T.S.S. California

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The twin screw schooner California was built by D&W. Henderson Ltd, Glasgow for the Anchor Line Ltd. in 1907. The California was intended as a replacement for the aging ocean liner Astoria, which had been in continuous service since 1884. The California was officially launched on July 9, 1907 having been christened by the Lady Ure Primrose, wife of Sir John Ure Primrose, Lord Lieutenant of the County of the City of Glasgow. Captain J. Blaikie was appointed to the ship that same year. She was given the call sign HLQJ, and the official registration number 124230. The California set off on her maiden transatlantic voyage from Glasgow, Scotland to New York on October 12, 1907.

[edit] Specifications

The California was 8,662 gross tons (6,791 under deck and 5,403 net), with a length of 470 feet, an x beam of 58.3 feet and ran 34 feet deep. The California had three decks: the poop deck was 70 feet long, the bridge 213 feet long and the forecastle 91 feet long. She had two black funnels, two giant masts (one fore and one aft, offered twin screw propulsion and was capable of achieving a speed of 16 knots. Her means of propulsion consisted of a triple expansion engine with 6 cylinders of 27 1/2, 46 and 75 inches each pair; it had a stroke of 54 inches; it produced 827 nominal horsepower. The engine was built by the same company that built her hull. She used water ballast. The ship was capable of carrying a total of 1214 passengers: 232-1st class passengers, 248-2nd class passengers and 734-3rd class passengers. She was outfitted with the latest appointments, including electric light and refrigerating machinery.

[edit] History

On June 28, 1914, the California ran aground on Tory Island, North Ireland in dense fog with over 1000 passengers on board. The ship’s bows caved in upon impact, and though she took on water through two holes in her hold she remained above water. Three British men-of-war including the Destroyer Swift, as well as the ocean liner Cassandra, aided the stricken vessel and assisted in transferring stranded passengers back to shore. The ship was towed back to Glasgow on August 20, 1914, repaired and refloated less than two months later. She resumed Glasgow - Liverpool - New York sailings for the Cunard - Anchor joint service on October 13, 1915.

Shortly after 8 p.m. on May 13, 1916 a fire erupted in the Number 1 cargo hold of the California as she was docked at Pier 64 on the North River in Manhattan. Of great concern to the first responders and her crew was the fact she was in the process of being loaded up with, amongst other things, highly volatile war munitions destined for Liverpool, England. The quick action of the Superintendent of the Pier, and his subsequent sounding of the alarm led to a quick response by a nearby fireboat that assisted the crew in fighting the blaze. The fire was successfully extinguished shortly after 10:30 p.m. that same night. The fire was ultimately deemed accidental, and as the damage was minimal, she set sail the following Monday as scheduled. Had the fire not been noticed by the Superintendent in time, or had the ship been fully loaded with munitions when the fire erupted, the ship and surrounding section of Manhattan might have sustained a catastrophe comparable to the Halifax Explosion.

The California commenced her last Glasgow to New York voyage on January 12, 1917. She began her return voyage on January 29, 1917 with a crew of 184 and 31 passengers on board. On February 3, 1917, as the California sailed on her return trip towards Scotland, German U-boats attacked and sank the USS Housatonic, an act which led to the breaking off of diplomatic relations between the United States and Germany.

On the morning of February 7, 1917 when homeward bound and approaching Ireland under full steam, she was set upon by two German Mittel-U class submarines in a surprise attack. One of the German submarines, Unterseeboot 85 (U-85), under the command of Kapitanleutenant (a.k.a. Lieutenant) Willy Petz, fired two torpedoes at the California; one struck the ship squarely on the port quarter near the Number 4 hatch. Five people were killed instantly in the explosion; thirty-six people drowned either as the ship went down or when one filled lifeboat was swamped in the wake of the burning vessel, which plowed ahead losing little headway as she went down. She sank in nine minutes, 38 miles W by S of Fastnet Rock (also commonly known as Fastnet Island), Ireland with a loss of 41 lives. Though Captain John L. Henderson did indeed stay on the bridge through the entire incident, and subsequently went down with the ship, he miraculously managed to make his way back to the surface and was rescued.

On March 12, 1917 the British Q-ship HMS Privet avenged the sinking of the California and sealed the fate of the crew of the U-85. Posing as an unarmed merchant vessel, the crew of the Privet lured the U-85 to the surface after sustaining heavy damage in an unprovoked attack by the submarine. As the Privet’s highly trained crew feigned abandoning ship, they uncovered the ship’s massive hidden machine guns and opened fire on the submarine at extremely close range. Perforating the submarine from bow to stern in an unrelenting hail of bullets, they sent U-85, Captain Petz and his crew of 37 men to the bottom of the English Channel; there were no survivors.

[edit] References

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