SS ''Minnewaska'' was a British

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

that was one of the ships that assisted with sending out survivors names following the 1912 disaster. In 1916, she hit a mine laid by in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

southeast of Dentero Point,

Suda Bay Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akrotiri ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, while she was travelling from

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, Egypt to

Saloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

with 1,600 troops.

Construction

''Minnewaska'' was constructed in 1908 at the

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the Wh ...

shipyard in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, United Kingdom. She was launched on 12 November 1908 and completed in 1909. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . The ship was assessed at . She had 2 quadruple expansion engines driving a two screw propellers and the engine was rated at 1,222

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 ...

. She had five sister ships: * * * * * *

Accidents

In her career as an ocean liner and transport ship, ''Minnewaska'' had a few accidents. In late April 1911, 19-year-old seaman J. W. Browning fell overboard when his lifeline broke while he was working on the lifeboats. According to the New York Times he fell 18 meters from the speeding liner and had to swim desperately in his sea boots to avoid being drawn into her screws. Within a few seconds after the alarm ''Minnewaska'' had cut a wide circle to port and was heading back over her course. A boat under the command of Chief Officer James Grant Hutchison was soon lowered and Browning was brought back on board, thirteen minutes after his fall, but without his sea boots. In October 1914, while ''Minnewaska'' was taking on cargo in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

when a fire developed in hold number two, where a consignment of sugar had been loaded. The blaze was extinguished only when the hold was flooded. The fire destroyed sugar worth $120,000 and there was some concern that it may have been deliberately set by German agents. But it seems to have been an accident and was blamed by Captain Thomas F. Gates on spontaneous combustion. ''Minnewaska'' was not materially damaged and sailed on schedule without any further incident. On 28 April 1915, ''Minnewaska'' was present at the Gallipoli landings and was involved in a minor collision with SS ''Derfflinger'' off ANZAC Cove.

World War I

''Minnewaska'' had made 66 voyages from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

between May 1909 and January 1915. She was requisitioned by the British Government for service in

World War I 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 ...

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 ...

. She sailed the

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

route during this period in her career. She was defensively armed with a gun mounted on her stern and made five voyages ferrying troops and artillery to the Dardanelles. She had some narrow escapes involving submarines.

Sinking

On 29 November 1916, while she was travelling from Alexandria, Egypt to

with 1,600 troops. She struck a floating mine southeast of Dentero Point,

which tore a large hole in the hull. The ship took on a rapidly increasing list and threatened to capsize after the explosion but Captain Gates, who ordered everyone into their life belts and had lifeboats and rafts at the ready, managed to keep control of the ship and decided to steam at full speed to the nearby shore. He successfully ran her aground 46 meters west of Cape Deutero at the entrance to Suda Bay where she came to rest. It took about two hours to evacuate the ship and the men were rescued without loss by the trawler ''Danestone'', the drifters ''Principal'', ''Trustful'' and ''Deveronside'', and the destroyer HMS ''Grampus''. Due to his prompt action, there was no loss of life from the 1800 soldiers and 200 sailors on board at the time. He was subsequently awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for his actions.

Aftermath

''Minnewaska''′s bottom had been torn away by the mine and she had to be abandoned on the beach where she lay for two years until in 1918, when she was sold to Italian shipbreakers for scrap. She was broken up on site and some parts of the wreck remain on the site to this day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnewaska (1908) 1908 ships Ocean liners of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by mines Ships sunk with no fatalities Ships built by Harland and Wolff Maritime incidents in 1916 World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Souda Bay Ships built in the United Kingdom Ships built in Belfast