SS Ardmore (1909)

SS Ardmore was an Irish Cargo ship that was torpedoed by SM U-95 in St. George's Channel 13 nautical miles (24 km) west south west of the Coningbeg Lightship on 13 November 1917 while carrying general cargo from London, United Kingdom to Cork, Ireland.[1]

SS Ardmore II sinking after hitting a mine on 12 November 1940 (nearly 23 years after the first Ardmore). This ship was built in memory of the first SS Ardmore and looked identical to her.
History
Name:	SS Ardmore
Owner:	City Of Cork Steam Packet Co. Ltd.
Port of registry:	Ireland, Cork
Route:	London - Cork
Ordered:	1909
Builder:	Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd.
Yard number:	206
Laid down:	1909
Launched:	1909
Completed:	1909
Acquired:	1909
Maiden voyage:	1909
In service:	1909
Out of service:	13 November 1917
Identification:	HNVK IMO/Off. no.: 128301
Fate:	Torpedoed and sunk
General characteristics
Type:	Cargo ship
Tonnage:	1.304 GRT
Length:	79.3 metres (260 ft 2 in)
Beam:	11 metres (36 ft 1 in)
Depth:	5.2 metres (17 ft 1 in)
Installed power:	Triple Expansion Engine
Propulsion:	Screw propeller
Sail plan:	London - Cork
Speed:	12.5 knots
Crew:	27
Notes:	Captain Richard Murray

Construction

SS Ardmore was built at the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. shipyard in Dundee, United Kingdom in 1909. She was launched and completed that same year. The ship was 79.3 metres (260 ft 2 in) long, had a beam of 11 metres (36 ft 1 in) and had a depth of 5.2 metres (17 ft 1 in). She was assessed at 1.304 GRT and had a triple expansion engine driving a screw propeller. The ship could reach a maximum speed of 12.5 knots.[2]

Early career

The SS Ardmore made her maiden voyage from London to Cork in 1909 and kept sailing on that line, even after the outbreak of the First World War. She had a stationary crew of 27 and was under the command of Captain Richard Murray. She mainly transported general cargo.[3]

Sinking

SS Ardmore left London and set sail for Cork on 13 November 1917 with a crew of 27 and general cargo on board. Before the ship left London, her crew were informed to be extra careful during the voyage as a large amount of U-boat activity was reported with several ships being sunk in the area only days before. The crew were given specific instructions when they started their voyage and were instructed to sail to Milford Haven first and wait until it became night so the Ardmore could cross the Irish Channel under the protection of the darkness of night.[4]

A few hours after the ship left Milford Haven while a small fog was rising over the water, when it was around 10:00 pm and the ship was about 6 nautical miles (11 km) off the Coningbeg Lightship, a challenge was flashed out by morse signal asking: “What ship is that, where bound?”. Captain Murray, in accordance with sailing instructions ordering him to answer challenges, replied: “Ardmore, London to Cork.”. The crew was not sure which ship sent the message as nobody could see any ships who were at a great distance in the dark. A crew member did finally spot the outline of a ship which they believed must have been of a patrol boat. It was however not a patrol boat but the German submarine SM U-95 who was patrolling the area that night.[4]

At about 10:30 pm, Captain Murray was on the bridge with his Chief officer, a carpenter and two seamen discussing about the mystery ship, when a deafening explosion occurred on the starboard side, just forward of the bridge. The explosion shook the ship from stem to stern and blew out all the windows of the wheel-house. The Captain ordered the lifeboats to be launched immediately and assisted the chief officer in lowering the forward starboard lifeboat which already had some of the crew in it. The ship only remained upright for a very short time when she suddenly plunged bow forwards into the depths of the nightly sea, taking everything and everyone still on board down with her. Captain Murray was dragged down with the ship, but managed to resurface and get hold of a piece of wreckage, to which he clung for some time while being nearly completely hidden in the fog. After clinging to the wreckage for about an hour, he was picked up by two sailors of his crew in a lifeboat. The lifeboat was badly damaged and taking on water, either by the explosion or by striking against the ship’s side when she went down. Shortly after the fog cleared, the Coningbeg Lightship could be seen to the East, just on the horizon. The survivors tried to row to the Lightship, but made little progress. The cold was intense, in addition to which they were waist-high in the water. It wouldn't better for the survivors as the waves frequently rolled into the boat, drenching them again and again.[4]

When it was around midnight, the survivors could see a steamer’s hull approaching out of the darkness and as the ship passed close by, the lifeboats occupants hailed her and those on board answered. But luck was not on the survivors side that night as the ship could not stop in time and disappeared again into the dense fog which had been rising again over the cold and dark sea. The ship however did pick up a lone survivor of the Ardmore, who was clinging onto a piece of wreckage. Those in the lifeboat had no other change than to wait for dawn, hoping that they would make it through the night alive. When not a vestige of a vessel was to be seen and their chance of rescue seemed hopeless, the lifeboat occupants were surprised when they saw smoke on the horizon which later came closer and revealed masts and funnels of a steamer. This time there was nothing that could prevent the survivors of being rescued as the ship headed straight for the lifeboat and in a short time arrived on the scene and finally rescued the six survivors at 8:00 am. The rescue ship was a Patrol Boat called Au Breitia. After the rescue, a red flare was seen in the sky. The Au Breitia immediately set course to the source of the flare and the survivors from the Ardmore expected to find all of their 21 missing fellow crewmen when they would arrive. A lifeboat was spotted in the water when the ship arrived on the scene, however there was only one man standing in the boat. He was the only occupant of the boat and was picked up by the rescue vessel, the man turned out to be the Second officer of the Ardmore. He was asked if he had seen any other crewmen in the water or in the area to which he replied no. The rescue ship still searched the area, but only found debris.[4]

After the search the Au Breitia sailed to Cork and landed the survivors, who were all suffering from Hypothermia. Once at shore, the crew learned that another crew member also survived the sinking. He was picked up by the I.H. Lookingback, which was the same ship that had barely missed the lifeboat back at midnight. The Captain counted his men and came to the realisation that only 8 of his 27 counting crew survived the tragedy. The 19 men that perished included the Chief Officer and the First engineer, the victims either died from the explosion of the torpedo or by hypothermia if not drowning before it could even set in. The survivors later testified that there was no warning before the attack and that the ship sank a mere three minutes after being hit, which contributed to the number of victims.[4]

Crew

Name	Rank	Nationality	Age	Survived or Lost
Richard Murray	Captain	Irish		Survived
Richard Jagoe	Chief Officer	Irish	54	Lost
Robert Johnson	Second Officer	Irish		Survived
Michael Good	Quartermaster	Irish	53	Lost
John Best	Quartermaster	Irish	54	Lost
Michael J. O’Sullivan	First Engineer	Irish	42	Lost
Michael Dorney	Second Engineer	Irish		Survived
J. Mason	Engineer	Irish		Survived
Timothy Twomey	Donkeyman	British	70	Lost
Timothy Flynn	Cattleman	Irish		Lost
Patrick Twomey	Steward	Irish	33	Lost
John Horgan	Able Seaman	Irish	50	Lost
Michael Tobin	Able Seaman	Irish	55	Lost
D. Collins	Able Seaman	Irish	49	Lost
Thomas Murphy	Seaman	Irish		Survived
John Good	Seaman	Irish		Survived
James Healy	Fireman	Irish	49	Lost
John Twomey	Fireman	British	53	Lost
Daniel Ahern	Fireman	Irish	26	Lost
Michael Leahy	Fireman	Irish	42	Lost
Jas. Walsh	Fireman	Irish	33	Lost
Michael Walsh	Cook	Irish		Survived
Patrick Barry	Trimmer	Irish	39	Lost
D. O’Herlihy	Trimmer	Irish	34	Lost
H. Griffiths	Carpenter	British	35	Lost
Thomas Smith	Gunner	British	23	Lost
H. Taylor	Gunner	Irish		Survived

Wreck

The wreck of the Ardmore lies at a depth of 65 metres (213 ft 3 in) and was found by echo sounder. The current condition of the wreck is unknown.[5]

References

1. "Ardmore". uboat.net. 1995. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
2. "SS Ardmore [+1917]". wrecksite.eu. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
3. "SS Ardmore". greatwarforum.org. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
4. "History of Port of Cork Steam Navigation". olivecolemanfamilyhistory.tripod.com. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
5. "Wrecks". seahunter.ie. 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.