SS Norseman (1897)
| {{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Wrack der Norseman.jpg |Ship caption=Norseman beached and partially sunk after being torpedoed by SM U-39 in 1916. }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}} |Ship name=* {{flagicon|German Empire}} Brasilia (1897–1900)
|Ship namesake= |Ship owner=*Hamburg America Line (1897–1900)
|Ship operator= |Ship registry={{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Liverpool, United Kingdom |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Harland & Wolff Ltd. |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number=318 |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=27 November 1897 |Ship completed=March 1898 |Ship christened= |Ship acquired= |Ship maiden voyage=21 March 1898 |Ship in service=21 March 1898 |Ship out of service=22 January 1916 |Ship identification=* {{ICS|Romeo}}{{ICS|Mike}}{{ICS|Juliett}}{{ICS|Papa}} RMJP
|Ship fate=Scrapped in situ in 1920 after being torpedoed by SM U-39 on 22 January 1916. |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type=Cargo liner |Ship tonnage={{GRT|9,546}} |Ship length={{convert|152.6|m|ftin}} |Ship beam={{convert|19|m|ftin}} |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship draft= |Ship depth={{convert|10.3|m|ftin}} |Ship Armament= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship sail plan=London – Cape Town – Sydney |Ship power=2 × 4 cyl. Quadruple expansion engines |Ship propulsion=Two screw propellers |Ship speed=13 knots |Ship capacity= |Ship crew= |Ship notes=Four masts (formerly two) }} |
SS Norseman was a British cargo liner that was torpedoed by the German submarine SM U-39 in the Mediterranean Sea off Thessaloniki, Greece on 22 January 1916 while on route from Plymouth, United Kingdom to Thessaloniki, Greece, while carrying a varied cargo including about 1,100 mules and munitions. Norseman was subsequently beached at Moudros, Greece, and declared a total loss. She was scrapped in situ in 1920.{{cite web |url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?98453 |title=SS Norseman (+1916) |publisher=wrecksite.eu |date=6 April 2008 |accessdate=14 November 2022}}
Construction
Norseman was launched on 27 November 1897 and completed in March 1898 at the Harland & Wolff Ltd. shipyard in Belfast, United Kingdom as Brasilia for the Hamburg America Line. The ship was {{convert|152.6|m|ftin}} long, had a beam of {{convert|19|m|ftin}} and had a depth of {{convert|10.3|m|ftin}}. She was assessed at {{GRT|9,546}} and had 2 × 4 cylinder quadruple expansion engines driving two screw propellers. The ship could generate 604 n.h.p. with a speed of 13 knots. She was also fitted with four masts instead of two in 1899.
Career
Brasilia set out on its maiden voyage on 21 March 1898, sailing from Belfast, United Kingdom to New York City. The ship held accommodation for 300 second class and 2,400 steerage passengers. She continued to serve the Hamburg America Line on the Hamburg, Germany Baltimore, United States route, making the crossing 13 times between May 1898 and October 1899, after which she was resold to Harland & Wolff. Harland & Wolff added two more masts to the ship's existing two for her conversion into a cargo liner before selling her to the Dominion Line in February 1900. The ship was renamed Norseman and was first used as a troop transport ship, shipping cavalry troops from Liverpool, United Kingdom to Cape Town, South Africa to aid the British army in fighting the Boers during the Second Boer War.{{cite web |url=http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=norse |title=S/S Norseman, Dominion Line |publisher=norwayheritage.com |accessdate=14 November 2022}}
Following its military service, Norseman returned to its usual North Atlantic route, carrying cargo and steerage passengers only after Dominion eliminated the 300 second class accommodations. In 1910 Norseman was chartered to the Aberdeen Line to serve the London, United Kingdom – Cape Town, South-Africa – Sydney route. When the First World War commenced in 1914, Norseman contributed to the British war effort against the Central Powers.{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/4452.html |title=Norseman |publisher=uboat.net |date=1995 |accessdate=14 November 2022}}
Sinking
Norseman set sail from Plymouth, United Kingdom bound for Thessaloniki, Greece via Marseille, France. The ship's cargo consisted of vehicles, clothing, munitions, barbed wire, about 1,100 mules and oats. She was also transporting 150 men of the 26th Infantry Division. In the early morning of 22 January 1916, Norseman reached the Thermaic Gulf alongside a convoy of six other ships including a destroyer and two warships. Norseman was spotted by the German submarine SM U-39 at 4.25 am and was first attacked at 5.10 am by a torpedo fired from U-39. However the torpedo missed the ship and a second attack at 5.36 am also resulted in the torpedo failing to find its target. The attacks were not noticed by any of the ships, so the submarine was able to gain another opportunity in striking the ship.
Norseman was ultimately struck by a torpedo on U-39 her third attempt. The attack left the ship heavily damaged and to save her, she was towed by a torpedo boat, a fishing vessel and two French tugboats to the harbor of Moudros. The towing effort was commanded by Captain Alexander Campbell once his ship the HMS Prince George arrived to offer their assistance. Captain Campbell ordered the Norseman to be abandoned while the ship's stern began to sink before it was beached near Moudros. The stern ultimately sank in {{convert|14|m|ftin}} of water, drowning many of the mules, however many others that were stored in the intermediate decks were rescued. No humans lives were lost in the incident.{{cite web |url=https://greatships.net/norseman |title=Norseman |publisher=greatships.net |date= |accessdate=14 November 2022}}
Wreck
The wreck of Norseman was subjected to many recovery attempts by the British before they abandoned their efforts in 1919. Thereafter the wreck changed hands multiple times, being dismantled and scrapped bit by bit each time until the mid-1950s. She was officially scrapped in situ in 1920, but the large pieces of sheet metal that still lie at the wreck site to this day at a depth of {{convert|14|m|ftin}}, speak of a long and tiresome salvage operation.{{cite web |url=https://www.wreckhistory.com/the-sinking-of-ss-norseman-at-megalo-karabourno/?lang=en |title=The sinking of SS NORSEMAN at Megalo Karabourno |publisher=wreckhistory.com |date=16 July 2021 |accessdate=14 November 2022}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{January 1916 shipwrecks}}
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Category:Ships of the Aberdeen Line
Category:Ships of the Hamburg America Line
Category:Ships of the Dominion Line
Category:Ships built by Harland and Wolff
Category:Ships built in Belfast
Category:Maritime incidents in 1916
Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom
Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
Category:Steamships of Germany
Category:Ships sunk with no fatalities
Category:World War I ships of the United Kingdom