California (ship, 1907)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
California
"June brides".  Arrival from England of 12 brides-to-be whose fiancees are awaiting them here LCCN2005686691.jpg
Ship data
flag United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom
Ship type Passenger ship
Callsign HLQJ
home port Glasgow
Owner Anchor line
Shipyard D. & W. Henderson & Company , Glasgow
Build number 459
Launch July 9, 1906
Commissioning October 12, 1907
Whereabouts Sunk 7th February 1917
Ship dimensions and crew
length
143.25 m ( Lüa )
width 17.77 m
Draft Max. 10.36 m
measurement 8,662 GRT 5,403
NRT
 
crew 200 (in peacetime)
Machine system
machine Six cylinder triple expansion steam engines from D. & W. Henderson & Co.
Machine
performance
827 nominal horsepower
Top
speed
16 kn (30 km / h)
propeller 2
Transport capacities
Permitted number of passengers I. class: 232
II. Class: 248
III. Class: 734
Others
Registration
numbers
124230

The California (II) was a 1907 passenger ship of the British shipping company Anchor Line , which was used as a transatlantic liner and carried passengers and cargo on the Glasgow - Liverpool - New York route . The California was in transatlantic liner service until she was sunk by the German U- 85 submarine on February 7, 1917, southwest of Fastnet Rock on the southern Irish coast .

The ship

The 8,662 GRT steamship California was built in the Partick district of Glasgow in the Meadowside Dock at the D. & W. Henderson & Company shipyard and was launched on the River Clyde on July 9, 1906 . The steel- built ship was 143.25 meters long, 17.77 meters wide and had a maximum draft of 10.36 meters. On the day of launch, the ship was christened by Anna Wylie, Lady Primrose, wife of Sir John Ure Primrose (1847-1924), Lord Lieutenant of the County of Glasgow. The six cylinder triple expansion steam engines from D. & W. Henderson made 827 nominal horsepower and allowed a maximum speed of 16 knots. The ship was equipped with two black funnels, two masts and two screws . The poop deck was 21.3 meters long , the bridge deck 64.9 meters and the forecastle 27.7 meters long.

The California in New York Harbor, ca.1907.

A total of 1214 passengers could be accommodated, 232 in the first, 248 in the second and 734 in the third class. The California premises were equipped with electric lighting and cooling facilities. The ship was built for the shipping company Anchor Line, founded in 1856 and based in Glasgow. Glasgow was also the home port of the steamer. The California was supposed to replace the aging passenger steamer Astoria (5,086 GRT), which had constantly crossed the Atlantic since 1885 . On October 12, 1907, the California ran on her maiden voyage from Glasgow via Liverpool to New York. She stayed on this route throughout her years of service.

Her first captain was James Blaikie (1861-1930), who had been with the Anchor Line since 1884 and had already led some of their ships. He was in command of the 9,223 GRT Caledonia , the sister ship of the California , when it was sunk in the Mediterranean by U 65 on December 4, 1916 . The submarine commander, Kapitänleutnant Hermann von Fischel , had him captured. In 1911, the Anchor Line and its ships, along with other shipping companies, were bought by the Cunard Line . The California stayed on its well-known route as part of the North American Anchor Cunard Service.

Incidents

On June 28, 1914, the California ran aground in thick fog with over 1000 passengers on board near Tory Island on the northwest coast of Ireland. Her bow was dented and water entered the hull through two leaks . Nevertheless, the steamer remained buoyant. Three destroyers of the Royal Navy , including the HMS Swift , as well as the ocean liner Cassandra the Donaldson Line took the passengers and brought them ashore. The California was taken in tow and taken to Glasgow on August 20, 1914, where it was repaired. She resumed her transatlantic service on October 13th.

On May 13, 1916, the California was anchored at Pier 64 on the Hudson River near Manhattan . The ship was just being loaded with new cargo, including high-explosive ammunition , to be brought to Liverpool. Shortly after 8 p.m., a fire broke out in hold no. The crew was very concerned about the ammunition and the risk of explosion that it posed, but the port supervisor triggered the alarm in good time. A fireboat arrived within a very short time to help fight the fire. Shortly after 10.30 p.m. the flames were extinguished. Since the event was viewed as an accident and the property damage was minor, the ship cast off according to schedule the following morning. Had the fire not been discovered in time or had the port supervisor not reacted quickly, an incident similar to the Halifax explosion in December 1917 could possibly have occurred .

Sinking

On Friday, January 12, 1917, the California left Glasgow for her last ocean crossing in an easterly direction. On Monday, January 29, 1917, she left New York for the last time under the command of Captain John L. Henderson. On board were 184 crew members and 31 passengers (one in the first, 19 in the second and eleven in the third class) and an ordinary cargo. The majority of the travelers, made up of women and children, were mostly British and Canadians. The ship's only armament was a 4.7-inch ship's gun mounted on the stern . On February 3, 1917, while the California was crossing the Atlantic in an easterly direction, a German submarine sank the US freighter Housatonic as the first American and neutral ship in the declared war zone, an act that led to the severing of diplomatic ties between the USA and the German Empire .

On the morning of February 7, 1917, the passenger steamer passed the south coast of Ireland at full speed en route to Glasgow. 38 nautical miles southwest of the Fastnet rock, the California was sighted by the German submarine U 85 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Willy Petz. The weather was clear and the sea was calm. Petz steered his boat into a suitable attack position and waited until the steamer had come close enough.

On board the California was U 85 discovered to 9:15 in the morning by his bladder tracks. Captain Henderson ordered cannon fire to be fired at the submarine. Before this order could be carried out, U 85 shot down two torpedoes from less than 300 meters away , one of which missed the target, but the other hit the port side of the ship. According to the statements of survivors, the ship was literally lifted into the air by the force. A huge fountain of water crashed onto the deck. Many people were knocked to the ground. The immediate explosion killed five people and injured a few more. Henderson immediately ordered the ship to be abandoned.

During the crossing there had been several emergency exercises with the passengers and everyone on board had been assigned a place in one of the lifeboats . As a result, the evacuation has reportedly been relatively orderly and panic-free. However, there was not enough time to properly lower all lifeboats into the water. In addition, the ship was still making during descent ride, and the list grew steadily. Due to the constant forward movement , several boats capsized when lowering or were flooded after touching the water. The rushing water drowned out the orders of the officers and the screams of the passengers. Some people jumped overboard and swam to the boats. SOS could still be radioed, but nine minutes after the attack, the California went down, tail first.

36 people drowned during or after the ship's sinking due to the crashed lifeboats. Captain Henderson remained until the end of the bridge and went down with his ship. But he came back to the surface and was saved. A total of 28 crew members, including the first officer, the ship's doctor and the purser , as well as 13 passengers, including two women and three children, were killed. The survivors, some of whom were injured, hypothermic and scantily clothed, were picked up by British patrol boats and brought ashore at around 8 p.m. in Queenstown , where they were looked after by the American Consul General in Queenstown, Wesley Frost. The boatswain, John A. Lee, had been the only American on the ship. He was one of the survivors. The townspeople and the local Red Cross helped with clothing, food and housing. At least 30 survivors had to be placed in hospitals. The attack without warning on an obvious passenger ship and any failure to provide assistance on the part of the submarine crew caused outrage in Great Britain.

Web links