White Star Line - Fleet Events

Fleet Events

• On 21 January 1854 Tayleur wrecked off Lambay Island, with the loss of 380 lives, out of 652 on board.
• In 1873 the Atlantic was wrecked near Halifax, costing 535 lives.
• In 1893 Naronic vanished on the Atlantic ocean with 74 passengers and crew after departing Liverpool for New York. Wreckage found from her included deck spars and at least two lifeboats, but no trace of her crew. Her wreck has never been found.
• In 1907 Suevic ran aground off the southwest coast of England, but in the largest rescue of its kind, all 456 passengers and 141 crewmembers were rescued. The ship was later deliberately broken in two, with the stern half being rebuilt with a new bow.
• In 1909 the Republic foundered off the New England coast after a collision with the Italian liner SS Florida. Four lives were lost in the collision and the ship remained afloat for over 39 hours before foundering. The remainder of the passengers were rescued.
• In September 1911 Olympic was involved in a collision with the warship Hawke in the Solent, badly damaging both ships.
• On 25 March 1912 'Abdu'l-Baha boarded the Celtic at Ramaleh, Alexandria in Egypt and sailed via Italy to America. 'Abdu'l-Baha disembarked on 11 April 1912 in New York City
• On 14/15 April 1912 Titanic was lost after colliding with an iceberg, taking 1,514 passengers with her.
• The first White Star ship lost during World War I was Arabic, torpedoed off the Old Head of Kinsale Ireland on 19 August 1915 killing 44.
• In 1915 the Ionic is narrowly missed by a German torpedo in the Mediterranean Sea. No lives were lost.
• On 28 June 1915 the Armenian, a vessel built for the Leyland Line but leased to the White Star Line, was sunk by a German torpedo fired by U24 20 miles off the coast of Cornwall, carrying a cargo of 1,400 mules. 29 crew (and all the mules) were lost.
• On 3 May 1915 the former SS Germanic (then in service as a Turkish troop transport) was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS E14. The ship survived the attack with no fatalities.
• In May 1916 SS Ceramic was narrowly missed by two torpedoes from unidentified U-boat in Mediterranean Sea.
• In 1916 the Cymric was torpedoed 3 times and sunk off the southern coast of Ireland by U-20, noted as the same submarine responsible for the tragic sinking of the Lusitania the year before. Five lives were lost and the ship stayed afloat for almost three days before foundering.
• On November 21, 1916, the second sister ship of Titanic, HMHS Britannic, was lost (cause of sinking unknown although it is believed to be a mine or torpedo) in the Kea Channel of the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece. It sank in 57 minutes with the loss of 30 lives and was the largest vessel sunk in the war.
• On 25 January 1917 SS Laurentic struck two mines laid by German submarine U-80 and sank with a loss of 354 lives.
• In May 1917 Afric was torpedoed and sunk by the German coastal minelayer sub, UC-66, in English Channel, killing 22 crew members.
• In June 1917 SS Ceramic was narrowly missed by one torpedo from unidentified U-boat in English Channel.
• In August 1917 SS Delphic was torpedoed 135 miles off Bishop Rock by German U-boat UC-72 and sank with the loss of five lives.
• On 12 May 1918, the Olympic rammed and sank the U-boat U-103 which had tried, and failed, to torpedo it. The torpedo actually struck Olympic but failed to detonate. However several bow plates on Olympic were dented from the collision with the U-boat. Later, while the Olympic was in Dry Dock, a large circular-shaped dent was found in the side of her hull, appearing to be the same size as the head of the standard torpedoes used by the German U-Boats.
• On 19–20 July 1918 SS Justicia (owned by the British Government and managed by White Star) was torpedoed twice by U-46 but she remained afloat. Later in the same day, it was torpedoed two more times by U-46 and again managed to stay afloat. The next morning, as it was towed by HMS Sonia, it was torpedoed two more times by U-124 and finally sank, killing 16 crew members.
• In September 1918 SS Persic was torpedoed by U-87 off of the Scilly Islands, but was able to limp off and outrun the sub. It was towed in and repaired, resuming its service.
• In October 1917 RMS Celtic ran up on a mine laid by U-88 near Cobh, Ireland, killing 17. It was repaired and put back into military service. In June 1918, it was torpedoed by UB-77 in the Irish Sea, killing 7. Once again, it was able to escape the sub and limp in to port with her own steam. It was repaired and once again put back into service, serving through the remainder of the war without incident.
• On 15 May 1934, while steaming in a fog, the Olympic rammed the Lightship Nantucket, sinking it and killing seven of the crew.
• In November 1940 SS Laurentic was torpedoed and sunk by U-99 off Northern Ireland with the loss of 49 lives.