SS Ionic (1883)
{{Short description|British ship of the White Star line}}
{{other ships|SS Ionic|SS Sophocles (1921)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = SS Ionic.png | Ship caption = SS Ionic in Port Chalmers }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = United Kingdom | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}} | Ship name = *SS Ionic (1883–1900)
| Ship owner = *White Star Line (1883–1900)
| Ship operator = *Chartered by New Zealand Shipping Company (1883–1884)
| Ship registry = | Ship route = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Harland & Wolff, Belfast | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = 152 | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 11 January 1883 | Ship completed = 28 March 1883 | Ship christened = | Ship acquired = | Ship maiden voyage = April 1884 London to Wellington | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship identification = | Ship fate = Broken up in April 1908 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = Cargo liner | Ship tonnage = {{GRT|4753}} | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|439|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|44|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship depth = | Ship power = | Ship propulsion = | Ship speed = {{convert|14|kn}} | Ship capacity = | Ship crew = | Ship notes = }} |
SS Ionic was a cargo liner initially in service with White Star Line from 1883 until 1900. She was used on the company's joint route to New Zealand with the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line. She was sold to the Aberdeen Line in 1900 and renamed SS Sophocles, and was withdrawn for service in 1906 and scrapped in 1908.
Service
Ionic was built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast and launched on 11 January 1883, being delivered to her new owners on 28 March 1883.{{cite web |url=http://www.nomadicpreservationsociety.co.uk/hwindex.asp?page=17&order=Ship_Launch_Date|title=Harland and Wolff Ships Index|publisher=The Nomadic Preservation Society|accessdate=20 January 2012}} She was almost immediately chartered for service with the New Zealand Shipping Company, along with the White Star ships {{SS|Doric|1883|2}} and {{SS|Coptic|1881|2}}, to fill a gap while the company was awaiting the delivery of new ships.{{cite web |url=http://www.red-duster.co.uk/WSTAR5.htm |title=THE WHITE STAR LINE |publisher=The Merchant Navy Association |accessdate=20 January 2012}} After being inspected by the Prince of Wales, Ionic began her maiden voyage from London to Wellington, sailing via the Cape of Good Hope, in April 1884, setting a new record for the passage.
She was placed on the regular joint White Star – Shaw, Savill & Albion route from December 1884, managed by Shaw, Savill & Albion but crewed by White Star Line personnel. She had to be towed to Cape Town after her propeller shaft snapped in 1893, and in 1894 she was extensively refitted by Harland and Wolff. In December 1899 she transported horses to the Cape during the Second Boer War, and in April 1900 was chartered by the Spanish government to repatriate troops from Manila after the Spanish–American War. Ionic was sold later that year to the Aberdeen Line as a replacement for their {{SS|Thermopylae||2}}, which had been lost in September 1899. The Aberdeen Line renamed her SS Sophocles. She made her final voyage in August 1906, and was scrapped by Thos. W. Ward at Morecambe, Lancashire in April 1908.
References
{{Reflist}}
- [http://www.red-duster.co.uk/WSTAR5.htm Ships of the White Star Line at red-duster.co.uk]
- [http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=ioni1 Norway Heritage]
{{White Star Line ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ionic}}
Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Ships built in Belfast
Category:Ships of the Aberdeen Line