SS Afric

Last updated

SS Afric, Hobart.jpg
Afric at Hobart, Tasmania
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameSS Afric
Owner White Star flaga.svg White Star Line
Builder Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Launched16 November 1898
Maiden voyage8 February 1899
FateSunk by SM UC-66, 12 February 1917
General characteristics
Class and type Jubilee-class ocean liner
Tonnage11,948  GRT
Length550 ft (167.6 m)
Beam63.3 ft (19.3 m)
Installed powerTwo four-cylinder quadruple-expansion steam engines
PropulsionTwo propellers
Speed13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) service speed
Capacity
  • 320 passengers
  • 15,000  DWT of cargo capacity

SS Afric was a steamship built for White Star Line by Harland and Wolff shipyards. She was of the Jubilee class, had a reported gross register tonnage of 11,948, and had a port of registry of Liverpool, England. [1] Afric was launched on November 16, 1898, and was involved in shipping between Liverpool and Australia. [2]

Contents

Afric was the first of five Jubillee-class ships built by White Star Line for their new service to Australia, the others were Medic, Persic, Runic and Suevic. Afric was a single-funnel liner with a capacity for 320 third-class passengers on three decks, she also had substantial cargo capacity with seven cargo holds, most of them refrigerated for the transport of Australian meat. [2] [3]

Service history

Afric made her maiden voyage on 8 February 1899, between Liverpool and New York; this was considered a test run, and when she returned she underwent further work to prepare her for her intended career on the Australia service. She entered service between Liverpool and Sydney via Cape Town on 9 September 1899. [2]

During the Boer War from 1900 to 1902, Afric was used to transport troops and horses to South Africa on the outbound part of her journey, returning them to the UK on the return journey. [2]

Following the conclusion of the war, Afric settled into the routine of normal peacetime service, which was mostly uneventful, except for one incident in November 1913 when she ran aground and became stuck on a sandbank in the River Mersey whilst leaving the Canada Dock at Liverpool. After several unsuccessful attempts to free her, she was eventually pulled off the sandbank by tugs at high tide after her cargo had been removed by barges to lighten the ship. [4]

Side view of Afric SS Afric.jpg
Side view of Afric

Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Afric was requisitioned by the Australian government in October 1914 for use as a troopship and was given the designation HMAT (His Majesty's Australian Transport) A19. In April/May 1915, she was refitted at Sydney to carry 549 troops and 500 horses. She completed six troopship voyages up to November 1916, [5] however on 12 February 1917 she was sunk in the English Channel after being torpedoed by the German submarine SM UC-66, whilst sailing outbound between Liverpool and Plymouth, 12 miles (19 km) south south-west of the Eddystone Lighthouse, [6] there were 145 survivors, but 22 people lost their lives. [2] [7]

Wreck

Footage of the wreck of Afric, filmed in 2012

The wreck lies at the position ( 49°59′N04°18′W / 49.983°N 4.300°W / 49.983; -4.300 ) at a depth of around 70 metres (229.7 feet), and has been filmed by divers. [8] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Star Line</span> British shipping company

The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between the British Empire and the United States. While many other shipping lines focused primarily on speed, White Star branded their services by focusing more on providing comfortable passages for both upper class travellers and immigrants.

SS <i>Ceramic</i>

SS Ceramic was an ocean liner built in Belfast for White Star Line in 1912–13 and operated on the Liverpool – Australia route. Ceramic was the largest ship serving the route until P&O introduced RMS Mooltan in 1923.

SS <i>Justicia</i> Large First World War troop ship, sunk in 1918

SS Justicia was a British troop ship that was launched in Ireland in 1914 and sunk off County Donegal in 1918. She was designed and launched as the transatlantic liner Statendam, a new flagship for the Holland America Line (NASM), but the outbreak of First World War delayed her completion. In 1915 NASM agreed to let the United Kingdom acquire her and have her completed as a troop ship.

MV <i>Georgic</i> (1931) Ocean liner Scrapped 1956

MV Georgic was the last ship built for the White Star Line before its merger with the Cunard Line. Built at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, she was the running mate of MV Britannic. Like Britannic, Georgic was a motorship, and not a steamer, fitted with a diesel powerplant. At the time of her launch in 1931, she was the largest British motorship.

SS <i>Medic</i>

SS Medic was a steamship built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the White Star Line which entered service in 1899. Medic was one of five Jubilee-class ocean liners built specifically to service the Liverpool–Cape Town–Sydney route. The ship's name pertained to the ancient Persian region of Media and was pronounced Mee-dic.

SS <i>Suevic</i> British and Norwegian Jubilee-class ocean liner

SS Suevic was a steamship built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the White Star Line. Suevic was the fifth and last of the Jubilee-class ocean liners, built specifically to service the Liverpool-Cape Town-Sydney route, along with her sister ship Runic. In 1907 she was wrecked off the south coast of England, but in the largest rescue of its kind, all passengers and crew were saved. The ship herself was deliberately broken in two, and a new bow was attached to the salvaged stern portion. Later serving as a Norwegian whaling factory ship carrying the name Skytteren, she was scuttled off the Swedish coast in 1942 to prevent her capture by ships of Nazi Germany.

SS <i>Cymric</i>

SS Cymric was a steamship of the White Star Line built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast and launched on 12 October 1897.

SS <i>Zealandic</i> (1911) British ocean liner

SS Zealandic was a British ocean liner initially operated by White Star Line. She was used both as a passenger liner and a cargo ship as well as serving during both world wars.

SS <i>Athenic</i>

SS Athenic was a British passenger liner built by Harland & Wolff shipyards for the White Star Line in 1901.

SS Nomadic was a steamship of the White Star Line. She was laid down in 1891, in yard 236 at Harland and Wolff Shipyards, Belfast, as a livestock carrier and completed on 14 April 1891.

SS <i>Vedic</i>

SS Vedic was an ocean liner for the White Star Line, built in 1917 by Harland and Wolff. She was immediately requisitioned as a troopship before she could begin passenger service due to the ongoing conflicts of World War One, for which she was extensively refitted.

SS <i>Persic</i>

SS Persic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line, built by Harland and Wolff in 1899. She was one of the five Jubilee-class ships built specifically to service the Liverpool–Cape Town–Sydney route. The voyage took six weeks.

SS <i>Delphic</i> (1897) Ocean liner of the White Star Line

SS Delphic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line, built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast and completed on 15 May 1897. She worked the New Zealand trade. She was a fairly slow ship primarily intended for transporting emigrants and goods to New Zealand. Despite this, she made her first crossings on the New York route before joining the route to New Zealand. For twenty years, her service on this route was uneventful, with the exception of troop transport missions during the Second Boer War.

SS Ionic was a cargo liner initially in service with White Star Line from 1883 until 1900. She was used on the company's joint route to New Zealand with the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line. She was sold to the Aberdeen Line in 1900 and renamed SS Sophocles, and was withdrawn for service in 1906 and scrapped in 1908.

SS <i>Westernland</i>

SS Westernland was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched as Regina in Scotland in 1917, renamed Westernland in 1929 and was scrapped in 1947. She began her career as a troop ship repatriating US troops after the Armistice of 11 November 1918. In the Second World War, Westernland served as a troop ship, repair ship and destroyer depot ship.

SS Malakand was a 7,653-gross register ton cargo liner built by Harland & Wolff in 1905 for the Brocklebank shipping line, the first of two Brocklebank Line ships named after the Malakand area of the Indian subcontinent.

The Delphic was a British freighter operated by the White Star Line, the company's second ship to bear this name. She was built by the Harland & Wolff shipyards in 1916 to serve the war effort under the name of War Icarus, belonging to the series of "Type G" cargo ships. Launched in September 1918 and commissioned in the following October, she was the only ship in the series to be completed before the end of the First World War. During this time, she was operated by a Liverpool company.

SS <i>Runic</i> (1900)

The SS Runic was a steamship built at Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the White Star Line which entered service in 1901. Runic was the fourth of five Jubilee-class ocean liners built for White Star's Australia service along with her sister ship SS Suevic, where she ran on the Liverpool–Cape Town–Sydney route. She served this route until she was requisitioned for use as a war transport between 1915 and 1919, before returning to the Australia service.

SS <i>American</i> (1895)

The SS American was a steamship built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, which entered service in 1895. the American was a combined cargo and passenger ship which was originally built for the West India and Pacific Steamship Company along with her sister ship the SS European. In 1904 she passed to the White Star Line and was renamed Cufic, the name she retained until she was sold to Italian ownership in 1924, after which she became known as Antartico then Maria Guilia until being scrapped in 1932.

Jubilee-class ocean liner

The Jubilee class were a group of five passenger and cargo ocean liners built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast, for the White Star Line, specifically for the White Star Line's service from the UK to Australia on the Liverpool–Cape Town–Sydney route. The five ships in order of the dates they entered service were:

References

  1. ↑ "Harland and Wolff – Shipbuilding and Engineering Works". www.theyard.info. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kerbrech, Richard De (2009). Ships of the White Star Line. Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 78–79. ISBN   978-0-7110-3366-5.
  3. ↑ "The S.S. Afric". Portland Guardian (Vic.: 1876 – 1953). 22 November 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "THE GROUNDING OF THE AFRIC". Daily Commercial News And Shipping List . No. 7127. New South Wales, Australia. 7 November 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "A19 AFRIC". Flotilla Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Afric". uboat.net. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "LINER AFRIC SUNK; 17 MEN MISSING; 12,000-Ton White Star Steamer Is Believed to Have Been in Admiralty Service. 145 OF CREW ARE LANDED American on Saxonian Reaches Queenstown Wounded;- Other Ships Sunk. Three Other Ships Sunk. BERLIN REPORTS SINKINGS. Tells of Destruction of Ten Vessels on Feb. 12. LINER AFRIC SUNK; 17 MEN MISSING THE RYNDAM GETS BACK. Was Near English Coast When She Was Ordered Back. TWO MORE CUNARDERS HERE. The Laconia and the Ascania Saw No Submarines on Their Way Over". The New York Times . 14 February 1917. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "White Star liner 'Afric' - underwater video". YouTube. FinnborgBraga. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.