RMS ''Connaught'' was a steamship built in 1897 and operated by the

City of Dublin Steam Packet Company The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail. It was 'wound-up' by a select commit ...

for

Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...

as well as passenger service. ''Connaught'' was the second ship of this name operated by the line. She was torpedoed and sunk by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

on 3 March 1917.

History

In 1859, the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company ordered four steamers for Royal Mail service, named for four provinces of Ireland, RMS ''Connaught'', , and ; these four were commonly referred to as "The Provinces" after the four traditional

provinces of Ireland There have been four Provinces of Ireland: Connacht (Connaught), Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. The Irish language, Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Kingdom_of_ ...

. In 1897, the line was awarded an additional 21 years for their contract with the Post Office, and so they ordered four replacement ships from Laird's of

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, which were to carry the same names as the former ships. As one of these, ''Connaught'' was a twin-screw vessel powered by an eight-cylinder steam engine, capable of . She measured and had a length of . With the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in progress, ''Connaught'' was commandeered in 1915 by the British

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and was employed as a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

. Having transported troops the previous evening, on 3 March 1917, ''Connaught'' was returning to Southampton from

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

. At about 13:45, submarine ''U-48'' fired a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

which exploded aft on the

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

side. The ship's wireless was disabled, so an S.O.S. could not be sent. 15 minutes later, a second torpedo struck amidships on the port side. Three crewmen having been killed, the rest of the crew took to the lifeboats. ''Connaught'' sank within four minutes of the second torpedo striking. The sinking occurred in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

about south of the Light Vessel ''Owers''.

References

Ships List
*Appendices 6 & 7 in ''Torpedoed! The R.M.S. Leinster Disaster'' by Philip Lecane, Periscope Publishing Ltd, Cornwall 2005. *''U-Boat Alley'' by Roy Stokes, published by Compuwreck,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connaught (1897) Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Ships built on the River Mersey World War I passenger ships of the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the Irish Sea Maritime incidents in 1917