| History | |
|---|---|
  United Kingdom;Norway | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Builder | Northumberland Shipbuilding Co,Howdon |
| Yard number | 185 |
| Launched | 21 December 1911 |
| Commissioned | 5 March 1912 |
| Home port |
|
| Identification | |
| Fate | Sunk, 28 July 1915 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo Passenger Ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 380 ft 0 in (115.82 m) |
| Beam | 49 ft 0 in (14.94 m) |
| Depth | 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) |
| Installed power | 367Nhp[1] |
| Propulsion | North Eastern Marine Engineering Co 3-cylindertriple expansion |
| Speed | 10.0knots[2] |
Trondhjemsfjord was a cargo passenger steamship built in 1911 by theNorthumberland Shipbuilding Co ofNewcastle forFurness, Withy & Co ofWest Hartlepool. The ship was sold shortly thereafter to theNorwegian America Line to run on their route betweenNorway and theUnited States.
The vessel was laid down at Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. shipyard in Howdon and launched on 21 December 1911 (yard number 185) asCotswold Range.[3][2][4] After successful completion of sea trials on 5 March 1912, during which the vessel was able to attain speed of 11.75 knots (13.52 mph; 21.76 km/h), she was delivered on the same day to her owners, Furness, Withy & Co. Upon acceptance, the ship was assigned to theNeptune Steam Navigation Company ofSunderland to operate on Europe-USA route.[5] The vessel was primarily intended for general cargo trade, and 9 steam winches, and large number of cargo derricks were installed to facilitate quick cargo loading and unloading process. In addition, accommodations for a large number of first and second-class passengers in steel houses on the bridge deck were built.[4]
As built, the ship was 380 feet 0 inches (115.82 m) long (between perpendiculars) and 49 feet 0 inches (14.94 m)abeam, ameandraft of 26 feet 4 inches (8.03 m).[1]Cotswold Range was assessed at 4,248 GRT and 2,737 NRT and haddeadweight of approximately 7,500.[1] The vessel had a steel hull, and a single 367nhptriple-expansion steam engine, with cylinders of 25-inch (64 cm), 41-inch (100 cm) and 69-inch (180 cm) diameter with a 48-inch (120 cm)stroke, that drove a single screw propeller, and moved the ship at up to 10.0 knots (11.5 mph; 18.5 km/h).[1]
Upon deliveryCotswold Range immediately sailed toFowey arriving there on 7 March. Upon loading China clay she left Fowey for her maiden journey on 24 March 1912 and arrived atPhiladelphia on 10 April.[6] The vessel was then chartered for one trip to the Southeast Asia and left Philadelphia on 15 May forPhilippines.[7] After a long journey the ship arrived inManila on 12 July and from there proceeded toIloilo on 3 August.[8][9]Cotswold Range was subsequently chartered to bring sugar fromJava to Australia and arrived for loading inSurabaya on 21 August.[10] After loading 7,000 tons of sugar the ship sailed to Australia and arrived inAdelaide on 16 September where she discharged approximately 1,200 tons of her cargo. The vessel then sailed toMelbourne where she unloaded the remaining cargo, continued to Newcastle to load 6,250 tons of coal and departed on 10 October to Surabaya and Manila.[11][12] The steamer returned to Australia to load a cargo of wool and timber atBunbury on 30 November, continued toAlbany to take on a cargo of wool and refill her bunkers before departing for UK and Europe on 17 December and arrived at London on 12 February 1913.
Upon arrival in England,Cotswold Range was chartered for New York-China trip and left Fowey on 18 March with a cargo ofChina clay and reached Philadelphia on 8 April. The ship left New York on 23 May, transited through the Suez Canal on 17 June, called atSabang and finally arrived atAmoy on 25 July. From Amoy the ship sailed toFoochow andSwatow and continued for loading toHaiphong arriving there on 23 August. From Haiphong she sailed to the French ports ofLe Havre andRouen via Sabang and Colombo and arrived at Rouen on 26 October.
Following two round-the-world trips,Cotswold Range was put on the Rotterdam-New York route. The steamer arrived in Rotterdam on 14 November, loaded her cargo, including 18,253 bags of potatoes, and departed for North America on 22 November, reaching New York City on 10 December.[13] From New York the vessel proceeded toNew Orleans for cargo loading and arrived in port on 23 December.[14] Upon loading her cargo, including 18,453 sacks of linseed cake and lumber,Cotswold Range left for Rotterdam viaPort Arthur and reached it on 30 January 1914.[15]
For her next journey the ship sailed from Rotterdam on 11 February arriving atBoston on 5 March. The ship encountered some rough weather on her way, coming into port five days late, and in addition, one sailor was killed and six other injured on 26 February, when a giant wave swept over the vessel during gale knocking the man down and breaking his neck.[16] The ship took on board 56,264 bushels of wheat and sailed for Philadelphia on 10 March. She departed Philadelphia on 16 March and safely reached Rotterdam on 1 April.
Subsequently, the ship was moved to UK-US-Montreal-UK route, with the ship carrying China clay to the US ports, and returning to England from Montreal with general cargo and wheat. During her first trip on the new route,Cotswold Range brought 5,270 tons of China clay to Boston from Fowey on 9 May and subsequently sailed to Montreal in ballast arriving there on 23 May. The ship sailed from Montreal on 27 May with general cargo bound for Hull.
On the next trip the vessel arrived in New York on 24 July, however, four days laterAustria-Hungary declared war onSerbia startingWorld War I which made sailing more dangerous.Cotswold Range arrived at Montreal on 13 August and after loading cargo of wheat left on 27 August for Hull. The steamer made one more trip from England to North America before the end of the year.
On 13 October 1914 it was announced that the Den Norske Amerikalinje acquired two cargo passenger steamers,Cotswold Range andChiltern Range and renamed themTrondhjemsfjord andDrammensfjord respectively. The company intended to put the vessels on their New York route to reduce expenses associated with chartering of extra tonnage.[17][18]
Cotswold Range was officially transferred to the Den Norske Amerikalinje on the Christmas Eve 1914 and renamedTrondhjemsfjord.[19]
Upon transfer,Trondhjemsfjord left Hull on 24 December 1914 and arrived at New York on 20 January 1915. She left New York on her return journey on 27 January carrying general cargo such as butter, flour, leather, coffee etc., and had to stop atKirkwall for inspection by British authorities before arriving atTrondheim on 25 February. The ship continued serving New York to Norway route for the remainder of her career.
Trondhjemsfjord left for her last trip fromBergen in ballast on 16 June 1915. Originally, the ship was supposed to call atBaltimore first to load wheat, but the plans had changed and a different ship,Drammensfjord, went to Baltimore instead.Trondhjemsfjord sailed directly to New York and arrived there on 5 July. After loading her usual cargo of foodstuffs and coal, the steamer departed for her return trip on 13 July. The ship was under command of captain Bang and had a crew of 33 men and had 4 passengers on board. At 02:40 on 27 July 1915 in an approximate position62°40′N13°12′W / 62.667°N 13.200°W /62.667; -13.200 the ship was stopped by the British auxiliary cruiserHildebrand for inspection.[20] The captain showed the papers including a letter issued by the British consulate in New York certifying that the ship carried no contraband. Nevertheless, the steamer was boarded by a British naval officer and 5 marines and was ordered to proceed for inspection to Kirkwall. At 0:53 on 28 JulyTrondhjemsfjord passed bySumba and continued sailing southeast. At around 12:25 a shot was fired across the bow of the vessel, and soon after a submarine was noticed on a starboard side of the ship.Trondhjemsfjord changed course and came to a stop at 12:50 when the submarine caught up with the vessel and came by her side. Captain Bang went on board the submarine and presented all the papers, including the Bill of Sale showing the vessel passed into Norwegian registry on 23 December 1914.[20] The submarine's commander informed captain Bang that according to his instructions, any ship that switched registry at least 30 days prior to the outbreak of the war have to be considered as belonging to the nation she was acquired from. SinceTrondhjemsfjord used to be a British vessel, she was considered an enemy and had to be destroyed. The crew lowered lifeboats from the ship, and abandoned her in orderly fashion at 13:30. Ten minutes later the submarine fired a single torpedo at the vessel hitting her amidships.Trondhjemsfjord sunk at 14:51 in an approximate position61°08′N03°27′W / 61.133°N 3.450°W /61.133; -3.450. The submarine took the boats in tow until she encountered Norwegian barqueGlance.Trondhjemsfjord's crew was transferred onto barque who took course to the Scottish coast, and the submarine submerged and left the area. On 29 July about 10:00 Swedish steamerOrlando was spotted and the crew boarded her and was taken safely to Helsingborg.[20] It was later discovered that the German submarineU-41 was responsible for the sinking.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1915 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
