SS ''Glitra'' was a steam cargo ship that was launched in 1881 as ''Saxon Prince''. In 1896 she was renamed ''Glitra''. In 1914 she became the first British merchant vessel to be 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 ro ...

in 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 ...

Building and ownership

''Saxon Prince'' was the first steamship to be built for James Knott, a successful owner of collier brigs. She was also the first ship to which Knott gave a name ending in "Prince", which became a characteristic of his future Prince Line. CS Swan & Hunter built ''Saxon Prince'' at

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...

, launching her on 3 March 1881 and completing her that April. She had an iron hull and a two-cylinder

compound 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 ...

. Her UK official number was 79247, her code letters were VLQW and Knott registered her in

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

. In 1895 Knott restructured his business as Prince Line (1895) Ltd and sold ''Saxon Prince'' to

Christian Salvesen Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe. In December 2007, it was acquired by French listed transport ...

. In 1896 Salvesen renamed her ''Glitra'' and registered her in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Capture and sinking

On 20 October 1914 ''Glitra'' was en route from Grangemouth to Stavanger in Norway laden with coal, iron plate and oil when , commanded by

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

Johannes Feldkirchener, stopped and searched her west-southwest of

Skudenes Skudenes is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It was part of the traditional district of Haugaland. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the town of Skudeneshavn (whi ...

, Rogaland, Norway, in accordance with

prize law In admiralty law prizes are equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of ''prize'' in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and her cargo as a prize of war. In the past, the capturing force ...

. Her crew was ordered into the lifeboat(s),Note: sources disagree as to whether ''Glitra''s crew left in one lifeboat or more than one. and once all were safely off the ship a German

boarding party ''Boarding Party'' is a solitaire science fiction board game published by Task Force Games in 1982 that simulates a boarding party of humans trying to deactivate a killer spaceship. Description ''Boarding Party'' is a solitaire microgame in whic ...

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

''Glitra'' by opening her

seacock A seacock is a valve on the hull of a boat or a ship, permitting water to flow into the vessel, such as for cooling an engine or for a salt water faucet; or out of the boat, such as for a sink drain or a toilet. Seacocks are often a Kingston val ...

s. One source states that ''U-17'' towed the lifeboat(s) toward the Norwegian coast. Another states that the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

1. class torpedo boat The 1.-class torpedo boat was a designation in the Scandinavian countries for a type of fast steam ships on more than 80 tons . Royal Danish Navy * 1879 Torpedobaad Nr. 4 * 1880 Torpedobaad Nr. 5 * 1881 Torpedobaad Nr. 6 * 1882 * 1882 * 1882 * ...

, which was on neutrality protection duty, observed the incident but did not intervene as it was in international waters, and that after ''U-17'' left, ''Hai'' towed the lifeboat(s) to the port of

Skudeneshavn (also known as Skudeneshamn or simply Skudenes) is a town in Karmøy municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located on the southernmost tip of the island of Karmøy at the entrance to the Boknafjorden and Karmsundet strait. The town is ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glitra 1881 ships Maritime incidents in October 1914 Scuttled vessels of the United Kingdom Ships built by Swan Hunter Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Shipwrecks of Norway Steamships of the United Kingdom World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea