwc869-0215}}</ref>

Nearly a month after it struck the reef, ''Ivernia'' was successfully refloated on 23 June 1911, the pumps finally able to keep pace with incoming water enough to enable temporary repair.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=IVERNIA REFLOATED  -To Be Towed To Liverpool |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000648/19110624/094/0009?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=17,492 |work=Liverpool Daily Post |date=24 June 1911}}</ref>

A Board of Trade Inquiry found that Captain Potter was responsible for the accident, finding him guilty of "navigating the vessel at too great a rate of speed in increasingly thick weather". They were satisfied that the course set for the vessel was appropriate, but that the compass was at fault for leading the ship towards Daunt Rock. The court decided Captain Potter's [[Master mariner|master's certificate]] did not need to be revoked, allowing him to continue captaining vessels, but he was "censured" and made to pay £50 ({{Inflation|UK|50|1911|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) towards the costs of the inquiry.<ref name="reprimand">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10116857 |title=SHIPPING. |newspaper=[[The Mercury]] |volume=XCVI |issue=12,962 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=10 October 1911 |accessdate=2 October 2024 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

However, on 8 July an address was read out, signed by prominent figures from Cork and Queenstown, praising Captain Potter's success in handling the incident will skill in sailing the stricken vessel to port and avoiding loss of life or loss of the vessel herself.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=COMPLIMENTING CAPTAIN POTTER |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004556/19110708/017/0002?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=3,173 |work=Cork Weekly Examiner |date=8 July 1911}}</ref>

The still-damaged liner departed Queenstown for Liverpool under her own steam on 6 July, accompanied by tugs and salvage vessels from the [[Liverpool Salvage Association]] that had assisted in refloating her.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Damaged Ivernia |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19110706/092/0008?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=9,853 |work=Liverpool Echo |date=6 July 1911}}</ref> ''Ivernia'' was placed in [[Brocklebank Dock | Brocklebank Graving Dock]] in Liverpool, and Cunard staff began refitting and furnishing the ship. The ship repairers, H & C Grayson Ltd, were assigned the task of repairing the structural damage.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Repair Of The Cunard Liner Ivernia |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004036/19110802/097/0007?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=26,460 |newspaper=Liverpool Journal of Commerce |date=2 August 1911}}</ref>

''Ivernia'' returned to service on 17 October 1911, with much of its interior refitted.<ref name="refit"></ref> with William R D Irvine in command, carrying 872 passengers out of Liverpool towards Queenstown and Boston.<ref>{{Citation |title=UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists |contribution=BT27/717/3/3/24 - Ivernia, Liverpool to Boston |publisher=The National Archives, Kew |date=17 October 1911}}</ref>

===World War I===
[[File:William Turner captain of the Lusitania.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|upright|Captain William Thomas Turner, photographed on 11 March 1915.]]
On 4 August 1914, following the outbreak of [[World War I]], the ''Ivernia'' was hired by the British government. Initially it brought [[Canada in World War I|Canadian Soldiers]] to Europe.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Two Leicester Men Saved |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000759/19150510/003/0003?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |newspaper=Leicester Daily Mercury |date=10 May 1914}}</ref> In March 1915 it was in use as a [[Prison Ship|prison ship]] moored off [[Southend-on-Sea]] and holding around 1,500 [[Prisoners of war in World War I|German prisoners of war]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Prison Ships |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000648/19150317/104/0004?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=18,656 |newspaper=Liverpool Daily Post |date=17 March 1915}}</ref>

Now known as HMT ''Ivernia'', the liner began operating as a [[Troopship|troopship]] in support of the [[Gallipoli campaign]] once it had offloaded its prisoners. It departed [[Devonport, Plymouth|Devonport]] on 12 May 1915, carrying the [[Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood|Collingwood Battalion]] of the [[63rd (Royal Naval) Division|63rd Royal Naval Division]]. It called at [[Gibraltar]] in 16 May, and Malta on 19 May, arriving at [[Lemnos]] on 22 May. Due to [[U-boat|submarines]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], ''Ivernia'' ran with no lights at night.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=A Burtonian In Gallipoli |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003309/19160113/160/0007?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=922 |newspaper=Burton Observer and Chronicle |date=13 January 1916}}</ref> The soldiers on this voyage would go on to fight in the [[Third Battle of Krithia]].

In autumn of 1916, [[William Thomas Turner]] (made famous for being the captain of {{RMS|Lusitania}} at the time of her sinking) had taken command of ''Ivernia'' from [[Arthur Rostron]] (made famous himself for being the captain of the [[RMS Carpathia|RMS ''Carpathia'']] when it rescued the survivors of the ''Titanic'').<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Acting Purser of the Invernia |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004036/19170113/106/0007?browse=true |access-date=4 October 2024 |issue=28,161 |newspaper=Liverpool Journal of Commerce |date=13 January 1917}}</ref><ref name="Gould">{{cite news | last = Gould | first = James E. | title = Why Should Captains Go Down With Their Ships? | newspaper = [[The Atlantic Monthly]] | language = English | date = 7 May 2015 | url = https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/05/lusitania-sinking-captain-william-thomas-turner/392579/ | accessdate = 8 May 2015 }}</ref>

On 1 January 1917, the ''Ivernia'' was carrying some 2,400 British troops from Marseille to Alexandria, when at 10:12{{nbsp}}am she was torpedoed by the German submarine [[SM UB-47|''UB-47'']] 58 miles south-east of [[Cape Matapan]] in [[Greece]], in the [[Kythira Strait]]. The ship went down fairly quickly with a loss of 36 crew members and 84 troops.  Captain Turner, who had been criticised for not going down with the ''Lusitania'' (even though he had believed he was the last person on board), remained on the bridge until all aboard had departed in lifeboats and rafts "before striking out to swim as the vessel went down under his feet."<ref name="Gould"/>

{{HMS|Rifleman|1910|6}} rescued a number of survivors and armed trawlers towed the bulk, who had taken to lifeboats, to [[Suda Bay]] in [[Crete]].

Today Ivernia Road in [[Walton, Liverpool|Walton]] in [[Liverpool]] still bears the name of the doomed vessel.

==See also==
[[File:Cunard Liner Ivernia.png|right|thumb|A postcard for ''Ivernia'' that uses a photograph of half-sister ''Carpathia'']]
* [[List of Cunard Line ships]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~leedberg/ivernia1.htm ''Ivernia'' history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009212721/http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~leedberg/ivernia1.htm |date=9 October 2016 }}
* [http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?133858 Wrecksite]
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{{Cunard ships}}
{{January 1917 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivernia}}
[[Category:Ocean liners]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1917]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Ships of the Cunard Line]]
[[Category:1899 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Swan Hunter]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Tyne]]