![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Ultonia_photographed_at_sea_in_1898_or_1900.gif/300px-Ultonia_photographed_at_sea_in_1898_or_1900.gif) Ultonia photographed at sea in 1898 or 1900
|
History
|
United kingdom
|
Name
| SS
Ultonia
|
Namesake
| Latin
name for
Ulster
|
Owner
| Cunard Line
|
Builder
| C S Swan & Hunter
,
Wallsend on Tyne
|
Launched
| 4 June 1898
|
Fate
| Sunk by
U-53
on 27 June 1917
|
General characteristics
|
Tonnage
| 8,845
GRT
|
Length
| 500 ft (152 m)
|
Beam
| 57.4 ft (17 m)
|
Draught
| 33.9 ft (10 m)
|
Capacity
| 675
|
SS
Ultonia
was a British
passenger-cargo vessel
built in 1898 in
Wallsend-on-Tyne
by C. S. Swan & Hunter. It was sunk by a German torpedo in 1917.
History
[
edit
]
SS
Ultonia
launched on 4 June 1898, measuring 500 feet (150 m) by 57.4 feet (17.5 m) by 33.9 feet (10.3 m), 8,845 gross tonnage with engines by Sir C. Furness, Westgarth & Co, Middlesbrough. Originally launched for cargo and cattle, it was fitted with third-class accommodation for 675 passengers in 1899, launching its first passenger voyage on 28 February from
Liverpool
to
Queenstown
to
Boston
.
Departing Boston on one of these voyages on 5 August 1899, the
Ultonia
hit a ledge just outside the main channel of
Boston Harbor
at
Nantasket Roads
, which was the typical route at the time. This area is now called the Ultonia Ledge, located a mile and a half southeast of
Boston Light
, and is as shallow as 21 feet (6.4 m) at mean lower low water according to modern nautical charts. This event spurred the alteration of ships' courses in the area to avoid the ledge, the dredging of Nantasket Roads to a depth of 35 feet (11 m) to be safe for large steamships, and also the later dredging of the wider northern approach via President Roads, which is the now the main channel for large ships entering or exiting Boston Harbor.
[1]
In 1902, it was refitted to accommodate 120 second-class passengers, and 2,100 third-class passengers, increasing its tonnage to 10,402 gross. In 1915, it was refitted to carry up to 2,000 horses.
[2]
On 27 March 1917,
Ultonia
collided with the British
collier
SS
Don Benito
in the
Atlantic Ocean
(
49°35′N
6°44′W
/
49.583°N 6.733°W
/
49.583; -6.733
).
Don Benito
sank.
[3]
Sinking
[
edit
]
During
World War I
,
Ultonia
was torpedoed and sunk in the
Atlantic Ocean
190 miles from
Fastnet
,
Ireland
, on 27 June 1917 by the
Imperial German Navy
submarine
SM
U-53
under
Captain Hans Rose
. One life was lost in the attack.
[4]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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Current fleet
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Former ships
1840–1994
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For MoWT
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Years indicate year of entry into Cunard service.
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1917
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Shipwrecks
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Other incidents
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1917
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Shipwrecks
| |
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Other incidents
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48°25′00″N
11°23′00″W
/
48.4167°N 11.3833°W
/
48.4167; -11.3833