SS San Wilfrido (1914)
| Company type | Steam-powered tanker |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipping, Oil transport |
| Founded | February 1914 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Oil tanker services |
SS San Wilfrido was a British steam-powered tanker with a gross register tonnage of 6,458, launched in February 1914 and lost to a German naval mine within six months. Constructed by Armstrong Whitworth at their Low Walker yard on the River Tyne, she was built for the Eagle Oil Transport Co Ltd.
On 3 August 1914, San Wilfrido encountered a mine in the North Sea, sinking one day prior to Britain's official declaration of war against Germany. This incident marked the first naval casualty for Britain during the World War I.
This vessel was the initial of two Eagle Oil tankers named San Wilfrido. The second was originally the Empire ship Empire Cobbett, which Eagle Oil acquired and renamed San Wilfrido in 1946.[1]
Building
The tanker San Wilfrido was constructed by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Ltd at their Low Walker facility, bearing yard number 856. She was launched on 11 February 1914 and completed by April of the same year.[2]
She was the third vessel in a series of four sister ships.[3] Armstrong Whitworth had previously built San Urbano in 1913,[4] while Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company constructed San Valerio that same year.[5] The following year, Palmer's launched San Zeferino, just one day after Armstrong, Whitworth launched San Wilfrido.[6]
Measuring 420.3 ft (128.1 m), with a beam spanning 54.7 feet (16.7 m) and a depth of 32.6 feet (9.9 m), San Wilfrido had tonnages of Template:GRT, Template:NRT, and Template:DWT. She was propelled by a single screw driven by a quadruple expansion steam engine manufactured by Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company Ltd in Wallsend. The engine delivered 554 nominal horsepower, enabling a service speed of approximately 11 minutes (660 s) knots.[2]
Her UK official number was 136658, and she used the code letters JFHC.[7]
History
San Wilfrido typically transported around 8,000 tonnes of oil from her total capacity of 9,000 tonnes. The vessel was lost at sea merely four months following her launch.
Sinking
On 3 August 1914, San Wilfrido was voyaging in ballast from Hamburg to Portland. This journey was anticipated to last approximately two and a half days, after which the ship planned to continue to New Orleans.
While navigating the Elbe River roughly eight miles upstream from Brunsbüttel, permission was granted for her to proceed to Cuxhaven, located at the entrance to the North Sea. Due to the absence of a pilot vessel to guide her through the minefield near Cuxhaven, she attempted to navigate the customary channel independently. Harbour tugboat crews tried to alert San Wilfrido's captain about the imminent danger by shouting warnings. In response, the captain endeavored to avoid the mines by reversing at full speed. Nevertheless, around 4 p.m., a strong ebb tide pushed San Wilfrido into a minefield. The ship suffered three detonations that disabled her, marking her as the first British naval casualty of the conflict. The crew was subsequently taken prisoner by a German tugboat.
The British Consul-General stationed in Antwerp received notification and relayed this information to the British Admiralty, which then informed Lloyd's of London. When news of the sinking reached Britain on 7 August—four days after the incident—the country had already declared war on Germany.
Among her 44 crew members, most hailed from Tyneside, with three or four believed to be Londoners. The ship’s commanding officer was Captain CH Williams from Cardiff. Following their capture, the crew endured two days subsisting on raw herring before being relocated to the Ruhleben internment camp.
Equipped with a Marconi Company wireless telegraphy system, San Wilfrido had Ben Baxter as one of her wireless operators. While interned, Baxter crafted a model of the ship and later exhibited it at the Ruhleben Exhibition held at Central Hall Westminster. This model is currently preserved within the collections of the Imperial War Museum in London.
The wreckage of San Wilfrido was cleared from Cuxhaven in September 1920.
See also
- Glitra, recognized as the first British merchant vessel sunk by a submarine after hostilities commenced.
References
- ↑ "Steamers and Motorships". Lloyd's Register (PDF). Vol. I. London: Lloyd's Register. 1945. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "San Wilfrido". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ↑ Allen, Tony; Vleggeert, Nico (29 September 2013). "SS San Wilfrido (+1914)". Wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ↑ "San Urbano". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ↑ "San Valerio". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ↑ "San Zeferino". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ↑ Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen (1915). Mercantile Navy List. Board of Trade. p. 522. Retrieved 4 February 2021 – via Crew List Index Project.
External links
- "Monday 3 August 1914". Great War Lives Lost. – includes photograph depicting either San Wilfrido or one of her sister ships