SS ''Cretic'' was an

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). C ...

built in 1902. She was operated by several shipping lines, all of which were part of the

International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnate ...

, under several names in her career, which ended when she was scrapped in 1929.

Ship history

The steel-hulled ship was built by R & W Hawthorn, Leslie & Co. Ltd. of

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the sou ...

for Frederick Leyland & Co. and launched on 25 February 1902 as ''Hanoverian''. The 13,507-ton ship was 582 feet long, and 60 feet in the beam. She was powered by two 3-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 ...

s, delivering 1,269 nhp to two screws. In July 1902 she entered service in the

Leyland Line The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by Frederick Richards Leyland after his apprenticeship in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co. After Frederick Leyland's death, the company was taken over by Sir John Ellerma ...

, but made only three voyages between

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

before the company became part of the

in October 1902. ''Hanoverian'' was transferred to the

Dominion Line The Dominion Line was a trans-atlantic passenger line founded in 1870 as the ''Liverpool & Mississippi Steamship Co.'', with the official name being changed in 1872 to the ''Mississippi & Dominion Steamship Co Ltd.'' The firm was amalgamated in ...

and renamed ''Mayflower'', entering service between Liverpool and Boston in April 1903. In November 1903 she was transferred again, this time to the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company's White Star Line, and was renamed ''Cretic''. Initially remaining on the Liverpool-Boston route, in November 1904 she was transferred to routes between the Mediterranean and New York City, finally returning to the Liverpool-Boston route in 1910. In 1917 she was taken over by the British government under their Liner Requisition Scheme to serve 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 ...

in World War I. On 5 April 1918 ''Cretic'', , and sailed from

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to th ...

, New York, with the three battalions of the U.S. 308th Infantry Regiment aboard. On ''Cretic'', the 2,032 men of the 2nd Battalion found that there was only accommodation for 1,500, so the troops were forced to eat and sleep in shifts until arriving at Liverpool on 19 April. ''Cretic'' returned to commercial service in September 1919 on the White Star Line's Mediterranean service. In 1923 ''Cretic'' was transferred back to the Leyland Line, and renamed ''Devonian'' served on the Liverpool-Boston route until the end of her career in September 1928, apart from making three voyages under charter to the

Red Star Line The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Bel ...

from Antwerp to New York in 1927-28. In 1929 she was broken up by P & W McLellan of

Bo’ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falkirk ...

, Scotland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cretic, SS 1902 ships Ocean liners Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Tyne Ships of the White Star Line Steamships of the United Kingdom