SS Megantic

Last updated

RMS Megantic Sepia.jpg
Megantic
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameMegantic
Namesake Lake Mégantic
OwnerOceanic Steam Navigation Co
Operator White Star flag NEW.svg White Star Line
Port of registry Liverpool
Route
Ordered1907
Builder Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number399
Launched10 December 1908
Completed3 June 1909
Maiden voyage17 June 1909
Refit1909, 1924
Identification
FateScrapped 1933
General characteristics
Type Ocean liner
Tonnage14,878  GRT, 9,183  NRT, 8,790  DWT
Displacement20,470 tons
Length550.4 ft (167.8 m) p/p
Beam67.3 ft (20.5 m)
Depth41.2 ft (12.6 m)
Decks3 decks, 2 partial decks
Installed power1,180 NHP
Propulsion
Speed17 knots (31 km/h)
Capacity
  • 1909:
  • 230 first class
  • 430 second class
  • 1,000 third class
  • 1919:
  • 325 first class
  • 260 second class
  • 550 third class
  • 1924:
  • 452 cabin class
  • 260 second class
  • 550 third class
Sensors and
processing systems

SS Megantic was a British transatlantic ocean liner that was built in Ireland and launched in 1908. She was one of a pair of sister ships that were ordered in 1907 by Dominion Line but completed for White Star Line.

Contents

Before the First World War her regular route was between Liverpool and Quebec City. She and her sister Laurentic were the largest ships on the route between Great Britain and Canada.

During the First World War, Megantic served as a troop ship from 1915.

Megantic was refitted in 1919 and 1924. In the 1920s and early 1930s her duties were a mixture of liner services and cruising. In 1928 Megantic's regular route was between Great Britain and New York.

Megantic was laid up in 1931 and scrapped in 1933.

Background

The Dominion Line operated a transatlantic liner service between Liverpool, Quebec, Montreal and Boston. [1] In 1902 the International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM) took over Dominion Line.

In 1905 the rival Allan Line introduced the World's first steam turbine ocean liners. RMS Victorian and Virginian were two of the swiftest ships on the route between Britain and Canada, and at more than 10,600  GRT each they were also the largest. The pair made such an impression that Allan Line won a valuable Canadian Government mail contract before the ships were even launched. [2]

From 1905 Allan Line's Victorian and Virginian provided strong competition between Liverpool and Quebec Cassier's magazine (1904) (14768635052).jpg
From 1905 Allan Line's Victorian and Virginian provided strong competition between Liverpool and Quebec

But like all of the earliest turbine ships, Victorian and Virginian had direct drive from their turbines to their propellers. On Virginian this caused cavitation. Virginian also acquired a reputation for rolling excessively in heavy seas. [3] Also, the earliest steam turbines used more bunker fuel than triple- or quadruple-expansion steam engines.

In 1907 Dominion Line responded by ordering a pair of liners from Harland and Wolff. [4] At almost 15,000  GRT each they would be larger than Victorian and Virginian, the largest ships in Dominion Line's fleet, and the largest ships on the route between Britain and Canada. [5]

Dominion Line planned to call the ships Alberta and Albany. But before the pair were completed, IMM transferred them to another of its subsidiaries, White Star Line, and they were renamed to conform with White Star naming policy. Alberta was launched as Laurentic, [6] and Albany was launched on 19 December 1908 months later as Megantic, [7] after Lake Mégantic in Quebec. [8]

Despite the change of owner, Laurentic and Megantic were still to serve the route between Liverpool and Montreal. They were White Star Line's first ships on the route. [9]

Building

Megantic SS Megantic.jpg
Megantic

Harland and Wolff built Megantic on slipway number seven of its South Yard in Belfast. [10] She was completed on 3 June 1909, [7] less than two months after Laurentic.

Laurentic was built with experimental combination of machinery which had a triple Propeller arrangement of a central turbine, and two four-cylinder triple-expansion engines that drove the port and starboard propellers, the exhaust steam from their low-pressure cylinders powered the turbine. [4]

However, Megantic was built with a conventional twin propeller installation driven by conventional quadruple-expansion engines, [7] to provide a direct comparison with Laurentic. Between them Megantic's engines produced 1,180 NHP [11] and gave her a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h). [12]

Laurentic produced 20 percent more power than Megantic for the same coal consumption. For the same power output, Laurentic's coal consumption was 12 to 15 percent less than Megantic's. This led IMM to specify a similar combination of two triple-expansion engines and one low-pressure turbine for the Olympic-class ocean liners that Harland and Wolff launched in 1910 and 1911. [13]

As built, Megantic had berths for 230 first class passengers, 430 second class and 1,000 third class. [10]

Service

The White Star and Dominion Lines provided two ships each to run a weekly joint service between Liverpool and Canada. The White Star ships were Laurentic and Megantic. The Dominion Line ships were the 10,000  GRT Canada and 7,000  GRT Dominion. [14] On 17 June 1909 Megantic left Liverpool on her maiden voyage. [10]

DCI Walter Dew (centre, in bowler hat) leading murder suspect HH Crippen ashore in 1910 Dewcrippen.jpg
DCI Walter Dew (centre, in bowler hat) leading murder suspect HH Crippen ashore in 1910

In July 1910 Metropolitan Police DCI Walter Dew arrested murder suspect Hawley Harvey Crippen and his lover Ethel Le Neve at Rimouski aboard the Canadian Pacific liner Montrose. [15] Dew repatriated Crippen and Le Neve to Britain aboard Megantic, reaching Liverpool on 28 August. [16]

By 1911 Megantic was equipped for wireless telegraphy, operating on the 300 and 600 metre wavelengths. Her call sign was MZC. [17] In March 1911 Megantic's Marconi Company wireless operator transmitted a signal 2,500 miles across the Atlantic to Poldhu Wireless Station in Cornwall. Previously the maximum range of Marconi transmitters aboard ships was thought to be about 600 miles. [18]

When the First World War began in 1914, White Star Line briefly put Megantic on its route between Liverpool and New York. [19] On 30 May 1915 she was on a westbound voyage from Liverpool to Montreal when a submarine chased her off the south coast of Ireland. The liner safely outpaced the submarine. [20]

On 6 April 1917 Megantic was requisitioned for government service. [10] She became a troop ship and carried members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force [21] (CEF) and United States Armed Forces. [22] After the Armistice she repatriated members of the CEF [22] and First Australian Imperial Force. [21]

1919 refit

In 1919 Megantic was refitted at Belfast. Her first class accommodation was increased to 325 berths, and her second and third class were reduced to 260 and 550 berths respectively. [10] White Star Line returned Megantic to her Liverpool – Canada route, with Dominion Line's Canada as her running mate. [23] In the off season she made cruises to the West Indies. [10]

Megantic at Millers Point, Sydney in 1920 Megantic Aberdeen Wharf Millers Point Sydney FG Wilkinson.jpg
Megantic at Millers Point, Sydney in 1920

In January 1920 Megantic made one voyage on White Star's joint service with Shaw, Savill & Albion Line, whose main route was between Britain and New Zealand. Later in 1920 she made one voyage to Sydney and Wellington in government service. [10]

1924 refit

In 1924 Megantic's first class accommodation was converted into 452 "cabin class" berths. In January 1927 the Admiralty chartered her and had her fitted out as a troop ship to take Royal Marines [24] to Shanghai. [10]

In February 1928 Megantic made a Caribbean cruise that included a call at La Guaira in Venezuela. [25] In March, White Star Line put her on the LondonLe HavreHalifax – New York route until the Saint Lawrence River thawed, and then transferred her to the route to Quebec and Montreal. [10]

In May 1929 Megantic was in King George V Dock, London when fire broke out in her number two hold. The hold was flooded to extinguish the fire. [26]

By 1930 Megantic's navigation equipment included wireless direction finding. [11] In 1930 and 1931 she operated economy cruises. [10]

On 20 July 1931 the Royal Mail Case opened at the Old Bailey, which led to the collapse of White Star Line's parent company. Megantic was laid up in the Firth of Clyde [21] off Rothesay. [10]

In 1933 White Star Line sold Megantic and Baltic to Japanese buyers for scrap. The sale was controversial because Japan was at war in Manchuria, and UK public opinion feared Japan could use the two liners as troop ships. [27] Megantic was sold that January, [21] arrived at Osaka on 7 May and was broken up at Kobe. [7]

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.

RMS <i>Cedric</i> British transatlantic liner

RMS Cedric was an ocean liner owned by the White Star Line. She was the second of a quartet of ships over 20,000 tons, dubbed the Big Four, and was the largest vessel in the world at the time of her entering service. Her career, peppered with collisions and minor incidents, took place mainly on the route from Liverpool to New York.

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.

SS <i>Akaroa</i> (1914) UK steam ocean liner

SS Akaroa was a UK steam ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship. She was launched in 1914 in Ireland as Euripides for Aberdeen Line. When new, she was the largest ship in the Aberdeen Line fleet.

SS <i>Cleveland</i>

SS Cleveland was a German transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in 1908 and scrapped in 1933. Cleveland was built for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) as a sister ship for Cincinnati.

SS <i>Laurentic</i> (1908) British ocean liner sunk by mines in 1917

SS Laurentic was a British transatlantic ocean liner that was built in Belfast, Ireland, and launched in 1908. She is an early example of a ship whose propulsion combined reciprocating steam engines with a low-pressure steam turbine. Laurentic was one of a pair of sister ships that were ordered in 1907 by the Dominion Line but completed for the White Star Line. Her regular route was between Liverpool and Quebec City.

SS <i>Laurentic</i> (1927) Steam ocean liner

The second SS Laurentic was a 18,724 GRT steam ocean liner built in 1927 by Harland and Wolff, Belfast, for White Star Line. She was the last steamship to be built for White Star Line.

SS Montrose was a British merchant steamship that was built in 1897 and wrecked in 1914. She was built as a cargo liner for Elder, Dempster & Company. In 1903 the Canadian Pacific Railway bought her and had her converted into a passenger liner.

SS <i>Statendam</i> (1898) Ocean liner operated by Holland America Line, Allan Line and Canadian Pacific

SS Statendam was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in Ireland in 1898 for Holland America Line. She was the first of several ships in the company's history to be called Statendam. She was NASM's first ship of more than 10,000 GRT, and she was the largest ship in the company's fleet until Potsdam was completed in 1900.

RMS <i>Victorian</i>

RMS Victorian was the world's first turbine-powered ocean liner. She was designed as a transatlantic liner and mail ship for Allan Line and launched in 1904.

SS <i>Doric</i> (1922)

SS Doric was a British ocean liner operated by White Star Line. She was put into service in 1923. She was the second ship of the company to bear this name. Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, she was the company's second and last ship to be exclusively powered by turbines, after SS Vedic.

SS <i>Rochambeau</i> French transatlantic liner

SS Rochambeau was a French transatlantic ocean liner of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). She was launched in 1911 and was the first French ship to be powered by a combination of reciprocating steam engines and steam turbines.

SS <i>Themistocles</i> (1911)

SS Themistocles was a UK steam ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship. She was launched in 1910 in Ireland and scrapped in 1947 in Scotland. She was built for Aberdeen Line, White Star Line managed her for a few years, and she spent the latter part of her career with Shaw, Savill & Albion Line.

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>Scandinavian</i>

The SS Scandinavian was a steamship built at Harland & Wolff in Belfast which entered service as an ocean liner in 1898. The ship changed names and owners several times; she was originally built for the Dominion Line and was known as New England, in 1903 she was transferred to the White Star Line and renamed Romanic. In 1912 she was sold to the Allan Line and renamed Scandinavian, the name which she retained for the rest of her career.

SS <i>Otaki</i> (1908) New Zealand cargo steamship

SS Otaki was a New Zealand Shipping Company refrigerated cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1908 and sunk by a German merchant raider in 1917.

SS <i>Infanta Isabel de Borbon</i> Steam ocean liner, built in Scotland for Spanish service to the River Plate

SS Infanta Isabel de Borbon was a steam ocean liner and mail ship launched in 1912 in Scotland and operated by the Compañía Transatlántica Española (CTE). She and her sister ship Reina Victoria-Eugenia represented a significant modernisation of CTE's fleet of ageing and obsolescent ships.

SS <i>Demosthenes</i> (1911)

SS Demosthenes was a UK steam ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship. She was launched in 1911 in Ireland for Aberdeen Line and scrapped in 1931 in England. In the First World War she was an Allied troop ship.

RMS <i>Orama</i> (1911) Ocean liner of the Orient Lne

RMS Orama was a British steam ocean liner and Royal Mail Ship. She was launched in 1911 for the Orient Steam Navigation Company. When new, she was the largest liner sailing between Great Britain and Australia.

References

  1. Dowling 1909, p. 306.
  2. "Canada gets turbine ships" . The New York Times . 29 January 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  3. Ljungström, Henrik (23 March 2018). "Virginian". The Great Ocean Liners. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 knjazmilos. "Laurentic I". Titanic-Titanic.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. "Laurentic (I)". White Star Line History Website. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  6. "Laurentic". Shipping and Shipbuilding. Tees-Built Ships. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Megantic". Shipping and Shipbuilding. Tees-Built Ships. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  8. "Megantic". White Star Line Ships. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. "Welcome to the Laurentic" . The New York Times. 17 April 1909. p. 3. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Megantic". Harland and Wolff. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. 1 2 "Steamers & Motorships". Lloyd's Register (PDF). Vol. II. London: Lloyd's Register. 1930. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. Harnack 1930, p. 463.
  13. De Kerbrech 2009, pp. 133–137.
  14. Newman, Jeff; Baber, Mark. "R.M.S. Laurentic (I)". Great Ships. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  15. "Report by Chief of Police" . The New York Times. 30 July 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  16. "Crippen in English prison" . The New York Times. 28 August 1910. p. 23. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  17. The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1913, p. 256.
  18. "Sends wireless 2,500 miles" . The New York Times. 26 March 1911. p. 1. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. Newman, Jeff; Baber, Mark. "R.M.S. Megantic". Great Ships. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  20. "Megantic escapes pursuing submarine" . The New York Times. 31 May 1915. p. 3. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Japanese to buy the Megantic; White Star liner to be junked" . The New York Times. 17 January 1933. p. 39. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Get wireless from King" . The New York Times. 18 November 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  23. Wilson 1956, p. 36.
  24. "Megantic to carry troops" . The New York Times. 21 January 1927. p. 4. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  25. "Tourists forbidden to enter Caracas" . The New York Times. 29 February 1928. p. 2. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  26. "Liner afire at London" . The New York Times. 2 May 1929. p. 18. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  27. Wilson 1956, p. 194.

Bibliography