HMT Californian
From Our Contribution
 SS Californian on the morning after the Titanic sank. | |
 U Boat U 38 - similar design to U-34 and U-35 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Californian |
| Owner | Leyland Line |
| Builder | Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee |
| Yard number | 159 |
| Launched | 25 Nov 1901 |
| Completed | late 1901 |
| In service | 30 Jan 1902 |
| Reclassified | passenger / cargo |
| Fate | Sunk by German submarines U-34 & U-35 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | passenger / cargo |
| Tonnage | 6,223 tons |
| Length | 447 feet (136 m) |
| Beam | 53 feet (16 m) |
| Depth | 30.5 feet (9.3 m) |
| Speed | 12 knots |
| Capacity | 147 passengers & 55 crew |
Remarks
The largest ship built in Dundee to her time due to constraints on the dimension of the Dundee Docks. Primarily built to transport cotton, but with some passenger capability. She had a Marconi wireless fitted in late 1911 and became infamous as the closest ship to the Titanic when it hit an iceberg and sank, but failed to provide assistance, altough she did provide warning to the Titanic of the presence of icebergs.
On 2 July 1913, Californian was docked in Veracruz when a fire erupted in her no.3 & 4 holds, sustaining serious damage to herself and her cargo. "Californian" continued in normal commercial service until World War I, when the British government took control of her. On 9 Nov 1915, while en-route from Salonica to Marseilles, she was torpedoed by the German U-boat SM U-34. While she was under tow by a French patrol boat, she was torpedoed again, and, around 7:45am, she sank in 10–13,000 feet of water, approximately 60 miles (50 nautical miles; 100 km) south-southwest of Cape Matapan, Greece by SM U-35, killing one person and injuring two others. To date, Californian's wreck remains undiscovered.