 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Route |
|
| Builder | Harland & Wolff |
| Yard number | 540 |
| Launched | 19 September 1918 |
| Completed | 31 October 1918 |
| In service | 1918 |
| Out of service | 1948 |
| Fate | Scrapped July 1948 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type G freighter |
| Tonnage | 8,002 GRT |
| Length | 450 ft (140 m) |
| Beam | 58.4 ft (17.8 m) |
| Installed power | 2 × triple expansion steam engines |
| Propulsion | 2 propellers |
| Speed | 12.5–13 knots (23.2–24.1 km/h; 14.4–15.0 mph) |
Delphic was a British freighter operated by theWhite Star Line, the company's second ship to bear this name. She was built by theHarland & Wolff shipyards in 1916 to serve the war effort under the name ofWar 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 theFirst World War. During this time, she was operated by a Liverpool company.
In 1919, she was bought by theAtlantic Transport Line, which renamed herMesaba and operated her for six years. She was then transferred to Atlantic's sister company, White Star, in 1925, and renamedDelphic, to replace another cargo ship of the same type that had been damaged the previous year,Bardic. For the next eight years, the ship served on the Australian service. In 1933, the company, preparing to merge with theCunard Line, sold off its now unwanted ships.Delphic was sold, along with sister shipGallic, to theClan Line which renamed herClan Farquhar. She continued to operate on the route to Australia until she was withdrawn for scrapping in 1948, after a total of thirty years of service.
In 1916, in the middle of the First World War, theHarland & Wolff shipyard received orders for a series of 22 so-called "Type G" freighters to serve the war effort by transporting goods. Among those built in theBelfast yard wasWar Icarus, which waslaunched on 19 September 1918, and delivered the following October. It was then, very briefly, managed by theBooth Line[1] on behalf of theShipping Controller.War Icarus was the only ship of its class to enter service before the end of hostilities.[2]
In May 1919, the ship, no longer required by the government, was sold to the Atlantic Transport Line and renamedMesaba.[3] This was the second ship of this name for the company, which lost its firstMesaba a few months earlier when it was sunk byUB-118.[3] The company belonged to theInternational Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM), a trust which managed several shipping companies. One of them, the White Star Line, had acquired two type G cargo ships in 1919,Bardic andGallic, which were used on the route to Australia.[4] However, in 1924,Bardic ran aground and was badly damaged.[5] In order to replace the vessel,Mesaba was transferred to White Star after being overhauled at the Harland & Wolff yards.[6]
RenamedDelphic, the second company ship bearing this name, the original being apassenger-cargo liner of 1897,[7] the ship served Australia as a replacement forBardic, while the latter was repaired and assigned to another company in IMM.[8] By 1933,Delphic andGallic were no longer required by the company, which was about to merge with theCunard Line.Delphic was sold in October to the Clan Line for £53,000.[1]
RenamedClan Farquhar, she continued to serve on the Australian route alongside the formerGallic, nowClan Colquhoun. In July 1948, after an uneventful career of fifteen years with Clan Line, she was scrapped atMilford Haven.[8]
Delphic was a wartime ship built quickly and for purely functional purposes, sporting afunnel and two masts that supported the loading cranes. Its navigatingbridge was the onlysuperstructure, located a little in front of the funnel, which bore the colours of the White Star Line (brown ochre topped with black).[9] With a length of 450 ft (140 m) and abeam of 58.4 ft (17.8 m), it measured 8,002 gross register tons (GRT) and had sixholds. Driven by two propellers powered by twotriple expansion engines, she could reach a relatively low speed for the time, from 12.5–13knots (23.2–24.1 km/h; 14.4–15.0 mph).[4] White Star had, during the 1920s, two other similar cargo ships,Bardic andGallic, which differ only in their tonnage, slightly lower in the case of the latter.[10]
