SS ''Dundee'' was a British

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

that was built in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1911 and sunk by enemy action in the Celtic Sea in 1917. She was designed as a coastal

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

and

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

for the Dundee, Perth & London Shipping Company Ltd, but in 1915 she was converted into an armed boarding steamer for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. She took part in the Action of 16 March 1917, was sunk by a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

six months later, and lost members of her crew in both actions. The Dundee, Perth & London Shipping Co Ltd was founded in 1826. In its long history it had eight ships called ''Dundee'', named after the city of

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

on the east coast of Scotland. The ship built in 1911 was the fifth of these.

Building

The Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company built ''Dundee'' as yard number 221. She was launched on 24 April 1911 and completed that November. Her registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ref ...

s were and . She had a three-cylinder

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

that was rated at 452

NHP Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

, which gave her a speed of .

Merchant service

The Dundee, Perth & London Shipping Co registered ''Dundee'' at Dundee. Her UK

official number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

was 123338 and her

code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

were HTRJ. She ran coastal cargo and passenger service between Dundee and ports on the east coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Naval service

In 1915 the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

requisitioned ''Dundee'' and had her converted into an armed boarding steamer. She was armed with at least two 4-inch guns and one

3-pounder gun 3-pounder gun, 3-pounder, 3-pdr or QF 3-pdr is an abbreviation typically referring to a gun which fired a projectile weighing approximately 3 pounds. It may refer to : *The Grasshopper cannon : of the 18th century *QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss : Hotchkiss ...

. She was assigned to the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the T ...

SMS ''Leopard''

By March 1917 ''Dundee'' was commanded by a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Selwyn Day, RNR, and was serving in the

2nd Cruiser Squadron The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1904 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1952. History First formation The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was first formed in December, 1904 then placed ...

. On 16 March she was patrolling the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

with the armoured cruiser when they sighted a cargo ship that had Norwegian flags and "NORGE" ( Norwegian for "Norway") painted on both sides, was flying the Norwegian ensign, and carrying the name ''Rena''. ''Achilles'' overtook the merchant ship and ordered her to stop for ''Dundee'' to inspect her. ''Dundee'' lowered one her boats, in which she sent a

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: ** Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where ho ...

party of five ratings led by a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

to inspect the ship. The merchant ship, still flying the Norwegian flag, opened the gun ports on her

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

side, revealing her

15 cm SK L/40 naval gun The 15 cm SK L/40SK - ''Schnelladekanone'' (quick loading cannon); ''L - Länge in Kaliber'' ( length in caliber) was a German naval gun that was used as secondary armament on pre-dreadnought battleships, protected cruisers and armored cruis ...

s and 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval guns. The ship was the

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commerce raider . ''Dundee'' immediately opened fire at a range of about . ''Dundee''s 4-inch guns immediately hit the raider's gun deck and engine room, and ''Dundee''s 3-pounder gun aimed at her

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. ''Achilles'', which was farther away, also opened fire on ''Leopard''. ''Dundee'' fired 44 4-inch shells and 25 3-pounder shells before ''Leopard'' fired her first shot. ''Leopard'' fired three

salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...

es at ''Dundee'', but all either fell short or overshot. Thereafter, the raider's guns continued the fight with single shots. The raider also fired three torpedoes, but evasive action by Cdr Day and his helmsman ensured that they all missed ''Dundee''. After 35 minutes' combat, ''Dundee'' ran out of ammunition. ''Achilles'' continued to fire on ''Leopard'', which by then was on fire and had only one gun left in action. ''Leopard'' sank with all hands, 55 minutes after opening fire on ''Dundee''. The lieutenant and five ratings that ''Dundee'' sent to board ''Leopard'' were never found. Early on in the engagement, ''Dundee'' sighted an empty boat in ''Leopard''s vicinity. Cdr Day concluded that ''Leopard'' had captured the boarding party, and all six men had then died when the raider sank. At the time of the engagement, ''Dundee'' was short of officers. Her gunlayers had to do their own spotting and select targets on ''Leopard'' on their own initiative. Cdr Day credited his gunlayers' "skill" and "marksmanship" for crippling ''Leopard'' and preventing the raider from hitting ''Dundee''. On Day's recommendation, in June 1917 two of ''Dundee''s gunlayers were awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

and two were

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. The lieutenant who commanded the boarding party was also mentioned in dispatches. Day was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and made a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

''UC-49''

On 2 September 1917 ''Dundee'' was patrolling southwest of the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...

when hit her with one torpedo, killing nine of ''Dundee''s crew. ''Dundee'' sank the next day at position .

References

External links

* – includes photos of ''Dundee'' and Commander Selwyn Day * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dundee 1911 ships Armed boarding steamers of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in 1917 Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Dundee Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Steamships of the United Kingdom World War I naval ships of the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean