Devonian
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The Devonian (I) was a transatlantic steamer of the British shipping company Leyland Line that was put into service in 1900 and was used in passenger and freight traffic between Great Britain and the USA . On August 21, 1917, the ship was sunk by a German submarine .
The ship
The 10,435 GRT steel-built steamship Devonian was built at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast , Northern Ireland and was launched on June 28, 1900. The 173.7 meter long and 18.1 meter wide passenger and cargo ship had a funnel, four masts and a single, four-bladed bronze propeller, and was powered by triple expansion steam engines that developed 847 nominal horsepower and allowed a top speed of 14 knots . The passenger accommodations were designed for 135 first-class travelers. Around 20,000 tons of freight could be loaded in the holds. The Devonian was the sister ship of the Winifredian (10,405 GRT), which was commissioned in 1899 .
The Devonian was completed on September 6, 1900 and ran a few days later on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Boston . She was the largest ship of the Leyland Line until then. The Devonian had a double bottom , ten watertight bulkheads and ballast tanks with a capacity of 4,384 tons. Up to 850 animals such as cattle or horses could be carried on the lower deck. The dining room, which could seat more than 100 people, was located on the bridge deck. The smoking room, the music room and the library were located on the promenade deck . Only passenger cabins were located on the protective deck .
In October 1913, the Devonian took part in the rescue of the passengers of the burning ocean liner Volturno , along with other ships , and took dozens of people on board.
The Devonian hit the headlines in October 1914 when a former Titanic stewardess jumped to her death while crossing from Liverpool to Boston. On the evening of October 9, the steamer got into thick fog, which is why the crew operated the fog horn . 49-year-old Annie Robinson was on board as a passenger to visit her married daughter in the United States. Devonian officers reported that Robinson panicked over the foghorn and jumped overboard for fear of another shipwreck. Her absence was only noticed the following day. Robinson's body was never found.
Sinking
In the early morning of August 21, 1917, the Devonian ran with ordinary cargo under the command of Captain Alfred William Vincent Trant for another crossing from Liverpool to Boston. There were no passengers on board. A few hours after sailing, the steamer was sunk 20 nautical miles northeast of Tory Island off the coast of the Irish county of Donegal by the German submarine U 53 (Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose ) by torpedo fire. Two crew members died, the ship's carpenter and his assistant.