SS ''Britannia'' was a UK steam ocean liner that was built in Scotland in 1925–26 and operated by Anchor Line (Henderson Brothers). In 1941 a

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 **Ge ...

merchant raider Merchant raiders are armed commerce raiding ships that disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels. History Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I (1914–1918), and again early in World War II (1939–1945). The ...

sank ''Britannia'' with the loss of 249 lives.

Building and peacetime career

Alexander Stephen and Sons Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Glasgow, on the River Clyde and, initially, on the east coast of Scotland. History The com ...

of Linthouse, Glasgow built ''Britannia'', launching her on 1 December 1925 and completing her in March 1926. She was long and had a beam of . As built her tonnages were and . She had a quadruple expansion engine that developed 558 NHP and gave her a cruising speed of . On 3 March 1926 ''Britannia'' began her maiden voyage from Glasgow to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, which became her regular route. By 1930 ''Britannia'' was equipped with wireless direction finding. By 1937 an echo sounding device had been added.

Loss

On 25 March 1941 ''Britannia'' was in the Atlantic 750 miles west of Freetown ''en route'' from Liverpool to Bombay when the intercepted her. ''Britannia''s wireless operator transmitted an "RRR" raider warning message, which a radio station in Sierra Leone acknowledged. ''Britannia'' was defensively armed with one naval gun on her stern. She resisted the

for more than an hour before her

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, Captain Collie, gave the order to abandon ship. ''Thor''s bombardment had damaged some of ''Britannia''s lifeboats. Sources disagree as to whether ''Thor''s Captain,

Otto Kähler Otto Kähler (3 March 1894 – 2 November 1967) was a German admiral during World War II. He commanded the , a merchant raider, on two combat patrols and sank or captured 12 ships, for a combined tonnage of of Allied shipping. He was a recipie ...

, ordered a pause in the bombardment to allow ''Britannia'' to lower her boats and get everyone away, but they agree that he did not stop to rescue survivors. After 36 hours the Spanish ship ''Bachi'' rescued 63 survivors. On 29 March the Spanish ocean liner ''Cabo de Hornos'', sailing from South America to Spain, rescued 77 survivors from various boats and a raft near Tenerife. ''Britannia''s Third Officer, William McVicar, commanded lifeboat number seven. It was certified to carry 56 people but packed with 82, some of whom were wounded. Although they were nearer Africa than South America, McVicar elected to sail west due to the prevailing currents and winds. The voyage lasted 23 days, in which time 44 people in the boat died. After sailing 1,535 miles the 38 survivors came ashore near São Luís in Brazil. For their achievement McVicar and the ship's surgeon, Nancy Miller, were awarded the MBE. One of the survivors from McVicar's boat, Lt-Cdr Frank West MBE, wrote a book, ''Lifeboat Number Seven'', describing their voyage. In total 122 of ''Britannia''s crew and 127 of her passengers were lost.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* (newsreel of ''Britannia's'' launch, 1925). {{DEFAULTSORT:Britannia (1925) 1925 ships Maritime incidents in March 1941 Ocean liners of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Steamships of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean