SS Adriatic (1871)

SS "Adriatic" was the first of two White Star Line ocean liners which carried this name.

History

The White Star Line's first four steamships met with great success in the trans-Atlantic market, and the line decided to build two more. The first of these was the "Celtic", and the second was the "Adriatic", which was built by Harland and Wolff and launched on October 17, 1871.

During the remainder of 1871 and the early part of 1872, the "Adriatic" was fitted out. As a part of this process, a technology new to that era was tried on the ship. Up to this point, ships' cabins were lit with oil lamps, but the builders decided to try new gas lamps on the "Adriatic". A machine was added to the engine room that made gas from coal, the first ship in the world to have such a system. However, problems with gas leaks could not be overcome, so the system was removed before the ship went into service.

The "Adriatic" left on its maiden voyage on April 11, 1872, sailing from Liverpool to New York, under Captain Sir Digby Murray, who had captained the maiden voyage of the White Star's first ship, the "Oceanic" the year before. The "Adriatic" was similar in configuration to the earlier "Oceanic"-class ships, with a single funnel and four masts (highest of which was 150 feet), the first three of which were square-rigged. The hull was painted black in typical White Star fashion, and accommodated two classes, First and Steerage. As the largest of the six White Star Line ships, the "Adriatic" received the designation as the Line's flagship, a title which she held until the larger "Britannic" came on line in 1874.

A month later, during a subsequent Atlantic crossing to New York, the "Adriatic" maintained an average speed of 14.52 knots and thus won the Blue Riband away from the Cunard Line's "Scotia", which had held it since 1866.

The "Adriatic" was involved in several accidents. The first of these occurred in October, 1874, when the "Adriatic", while sailing parallel with the Cunard Line "Parthia", collided with it, with little damage to either ship. In March, 1875, the "Adriatic" rammed the American ship "Columbus" in New York harbor, and the "Columbus" subsequently sunk. In December of the same year, in St. Georges Channel, the "Adriatic" ran down and sunk the sailing vessel "Harvest Queen" in an accident that resulted in the loss of all life aboard the "Harvest Queen". The "Queen" sunk so quickly that the crew of the "Adriatic" could not identify what boat they had hit, and only a records search later showed who the victim had been. On July 19, 1878, the "Adriatic" hit the brig "G. A. Pike" off of South Wales, killing five crew onboard the "Pike". Blame was fixed on the "Adriatic" for excessive speed.

In 1884, the "Adriatic" underwent a refit, during which accommodations for 50 Second Class passengers were added. In 1897, she was deemed too old for regular trans-Atlantic service, and was then laid up as a reserve ship for the Line, at Birkenhead. When the second "Oceanic" entered service in 1899, the "Adriatic" was sold for scrap, arriving in Preston on February 12.

pecifications

*Length: 452 feet (138.1 m)
*Beam: 40.9 feet (12.5 m)
*Tonnage: 3,888 gross tons
*Speed: 14.5 knots (service speed)
*Passenger capacity: 850

References

* [http://www.greatoceanliners.net/adriatic1.html "Adriatic" info from GreatOnceanLiners.net]