SS Laura (1875)
{{other ships|SS Laura}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
|infobox caption= |display title= }} {{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Laura 1886 B BIG.jpg |Ship image size=300 |Ship caption=Laura in Svendborg, 1886 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name=Roll Call |Ship owner= |Ship operator= |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered=Newcomb & Thomson |Ship builder=J Readhead & Co, South Shields |Ship original cost= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=29 November 1875{{cite web |title=Roll Call |url= http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/R-Ships/rollcall1875.html |work=Tyne Built Ships |publisher=Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust |access-date=23 May 2016}} |Ship completed= |Ship christened= |Ship acquired= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship identification= |Ship fate=Acquired by O Prior & Co. 1881 and renamed Ellen |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name=Ellen |Ship operator= |Ship registry=Copenhagen, Denmark |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= |Ship completed= |Ship christened= |Ship acquired=1881 |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship identification= |Ship fate= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name=Laura |Ship owner=Dampskibsselskabet Laura |Ship operator= |Ship registry=Svendborg, Denmark |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= |Ship completed= |Ship christened= |Ship acquired=1886 |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship identification=code letters NSWH{{cite book |title=Sjøfartens Bibliotek |date=April 1887 |place=Copenhagen |page=64 |url= http://www.sbib.dk/documents/Skibslister/1887.pdf |access-date=23 May 2016}} |Ship fate=Beached 27 August 1941 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type=Cargo ship |Ship displacement= |Ship length={{convert|135.5|ft}} |Ship beam={{convert|19.7|ft}} |Ship height= |Ship draught={{convert|10.0|ft}} |Ship draft= |Ship depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship sail plan= |Ship power={{convert|40|HP}} steam engine |Ship speed= |Ship capacity= |Ship crew= |Ship notes= }} |
SS Laura was an 1875-built steamship owned by Peter Mærsk-Møller. Originally built as the Roll Call by J Readhead & Co in South Shields, she was renamed Ellen in 1881 and then acquired by Peter Mærsk-Møller in 1886 and renamed Laura. The ship was the first to bear the white seven pointed star emblem of the Maersk company, which was created by Peter Mærsk-Møller's son Arnold Peter Møller.
History
=1875 to 1881=
Roll Call was built in 1875 by John Readhead & Sons in South Shields, UK.{{cite book |title=Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping |year=1883 |place=London |page=273 |url= https://archive.org/stream/lloydsregisters23unkngoog#page/n273/mode/1up |via=Internet Archive |access-date=10 May 2016}} Her iron hull was {{convert|135.9|ft}} long, {{convert|19.7|ft}} wide and had a draft of {{convert|10.0|ft}}. She was fitted with a 40-HP steam engine which powered a screw propeller.{{cite book |title=Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping |year=1889 |place=London |page=397 |url= https://archive.org/stream/lloydsregisters28unkngoog#page/n396/mode/2up |via=Internet Archive |access-date=10 May 2016}}
=1881 to 1886=
=1886 to 1909=
In 1886 the ship was acquired by Dampskibsselskabet Laura (Danish for "Laura Steamship Company") and captain Peter Mærsk-Møller in Svendborg.{{cite web |title=Peter Mærsk Møller |url= http://www.maersk.com/en/the-maersk-group/peter-maersk-moller |website=www.maersk.com |access-date=23 May 2016}} In 1898 Peter Mærsk-Møller handed captaincy of the Laura to one of his sons, Hans Nielsen Jeppesen Møller. Peter Mærsk-Møller would go on to found Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg (Danish for "Svendborg Steamship Company") in 1904 with another of his sons Arnold Peter Møller, which would eventually become the shipping conglomerate Mærsk.{{cite web |title=Peter Mærsk Møller, skibsreder i Svendborg |url=http://www.svendborghistorie.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=844:peter-maersk-moller-skibsreder-i-svendborg&catid=12:personalhistorier&Itemid=19 |access-date=23 May 2016 |language=Danish}}{{in lang|da}} Katrine Nielsen Jensen, [http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/htm/baggrund/tema2005/a%20p%20moeller%20maersk/ A.P. Møller - Mærsk], Danmarks Radio, 30 June 2005
Peter Mærsk Møller attached a blue banner with a white seven pointed star to both sides of the funnel of Laura when his wife recovered from illness. In a letter to his wife, P.M. Møller explained in October 1886, "The little star on the chimney is a memory of the night when I prayed for you and asked for a sign: If a star would appear in the gray and cloudy sky, it would mean that the Lord answers prayers." The same star later became the emblem of the Maersk Group.{{cite book |last=Ellemose |first=Søren |title=Hr. Møller - årets gang i A.P Møller-Mærsk |publisher=documentas |year=2008 |pages=22–23 |chapter=Chapter 1: Hr. Møller |isbn=978-87-7063-054-2}}
=1909 and beyond=
In 1909 the ship was acquired by O Litzio of Catania and renamed Ignazio. By 1918 the ship was registered to A&E Halfon of Benghazi, Libya, and called Adele.
By World War II, Adele was under German control. On 27 August 1941, she was attacked and damaged by Soviet Navy motor torpedo boats and was beached to avoid sinking.{{cite web |url= http://www.soviet-empire.com/ussr/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=53730 |title=Soviet Naval Battles-Baltic sea |publisher=Sovietempire.com |access-date=2 August 2014}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{August 1941 shipwrecks}}
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Category:Ships built on the River Tyne
Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom
Category:Merchant ships of Denmark
Category:Steamships of Denmark
Category:Merchant ships of Italy