| Career | British |
|---|---|
| Name: | Desabla |
| Owner: | Bank Line Ltd., Glasgow |
| Operator: | Andrew Weir Shipping & Trading Co. Ltd. |
| Port of registry: | Glasgow |
| Builder: | Hawthorn Leslie & Co Ltd, Newcastle |
| Yard number: | 461 |
| Launched: | Sept 18, 1913 |
| Out of service: | June 12, 1915 |
| Identification: | United Kingdom Official Number: 133159 Code Letters: JDKN Wireless Code: GYV (1914) |
| Fate: | Sunk by SM U-17 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Oil Tanker |
| Tonnage: | 6,047 GRT 5,742 under deck 3,788 NRT |
| Length: | 420.3 ft (128.11 m) |
| Beam: | 54.6 ft (16.6 m2) |
| Depth: | 32.4 ft (9.88 m) |
| Crew: | 35 |
The SS Desabla was built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co. Ltd at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1913 for Bank Line, Glasgow (Andrew Weir Shipping & Trading Co. Ltd). She was the first oil tanker to join the Bank Line fleet and was chartered and operated for approximately one year by General Petroleum Company along the Pacific coast of the United States, Chile and Canada. In 1914 she was re-chartered to the British Government to transport oil from Texas to the United Kingdom. In 1915 she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-17 off the coast of Scotland.[1]
Contents |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1913 | Built in Newcastle, England. |
| Nov 29, 1913 | Departed from North Shields, England (most of the crew joined here). |
| Feb 14 - Mar 2, 1914 | Traveled from Antofagasta, Chile to San Pedro, California |
| May 14 - June 2, 1914 | Traveled from Taltal, Chile to San Luis Obispo, California |
| June 3, 1914 | Departed for Vancouver, British Columbia |
| June 14–18, 1914 | Traveled from Victoria, British Columbia to Port Harford, San Luis Obispo, California |
| June 19, 1914 | Departed for Iquique, Chile |
| Oct 12, 1914 | Passed through the Panama Canal on route from Rio di Janeiro, Brazil to San Pedro, California |
| June 12, 1915 | Sunk by German submarine U-17 |
Main source: shipping records available on Ancestry.com[2]
On June 12, 1915 she was carrying a cargo of linseed oil from Port Arthur, Texas bound for Hull under the command of Mr. Fred S. Cowley. She was chased and intercepted by German submarine U-17. While the crew escaped in lifeboats, she was shelled, torpedoed and finally had to be scuttled with charges placed in the hull to sink her.[3]
Excerpt from the Admiralty Report into the sinking:
"This Admiralty Oiler Transport No.63 was steaming on course when the German Submarine U-17 was seen right astern, gaining rapidly on the Steamship. The Master endeavoured to keep the vessel astern making various violent changes of course, but the submarine was much faster and rapidly took up a position close to the ship. The Enemy commenced to shell the Desabla at 07:20 am and kept up a continual fire at her from a Deck Gun. Realising that escape was impossible, the master stopped his Engine and ordered all hands into the Boats, which were successfully lowered at 08:20 am, allowing all the Crew to escape safely. Shortly after the enemy fired a Torpedo into the Ship at 08:30 am, but as she did not sink immediately some members of the crew went aboard her, presumably to place explosive charges and to loot her. When last seen by the Master at 12:30 pm, his ship was sinking fast and the Submarine had submerged out of sight. The survivors were picked up by the Armed Trawlers at 3:30 pm and taken ashore."
The official report stated the wreck was 10 miles from Tod Head, Scotland. Divers searched there for years. However, the wreck of the SS Desabla is actually 35 miles from Montrose, Scotland. After a number of attempts[4], she was located in 2010 by divers from Marine Quest based in Eyemouth, Berwickshire.