 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | Cherbourg |
| Ordered | 19 July 1910 |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff,Belfast |
| Yard number | 423 |
| Way number | No1 |
| Laid down | 22 December 1910 |
| Launched | 27 April 1911 |
| Completed | 27 May 1911 |
| Maiden voyage | 31 May 1911 |
| In service | 27 May 1911 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk on 17 January, 1941; wreck raised and scrapped later that year |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 640 GRT |
| Length | 186 ft (57 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Height | 14 ft (4.3 m) keel to bulkwark |
| Draught | 8 ft 1 in (2.46 m) |
| Decks | 5 |
| Installed power | 1 13 ft × 11 ft (4.0 m × 3.4 m) S.E. boiler with 3 furnaces |
| Propulsion | Twin compound reciprocating powering two triple-bladed propellers. |
| Speed | 9knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Capacity | 1,200 passengers and mail |
| Crew | 23 |
SSTraffic was atender of theWhite Star Line, and the fleetmate to theNomadic. She was built for the White Star Line byHarland and Wolff, atBelfast, to serve theOlympic-classocean liners. InCherbourg, her role was to transport Third Class passengers and mails between the port and the liners anchored in the harbour, while theNomadic was tasked with transporting First Class and Second Class passengers.
In April 1912, she transported immigrants from port to theTitanic, and continued to serve White Star until 1927, without interruption. DuringWorld War I, she took part in the landing of soldiers from the United States. In 1927, she was sold to the Société Cherbourgeoise Transbordement, before joining the Société Cherbourgeoise de Remorquage et de Sauvetage in 1934, which renamed herIngenieur Reibell.
In June 1940, theFrench NavyscuttledIngenieur Reibell ahead of the German advance on the port of Cherbourg. Shortly after, the Germans refloated her to convert the vessel into an escort ship. In January 1941, she wastorpedoed and sunk by the British. Her wreck wassalvaged andscrapped.
At the start of the 20th century, the port ofCherbourg, France, was on the verge of becoming an essential stopover for most of the British and Germanocean liners traveling between Europe and the United States. In 1907,White Star Line established a regular stop there on its newly created route betweenSouthampton,United Kingdom andNew York, United States. From 1909, the Cherbourg stopover took on a new dimension and aferry terminal (which was not completed until 1912) was built to accommodate passengers arriving by special trains fromGare Saint-Lazare inParis.[1] Despite major work, however, the port posed a major problem: large liners could not dock there because of shallow water. Boarding was therefore done by means oftenders coming to meet them with passengers and luggage.[2]
To this end, White Star Line recovered in 1907, an old tender, renamed theGallic, which took care of the ferrying of passengers.[3] However, with the arrival of itsOlympic-class ships, the company was no longer satisfied with this makeshift solution.Lord Pirrie, director ofHarland & Wolff yards, and his nephewThomas Andrews conceived of two new tenders and submit the idea toJoseph Bruce Ismay, president of White Star Line.[4] Ismay was convinced and on 25 June 1910, a little less than a year before the inaugural departure ofOlympic, Order No. 422 was placed at Harland & Wolff shipyards for the tenderNomadic. Order No. 523 followed on 19 July, for the tenderTraffic. While theNomadic would be for first- and second-class passengers, theTraffic would handle third-class passengers, baggages and mails. The work was being done under the direction of the architectRoderick Chisholm and Andrews, at an accelerated pace to be ready for the maiden voyage of theOlympic, in June 1911.[5]
Led by Thomas Andrews, the designers of Harland & Wolff designed the two tenders as miniature liners. Thus theTraffic was provided with achamois-colouredfunnel adorned with a black cuff, like all the ships of White Star Line. Hersuperstructure was white and the vessel had two decks that could accommodate around 1,000 people. Electric conveyors for loading mail and luggage were placed at herbow andstern. Finally, herhull was black and herkeel was red. The interior facilities were comfortable and neat, the idea being that passengers should not perceive the crossing onboard theNomadic and theTraffic as a simple ferrying, but rather as the start of a journey.[6]
Harland and Wolfflaid downTraffic's keel on 22 December 1910 (yard number 423). She was built onslipway No. 1 next to her sisterNomadic and alongsidePatriotic. Later the constructions of theOlympic andTitanic started,[7] which were constructed on slipways 2 and 3, of theArrol Gantry, respectively.Traffic waslaunched on 27 April 1911, two days after her running mate,Nomadic.[8] On 18 May, theTraffic passed hersea trials. On 27 May, theTraffic was officially handed over to White Star.[9]
On 31 May 1911, after her sea trials, theOlympic docked atLiverpool, United Kingdom, herhome port and headquarters of the White Star Line, to be presented to the gathered crowd.[10] It was on this same day that theTitanic was launched.[11] The two tenders left theOlympic at the exit ofBelfast Lough, at the mouth of theLagan, to head for Cherbourg.[12] Sailing at a maximum speed of 12knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), they reached their destination on 3 June 1911.[13]
Although British-owned and flying the flag of the White Star Line, theport of registration of theTraffic was that of Cherbourg and she was operated by a French crew. This was made up of Captain Gaillard, six officers, as well as ten men assigned to the machines and the loading of theholds.[7] TheTraffic was managed by George A. Laniece, the representative of the White Star Line in Cherbourg.[9]
TheTraffic offered service for the first time when theOlympic docked at Cherbourg for its maiden voyage, on 14 June 1911.[7] Her service on that day was not exemplary, since a number of deficiencies were noted in the transport of mail and baggage. Bruce Ismay, who was not satisfied, asked that better efforts be made for the next ferrying. However, the problems were quickly resolved and during the three otherOlympic stopovers in Cherbourg between June and September, the ferrying went smoothly.[13] In April 1912, she transported third-class passengers, mail, and baggage to theTitanic during the vessel's stopover in Cherbourg on her maiden voyage.[14] The next day,Traffic again carried immigrants to another White Star liner, theAdriatic, which would bringTitanic survivors back to England a few days later.[7]
A few days after thesinking of theTitanic, theOlympic made a stopover in Cherbourg where she was solemnly welcomed. The flags were at half mast, and theNomadic andTraffic officers wore black ties as a sign of mourning. The crew of theOlympic then went onstrike and refused to go back to sea untillifeboats were added to the liner. The forced immobilization of the latter paralyzed for a time the two tenders in the port of Cherbourg. The crew's request was finally satisfied and service resumed.[15]
The declaration of theFirst World War halted transatlantic crossings. TheTraffic and theNomadic were requisitioned on 25 April 1917 by theFrench Navy and taken toSaint-Nazaire until 1919, to serve as auxiliaryminesweepers.[7] They carried out some ferrying missions of American troops inBrest in 1919, before their return to Cherbourg.[16] TheTraffic then resumed her functions for White Star Line, without incident until 1927. On this date,Lord Kylsant, the new owner of the company, decided to separate from the two tenders.[15]
Traffic andNomadic were sold to Société Cherbourgeoise Transbordement in 1927,[17] and continued to serve as tenders, but now called on any large vessels using the port.Traffic collided withRMS Homeric on 5 June 1929, and sustained some damage to thestarboard side of the hull. After enquiries revealed thatTraffic was notoriously difficult to handle, new propellers were produced by Harland & Wolff and fitted in October 1929. The new propellers proved effective, butTraffic was nevertheless involved in another collision in December 1929, this time involvingMinnewaska of theAtlantic Transport Line. There was only minor damage.Minnewaska was involved in another collision two years later, this time withNomadic on 29 November 1931, during whichNomadic's bow was damaged.[9]
On 30 July 1933, Cherbourg inaugurated its new ferry terminal which now allowed liners to come to thequay.[7] The tenders were no longer useful and thus in the following year, theTraffic was sold. Following the 1934 merger of White Star andCunard Line,Nomadic andTraffic were sold to Société Cherbourgeoise de Remorquage et de Sauvetage, and both ships were repainted in the new livery and renamed,Traffic becomingIngénieur Riebell[15] andNomadic becomingIngénieur Minard.[17]
In September 1939, theIngenieur Reibell was again requisitioned by the French Navy, and this time transformed into aminelayer, registered asX23. When Francecapitulated and theGerman Army took control of the port on 17 June 1940,X23 wasscuttled in the harbour to avoid capture by enemy.[7] The ship was raised by the Germans, refurbished and used as acoastal patroller.[17] Due to her disappointing performance in this role (for which she was not designed), she could only run 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) . She wastorpedoed and sunk by the BritishRoyal Navy while serving in this capacity, on 17 January 1941. Afterwards, her wreck was raised again by the Germans. The damage sustained from the torpedo was beyond repair and she wasscrapped at Cherbourg. Some photos of her scrapping were taken by a local man named René Leledier, who many years before had served on board as an apprentice.[18][19]
