SS Deutschland (1866)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Germany
|
|
| Name: | Deutschland |
| Operator: | Norddeutscher Lloyd |
| Builder: | Caird & Company, Greenock, Scotland |
| Launched: | 29 May 1866 |
| Fate: | Wrecked, 6 December 1875, Kentish Knock |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Passenger cargo vessel |
| Tonnage: | 2,800 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Displacement: | 2,278 tons |
| Length: | 325 ft (99 m) |
| Beam: | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam, single propeller |
| Speed: | 11 kn (20 km/h) |
| Crew: | 90 |
Deutschland was an iron passenger steamship of the Norddeutscher Lloyd line, built by Caird & Company of Greenock, Scotland in 1866.
Deutschland was built as an emigrant passenger ship. She entered service on 7 October 1866 and arrived at New York on her maiden voyage on 28 October.
The Deutschland sailed from Bremerhaven on 4 December 1875, commanded by Captain Eduard Brickenstein, with 123 emigrants bound for New York via Southampton. Weather conditions were very bad with heavy snowstorms, and the ship had no clear idea of her position until, at 05:00 on 6 December, she ran aground in a blizzard on the Kentish Knock, a shoal 23 mi (37 km) off Harwich and 22 mi (35 km) from Margate, 3 mi (4.8 km) from the Kentish Knock lightvessel, and out of sight from shore. At the time she was 30 mi (48 km) from where Captain Brickenstein estimated she was.
Shortly before grounding, an attempt was made to go astern but this failed when the stress fractured the ship's propeller. Driven onto the sandbank, the vessel began to take on water and as the tide rose she failed to lift off the shoal as had been expected. When the sea began to break over her, and the wind rose to gale force, the order was given to abandon ship, causing some panic. One boat was launched, but was swamped, while a second boat, with the quartermaster, a sailor and a passenger aboard, went adrift and eventually reached shore on the Isle of Sheppey the next day with only the quartermaster left alive. The remaining boats were later washed away or destroyed by the stormy seas.
Distress rockets were seen on the morning of 6 December by the Sunk lightship, which tried through the day to attract the attention of passing shipping, without success. Later, rockets from that light vessel were seen by another, whose own rockets were seen at Harwich in the evening, though neither the nature nor location of the casualty were known. The paddle tug Liverpool was dispatched at daylight on 7 December, reaching the Deutschland via the sequence of light vessels, and embarked all 173 still alive on the wreck.
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Wikipedia