SS Aberdeen (1881)

SS Aberdeen was a British cargo liner launched in 1882. She was the first ship to be successfully powered by a triple expansion steam engine. She was sold in 1906 to the Ottoman government. She served as a Turkish troopship in World War I until a British submarine sank her in 1915.

For other ships with the same name, see Aberdeen (ship).
This article is about SS Aberdeen (1881). For other uses of Aberdeen, see Aberdeen (disambiguation).

SS Aberdeen
History
Name:
  • Aberdeen (1881)
  • Halep (1906)
Owner:
Builder: Robert Napier and Sons, Govan, Scotland
Launched: 21 December 1881
Maiden voyage: 30 March 1882
Fate: Torpedoed 25 August 1915
General characteristics
Type: Ocean liner
Tonnage: 3,616 gross
Length: 362.4 feet
Beam: 44.3 feet
Propulsion: Triple expansion steam engine, single screw
Speed: 12 knots
Capacity: 695 passengers

Design and construction

Aberdeen was designed as the first steamship in the fleet of the Aberdeen Line, intended for high speed service between the United Kingdom and Australia and the Far East. She was constructed at Govan in the shipyard of Robert Napier and Sons on Clydeside, Scotland. The senior partner at Napier's was Alexander Carnegie Kirk, a talented engineer who had experimentally fitted the world's first "triple expansion" compound steam engine to the SS Propontis in 1874. In Aberdeen, Kirk installed a refined version of his engine, resulting in a ship that has been described as "one of the masterpieces of British shipbuilding".[1] This ship proved the advantages of the new type of engine, which would continue to power major vessels throughout the world for the next seventy years.[2]

Aberdeen had clipper bows and three barque-rigged masts. There was accommodation for 45 first- and 650 third-class passengers.[3]

British service (1882–1906)

Aberdeen began her maiden voyage on 30 March 1882, which was to Cape Town, Melbourne and Sydney. She was modernised in 1892 and again in 1896, when electric light and refrigeration were installed. Her last voyage with the Aberdeen Line was to Sydney and started on 19 December 1905.[3]

Turkish service (1906–1915}

In 1906, she was sold to the Turkish government and renamed SS Halep. She was employed as a troopship and a ferry on the Black Sea.[3] On 25 August 1915, the Royal Navy submarine HMS E11 torpedoed her at the Akbas Jetty in Çanakkale harbour. It is estimated that two hundred of the crew and soldiers on board were killed.[4] She was later refloated and subsequently broken up.[3]

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References
  1. Day, Lance and McNeil, Ian (Editors) 2013, Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology Routledge, ISBN 0-203-02829-5 (P. 694)
  2. The Friends of Dundee City Archives - Marine Engineering 1814-1984 by David Middleton
  3. Clydebuilt Database - ss ABERDEEN
  4. Wrecksite - Aberdeen SS (1881~1905) Halep SS (+1915)
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