| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Ivernia |
| Owner: | Cunard Line |
| Builder: | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom |
| Launched: | 1899 |
| Fate: | Torpedoed and sunk, 1 January 1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 13,799 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 600 ft (180 m) |
| Beam: | 64 ft (20 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam quadruple-expansion engines geared to twin propellers |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Capacity: | 1,964 passengers (164 first class, 200 second class, 1,600 third class) |
SS Ivernia was a British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Line, built by the company Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and launched in 1899. The Ivernia was one of Cunard's intermediate ships, that catered to the vast immigrant trade. Her sistership was SS Saxonia. The Ivernia worked on Cunard's service from Liverpool to Boston and then later on the immigrant run from Trieste to New York City.
Following the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 the Ivernia was hired by the British government as a troop transport and was placed under the command of Captain Turner (made famous for being the captain of RMS Lusitania at the time of her sinking).
At 10:12am on 1 January 1917 the Ivernia was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-47 58 miles south-east of Cape Matapan in Greece. Within one hour the ship sank. HMS Rifleman rescued a number, and armed trawlers towed the bulk, who had taken to lifeboats, to Suda Bay in Crete. Over 120 lives were lost from the sinking. The Ivernia had one major distinction: she had the largest funnel ever fitted to a ship, measuring 60 feet from top to deck.