SS Cestrian

Last updated

SS Cestrian.jpg
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameCestrian
Namesake demonym of Chester
Owner F Leyland & Co
Port of registry Liverpool
RouteLiverpool – Boston
Builder Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number296
Launched21 September 1895
Completed5 March 1896
Maiden voyage11 March 1896
Identification
FateSunk by torpedo, 24th June 1917
General characteristics
Type Cargo liner
Tonnage8,761  GRT, 5,711  NRT
Length512.5 ft (156.2 m)
Beam59.2 ft (18.0 m)
Depth35.0 ft (10.7 m)
Decks3
Installed power718 NHP
Propulsion
Sail planfour-masted schooner
Speed13 knots (24 km/h)
Capacity
  • 50 passengers
  • 900 head of cattle
Notes sister ships: Victorian , Armenian

SS Cestrian was a British cargo liner that was launched in Ireland in 1895. Leyland Line owned and operated her throughout her career. For most of her career her regular route was across the North Atlantic between Liverpool and Boston, and she carried cattle from Boston to Liverpool. On a few occasions she served New York instead of Boston.

Contents

She carried troops and horses in the Second Boer War. In the 1910s she made a few voyages to the Gulf Coast of the United States. She carried donkeys, horses and troops in the First World War. A U-boat sank her in the Aegean in 1917.

Building and registration

In 1895 Harland & Wolff in Belfast launched three cargo liners for Leyland Line. Yard number 291 was launched on 6 July as Victorian , and completed on 31 August. [1] Yard number 292 was launched on 25 July as Armenian, and completed on 19 September. [2] Yard number 296 was launched on 21 September as Cestrian, and completed on 5 March 1896. [3]

Cestrian's registered length was 512.5 ft (156.2 m), her beam was 59.2 ft (18.0 m), and her depth was 35.0 ft (10.7 m). [4] She had capacity for at least 900 head of cattle [5] and 50 passengers. [6] Her tonnages were 8,761  GRT and 5,711  NRT. When new, Victorian, Armenian, and Cestrian were noted for being of "exceptionally large tonnage" among newly built ships, second only to White Star Line's Georgic. [7] Cestrian had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine that was rated at 718 NHP [4] and gave her a speed of about 13 knots (24 km/h). [3] She also had four masts, and could be rigged as a schooner.

Leyland registered Cestrian at Liverpool. Her United Kingdom official number was 105372 and her code letters were PGDH. [8]

1890s

Sister ship Armenian SS Armenian.jpg
Sister ship Armenian

On 11 March 1896 Cestrian left Liverpool on her maiden voyage, which was to Boston. [3] Her Master was Captain Trant, who was Commodore of the Leyland fleet. [9] Liverpool – Boston was her regular scheduled route. Her cargoes to Boston included wool and Egyptian cotton. [10]

On 22 May 1898 Cestrian left Liverpool for Boston with 28 passengers. On 27 May she was steaming at reduced speed through fog when she struck an iceberg at position 43°40′N48°15′W / 43.667°N 48.250°W / 43.667; -48.250 . The collision crushed and twisted her bow on her port side for a distance of 20 feet (6 m). Captain Trant ordered her lifeboats swung out on their davits, but she remained afloat, and she reached Boston on 31 May. [11] [12]

Second Boer War

On 23 November 1899 the Admiralty chartered Cestrian as Transport Number 71 for the Second Boer War. [13] E Thmas had succeeded Captain Trant as her Master. She was engaged on 1 December, and on the afternoon of 21 December she left Southampton carrying 28 officers, two warrant officers, 764 men, and 479 horses. They included 165 men and 161 horses of the 14th King's Hussars; 179 men, 196 horses six field guns and an ammunition train of 11 vehicles of the Royal Horse Artillery; 210 men of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Scots Fusiliers; 50 men of the Royal Welch Fusiliers; 25 men of the Post Office Corps; and a party of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). On 28 December she called at Las Palmas; on 6 January she called at Durban in Natal; and on 10 January she reached Cape Town in Cape Colony. [14] [15] [16]

On 23 January the Admiralty returned Cestrian to her owners. She had been chartered for 53 days, of which 21 were at sea. Her charter was the shortest of all of the transport ships in that war. For this, the Admiralty paid Leyland £49,845 for the charter, fittings, bunkering, and port dues. [14]

By May 1900 Cestrian was back on her merchant route between Liverpool and Boston. [17] On 7 July she left New York on a new service, carrying passengers [18] and 200 head of cattle. [19] However, by 5 September she was back on her route between Liverpool and Boston. [20]

The Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS Szigetvar SMS Szigetvar NH 87379.jpg
The Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS Szigetvár

On 15 April 1902 Cestrian arrived in Boston, where the Admiralty chartered her again. [21] On 8 May she left Halifax, Nova Scotia, carrying the 3rd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles and two squadrons of the 4th Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles. [22] As she left port, the Austro-Hungarian Navy cruiser SMS Szigetvár dipped her flag in salute. [23] Cestrian called at Cape Town on 30–31 May, and reached Durban on 4 June. [22] None of them saw active service. [24] On 1 July she re-embarked 40 officers and 1,599 men of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions, Canadian Mounted Rifles; on 2 July she left Point Natal; and on 29 July she reached Halifax. [25]

On 12 September 1902 Cestrian left South Africa carrying 1,880 officers and men. They included 17 officers and 519 men of the 3rd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment; 17 officers and 532 men of the 3rd Battalion, the Essex Regiment; 17 officers and 524 men of the 4th Battalion, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers; three officers and 85 men of U Battery, Royal Horse Artillery; two officers and 66 men of the Royal Field Artillery; one RAMC surgeon, and two civilian surgeons. [26] She called at Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland on 2 October, and reached Southampton on 5 October. [27] By 30 October Cestrian was in Boston, back on her regular route. [28]

1900s

By November 1903 the cargo holds of Cestrian and several other Leyland ships had been fitted with an electric fan ventilation system. This could keep them cool enough to carry cargoes such as apples. It could also be used to keep the holds at a temperature comfortable for cattle. [29] In August 1904 Cestrian carried a record cargo of 1,157 head of cattle. [30]

By 1907 Cestrian seems also to have had some refrigerated capacity, as at Liverpool that November she landed 1,420 boxes of pork; 1,739 boxes of beef; and 1,651 quarters of beef, as well as 899 head of live cattle. [5] On 18 December that year she left New York for London carrying 750 head of cattle and 1,400 quarters of beef. [31] On 3 January 1908 she left London, and on 16 January she arrived in New York again. [32] By August 1908 she was back on her usual route between Liverpool and Boston. [33]

1910s

By 1910 Cestrian was equipped with wireless telegraphy, supplied and operated by the Marconi Company. [34] In the 1910s Cestrian's work became more varied. In late September or early October 1912 she left Galveston, Texas carrying 24,500 bales of cotton for Liverpool. [35] On 10 October 1913 she left Pensacola, Florida for New Orleans. [36]

On 13 December 1913 Cestrian passed Sand Key heading west into the Gulf of Mexico. [37] On her return west on 24 December she rescued the Master and all eight crew of the British barquentine Malwa, which was foundering in a heavy sea. USRC Miami took the survivors off Cestrian, and on 26 December landed them at Key West, Florida. [38] On 26 December Cestrian passed Sand Key again returning east. [39]

By 1914 Cestrian's wireless call sign was MHL. [40] On 28 March 1914 Cestrian left Liverpool for New York, where she was due on 11 April. [41] On 9 April she radioed to that she was 500 nautical miles (930 km) east of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. [42]

First World War

By 8 August 1914 the Admiralty had either requisitioned or chartered Cestrian for war service. [43] On 2 February 1915 she left New Orleans for Avonmouth carrying about 1,000 jacks to breed mules for war service. Between October 1914 and February 1915, an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 mules had been exported through New Orleans to Britain. [44]

The Cestrian sinking after being torpedoed SS Cestrian sinking.jpg
The Cestrian sinking after being torpedoed

In June 1917 Cestrian left Salonica (now Thessaloniki) in Greece with horses and 800 troops for Alexandria in Egypt. Two warships escorted her. At 09:30 hrs on 24 June UB-42 torpedoed her in the Aegean 4 nautical miles (7 km) southeast of Skyros, [45] [46] [47] killing her Fourth Engineer and two stokers. [48] "Splendid discipline" ensured that all her troops and the remainder of her crew abandoned ship without further loss of life. She sank at 14:00 hrs. [49]

Related Research Articles

SS Wardha was a merchant steamship that was built in Scotland in the 1880s and scrapped in Italy in 1923. She was one of a pair of sister ships that were designed to carry cotton, but completed for the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) to carry sugar. In 1899 she carried troops and cavalry horses for the Second Boer War. In the 1900s she took Indian indentured labourers to British Guiana and Fiji. From 1913 onward she passed through a succession of Italian owners, but kept her original name.

RMS <i>Etruria</i>

RMS Etruria was a transatlantic ocean liner built by John Elder & Co of Glasgow, Scotland in 1884 for Cunard Line. Etruria and her sister ship Umbria were the last two Cunarders that were fitted with auxiliary sails. Both ships were among the fastest and largest liners then in service. Etruria was completed in March 1885, twelve weeks after Umbria, and entered service on the Liverpool – New York route.

SS <i>Mount Temple</i> Passenger cargo steamship built in 1901

Mount Temple was a passenger cargo steamship built in 1901 by Armstrong Whitworth & Company of Newcastle for Elder, Dempster & Co Ltd of Liverpool to operate as part of its Beaver Line. The ship was shortly afterwards acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway.Although nearby, it did not assist the Titanic during its time of crisis, nor respond to its repeated stress flare signals.

USS <i>Newport News</i> (AK-3) German-built cargo liner

USS Newport News (AK-3) was a cargo liner that was launched in Germany in 1903 as St. Jan. She was renamed Odenwald in 1907 when she changed owners, and Newport News in 1917 when the United States seized her. She was renamed Arctic in 1925, and scrapped in 1937.

SS <i>Empire Bittern</i> World War II merchant ship of the United Kingdom

Empire Bittern was a steamship, built as a livestock-carrying cargo ship in 1902 at Belfast, Ireland as Iowa for the White Diamond Steamship Company Ltd of Liverpool. The ship was sold to the Hamburg America Line and renamed Bohemia in 1913.

SS <i>Abessinia</i> (1900) German steamship and British recreational dive site

SS Abessinia was a cargo steamship of the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). She was built in North East England in 1900, and wrecked in North East England in 1921. Fron 1907 to 1912 she traded between Hamburg, the West Coast of the United States, and the British Columbia Coast. In 1913 she survived a storm that swept away her rudder and disabled her propulsion in the North Atlantic. She spent the First World War in Chile. She is now a wreck diving site in the Farne Islands.

SS <i>Lapland</i> Early 20th century ocean liner

SS Lapland was a steam ocean liner built in Ireland for the Belgian Red Star Line, as Red Star's flagship, similar in appearance to the fellow liners SS Samland, SS Gothland and SS Poland, but far larger. She was a half sister to White Star Line's "Big Four." They were similar in many ways, such as the island bridge, 4 masts, 2 funnels. But Lapland had a less luxurious interior.

RFA <i>Maine</i> (1902) Hospital ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Maine was a hospital ship of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary, that served during the First World War and the Second World War.

SS <i>Polar Chief</i> British merchant steamship

SS Polar Chief was a merchant steamship that was built in England in 1897 and scrapped in Scotland in 1952. In her 55-year career she had previously been called Montcalm, RFA Crenella, Crenella, Rey Alfonso, Anglo-Norse and Empire Chief. Early in the First World War she spent eight months pretending to be the battleship HMS Audacious.

SS <i>Armenian</i> British steamship sunk in 1915

SS Armenian was a British cargo liner that was launched in Ireland in 1895. In her first few years she carried cattle from Boston to Liverpool. From 1903 she carried cattle from New York to Liverpool. Leyland Line owned her throughout her career, but White Star Line managed her from 1903. She carried prisoners of war in the Second Boer War, and horses and mules in the First World War.

SS <i>Russian</i> (1895) British steamship sunk in 1915

SS Russian was a British cargo liner that was launched in Ireland in 1895 as Victorian. In her first few years she carried cattle from Boston to Liverpool. From 1903 she carried cattle from New York to Liverpool. From 1908 she traded between the Gulf Coast of the United States and Liverpool. Leyland Line owned her throughout her career, but White Star Line managed her from 1903. She was renamed Russian in 1914.

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 Aztec was a cargo steamship that was built in England in 1894 as Canterbury. She was renamed Aztec when she changed owners in 1895. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company bought her in 1897. In March 1917 she was the first United States merchant ship to be defensively armed in response to the Central Powers' attacks on neutral US shipping in the First World War.

SS <i>Monterey</i> (1897)

Monterey was a cargo schooner-rigged steamer built in 1897 by the Palmer's Ship Building & Iron Co of Jarrow for Elder, Dempster & Co. of Liverpool to serve on their cross-Atlantic routes.

SS <i>Langton Grange</i> (1896)

Langton Grange was a refrigerated steam cargo ship built in 1896 by the Workman, Clark & Co. of Belfast for Houlder Brothers & Co. of London to transport meat and other produce from Australia and South America to United Kingdom.

Driver was a clipper ship, constructed for David Ogden et al in 1854 at Newburyport, Massachusetts. She sailed between New York and Liverpool carrying immigrants to the US for the Red Cross Line. She was lost at sea with no known survivors after setting sail from Liverpool 12 February 1856. 377 died.

SS <i>Winifredian</i> British cargo steamship

SS Winifredian was a British cargo liner that was launched in Ireland in 1899. She was designed to carry a large number of cattle or other livestock, and a smaller number of passengers. When she was built she had a small amount of refrigerated space in her holds. This was increased twice in the first 15 years of her career. In the Second Boer War and the First World War she carried troops and horses. She survived striking a mine in 1917. She spent her whole career with Frederick Leyland & Co, mostly on a scheduled route between Liverpool and Boston. She was scrapped in Italy in 1929.

Anglo-African was a steam cargo ship built in 1900 by the Short Brothers of Sunderland for Lawther, Latta & Co. of London with intention of operating on their Australian routes. The vessel operated mostly on South America to North America route during her career and was wrecked on one of her regular voyages in January 1909.

SS <i>Devonian</i> (1900) British cargo steamship sunk in 1917

SS Devonian was a British cargo liner that was launched in Ireland in 1900. She was designed to carry a large number of cattle or other livestock, and a smaller number of passengers. When she was built she had a small amount of refrigerated space in her holds. This was increased twice in her career. She spent her whole career with Frederick Leyland & Co, mostly on a scheduled route between Liverpool and Boston.

SS <i>Vigilancia</i> US steamship sunk in the First World War

SS Vigilancia was a merchant steamship that was built in Pennsylvania in 1890. She sailed between New York and Brazil via the West Indies until 1893, when her original owners went bankrupt. The New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company, commonly known as Ward Line, owned her from 1894 until 1914, and ran her between New York and Mexico via Cuba. In 1898 she was a troopship in the Spanish–American War.

References

  1. ↑ "Victorian". Harland & Wolff The Yard. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "Armenian". Harland & Wolff The Yard. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cestrian". Harland & Wolff The Yard. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 Lloyd's Register 1896, CER–CEY.
  5. 1 2 "Roast Beef of Old England". The Evening Star . Washington, DC. 18 November 1907. p. 11. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  6. ↑ Haws 1979, p. 121.
  7. ↑ "Wharf and wave". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser . Honolulu. 17 April 1896. p. 8. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  8. ↑ Mercantile Navy List 1897, p. 61.
  9. ↑ "The Cestrian at Boston". The Providence News. Providence, RI. 24 March 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  10. ↑ "Cestrian Lands Big Cargo at Boston". The Daily Kennebec Journal . Augusta, ME. 9 April 1897. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  11. ↑ "Disasters". The Daily Kennebec Journal. Augusta, ME. 9 April 1897. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  12. ↑ "Runs into an iceberg". Mower County Transcript. Lansing, MN. 20 July 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  13. ↑ "To carry English troops". The Evening Times . Washington, DC. 25 November 1899. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  14. 1 2 C, Neville (27 October 2013). "No. 71 – Cestrian". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  15. ↑ "Shipping records - December 1899". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  16. ↑ "Maurice: History – Vol 1: Appendix 9 - Reinforcements Landed In South Africa Up To The 13th Of February, 1900, Other Than Those Given In Appendices 1. and 7". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  17. ↑ "Help Wanted—Male". Worcester Spy . Boston, MA. 20 April 1900. p. 9. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  18. ↑ "New transatlantic service". The Arizona Republican . Phoenix, AZ. 8 July 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  19. ↑ "Live stock market". New-York Tribune . 10 July 1900. p. 13. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  20. ↑ "President Clark Returns". Waterbury Evening Democrat. Waterbury, CT. 5 September 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  21. ↑ "News nuggets". The Daily Kennebec Journal. Augusta, ME. 17 April 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  22. 1 2 Spaniard (July 2014). "3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th Regts' Canadian Mounted Rifles, South African War Part I". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  23. ↑ "Canadial soldiers go to war". The Sun . New York. 9 May 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  24. ↑ "Short telegrams". The Elk Mountain Pilot. Irwin, CO. 5 August 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  25. ↑ "Shipping records - July 1902". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  26. ↑ "Shipping records - September 1902". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  27. ↑ "Shipping records - September 1902". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  28. ↑ "Arrival of ocean steamships". The Providence News. Providence, RI. 30 October 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  29. ↑ "Feeding the World". The Wichita Daily Eagle . Wichita, KS. 21 November 1903. p. 9. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  30. ↑ "Boston Markets". The Wyndham County Reformer. Brattleboro, VT. 12 August 1904. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  31. ↑ "Livestock market". New-York Tribune. 19 December 1907. p. 11. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  32. ↑ "Shipping news". New-York Tribune. 17 January 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  33. ↑ "Foreign cattle trade". The Daily Kennebec Journal. Augusta, ME. 12 August 1908. p. 10. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  34. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1910, List of vessels fitted with installation of wireless telegraphy.
  35. ↑ "New high water mark". Greene County Herald. Leakesville, MI. 4 October 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  36. ↑ "Harbor and marine news". The Pensacola Journal . Pensacola, FL. 12 October 1913. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  37. ↑ "Harbor and marine news". The Pensacola Journal. Pensacola, FL. 15 December 1913. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  38. ↑ "Shipwrecked crew rescued from death". El Paso Herald . El Paso, TX. 27 December 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  39. ↑ "Harbor and marine news". The Pensacola Journal. Pensacola, FL. 27 December 1913. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  40. ↑ The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1914, p. 386.
  41. ↑ "Due at New York". Pertha Amboy Evening News. Perth Amboy, NJ. 10 April 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  42. ↑ "By Marconi Wireless" . The New York Times . 10 April 1914. p. 19. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Times Machine.
  43. ↑ "Many liners now nearing safety". New-York Tribune. 8 August 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  44. ↑ "England buys a thousand jacks". Birmingham Age-Herald . Birmingham, AL. 3 February 1915. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Library of Congress.
  45. ↑ "British Merchant Ships Lost to Enemy Action. Part 2 of 3 – January–August 1917 in date order". Naval-History.net. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  46. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Cestrian". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  47. ↑ "Leyland liner is sunk" . The New York Times. 8 July 1917. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2024– via Times Machine.
  48. ↑ "SS Cestrian (+1917)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  49. ↑ Corbett & Newbolt 1928 [ page needed ]

Bibliography

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.