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RMS Ivernia (1899)

Coordinates: 35°42′N 23°19′E / 35.700°N 23.317°E / 35.700; 23.317
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Tobin Dax (talk | contribs) at 22:03, 30 September 2024 (Added information on an incident where Ivernia was damaged in fog, fully cited and Rootsweb content verified with independent primary source). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other ships with the same name, see RMS Ivernia.

Ivernia
Cunard Liner Ivernia
History
United Kingdom
NameSS Ivernia
NamesakeIverni
OwnerCunard Line
BuilderC. S. Swan & Hunter, Tyne and Wear
Yard number247 [1]
Laid down6 December 1898 [2]
Launched21 September 1899 [2]
Christened21 September 1899 by the Countess of Ravensworth [2]
Maiden voyage14 April 1900, Liverpool to New York [3]
FateTorpedoed and sunk, 1 January 1917
NotesCompleted deep-sea trials 27 May 1900, off Liverpool [4]
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage13,900 gross register tons (GRT)[2][4]
Length600 ft (180 m)
Beam64 ft (20 m)
PropulsionSteam quadruple-expansion engines geared to twin propellers
Speed
  • 16.8 knots (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph) (achieved on trials)[4]
  • 16.25 knots (30.10 km/h; 18.70 mph) (contract stipulation)[4]
Capacity
  • 1,964 passengers
  • (164 First Class, 200 Second Class, 1,600 Third Class)
Notes
A postcard for Ivernia that uses a photograph of half-sister Carpathia

SS Ivernia was a British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Line, built by the company 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.

Operational history

Early history

Ivernia undertook her maiden voyage on 14 April 1900[3] 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[4]. On board for this maiden voyage was Charles Sheriton Swan, son of Charles Sheridan Swan, co-founder of the builder's yard.[3] 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 Fiume and Trieste to New York.[5]

Daunt Rock Incident

Ivernia departed Boston on a routine voyage on 16 May 1911, under the command of Captain Thomas Potter, and was approaching Queenstown harbour on 24 May.[6] Heavy fog closed in, and in spite of fog horns, she struck Daunt Rock only 9 mi (14.48 km) from the port. The stern was badly damaged, but Ivernia successfully made it into the harbour while taking on water, beaching near Spit Bank Lighthouse. All passengers were disembarked by passenger tender to Queenstown.[7].

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.[8] Ivernia returned to service on 17 October 1911, and Captain Potter was reprimanded and fined.[7]

World War I

Following the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 the Ivernia was hired by the British government as a troop transport. In autumn of 1916, William Thomas Turner (made famous for being the captain of RMS Lusitania at the time of her sinking) was given command.[9]

On 1 January 1917, the Ivernia was carrying some 2,400 British troops from Marseille to Alexandria, when at 10:12 am she was torpedoed by the German submarine 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."[9]

HMS Rifleman 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 in Liverpool still bears the name of the doomed vessel.

References

  1. ^ "Record Yard no. 247, Ivernia". Tyne and Wear Archives Catalogue. Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Maw, W H; Dredge, J (22 September 1899). "The Cunard Liner "Ivernia"". Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal. 68: 368.
  3. ^ a b c "Series BT27 - Ivernia, Liverpool to New York", UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, The National Archives, Kew
  4. ^ a b c d e Maw, W H; Dredge, J (6 April 1900). "Launches and Trial Trips". Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal. 69: 463.
  5. ^ Neil McCart, Atlantic Liners of the Cunard Line (1990), pp. 35-36.
  6. ^ "Series BT26/482/9-16 - Ivernia, Boston to Queenstown", UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, The National Archives, Kew
  7. ^ a b Clermont, Judi. "Ivernia I". Rootsweb. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  8. ^ Dove, Herbert W., "Regarding the bulkheads of the steamer "Ivernia"", Correspondence, Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping, Heritage and Education Centre
  9. ^ a b Gould, James E. (7 May 2015). "Why Should Captains Go Down With Their Ships?". The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 8 May 2015.

35°42′N 23°19′E / 35.700°N 23.317°E / 35.700; 23.317

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