SS Glitra

SS Glitra was a steam cargo ship that was launched in 1881 as Saxon Prince. In 1896 she was renamed Glitra. In 1914 she became the first British merchant vessel to be sunk by a U-boat in the First World War.

History
United Kingdom
Name
  • 1881: Saxon Prince
  • 1896: Glitra
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
BuilderCS Swan & Hunter, Wallsend
Yard number51
Launched3 March 1881
CompletedApril 1881
Identification
FateCaptured and scuttled, 20 October 1914
General characteristics
Tonnage866 GRT, 527 NRT
Length215 ft (66 m)
Beam30.7 ft (9.4 m)
Depth13.8 ft (4.2 m)
Installed power99 NHP
PropulsionCompound steam engine
Speed9 knots (17 km/h)

Building and ownership

Saxon Prince was the first steamship to be built for James Knott, a successful owner of collier brigs. She was also the first ship to which Knott gave a name ending in "Prince", which became a characteristic of his future Prince Line.[1]

CS Swan & Hunter built Saxon Prince at Wallsend, launching her on 3 March 1881 and completing her that April. She had an iron hull and a two-cylinder compound steam engine.[2] Her UK official number was 79247, her code letters were VLQW and Knott registered her in North Shields.[3]

In 1895 Knott restructured his business as Prince Line (1895) Ltd and sold Saxon Prince to Christian Salvesen. In 1896 Salvesen renamed her Glitra and registered her in Leith.[2][4][5]

Capture and sinking
Kapitänleutnant Johannes Feldkirchener

On 20 October 1914 Glitra was en route from Grangemouth to Stavanger in Norway laden with coal, iron plate and oil when U-17, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Johannes Feldkirchener, stopped and searched her 14 nautical miles (26 km) west-southwest of Skudenes, Rogaland, Norway, in accordance with prize law. Her crew was ordered into the lifeboat(s),[6] and once all were safely off the ship a German boarding party scuttled Glitra by opening her seacocks.[7][8]

One source states that U-17 towed the lifeboat(s) toward the Norwegian coast.[8] Another states that the Royal Norwegian Navy 1. class torpedo boat HNoMS Hai, which was on neutrality protection duty, observed the incident but did not intervene as it was in international waters, and that after U-17 left, Hai towed the lifeboat(s) to the port of Skudeneshavn.[9]

References
  1. Burrell 1992, p. 69.
  2. "Saxon Prince". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen (1882). Mercantile Navy List. Board of Trade. p. 128. Retrieved 1 February 2021 – via Crew List Index Project.
  4. Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen (1898). Mercantile Navy List. Board of Trade. p. 147. Retrieved 1 February 2021 – via Crew List Index Project.
  5. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Glitra". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  6. Note: sources disagree as to whether Glitra's crew left in one lifeboat or more than one.
  7. "British Merchant Ships Lost to Enemy Action Part 1 of 3 – Years 1914, 1915, 1916 in date order". Naval History. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  8. Burrell 1992, p. 65.
  9. Hegland & Lilleheim 1998, p. 43.

Bibliography
  • Burrell, David (1992). Furness Withy 1891–1991. Kendal: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-70-3.
  • Hegland, Jon Rustung; Lilleheim, Johan Henrik (1998). Norske torpedobåter gjennom 125 år (in Norwegian). Hundvåg: Sjømilitære Samfund ved Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen. ISBN 82-994738-1-0.

59°01′N 4°50′E

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