SS Gasconia
From Our Contribution
 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Gasconia |
| Owner | Walford L. & Co. London |
| Builder | Irvine's Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Ltd, West Hartlepool |
| Yard number | 552 |
| Launched | 1915 |
| Completed | 1915 |
| In service | 1915 |
| Out of service | Sunk 16 Nov 1917 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 3,801 tons |
| Length | 106.8m |
| Beam | 15.6m |
| Propulsion | single screw |
Remarks
Originally built for Houlder Bros & Co. Ltd, London she was sold in 1916 to Walford L. & CO who owned her at the time she was sunk. She went aground on the Orient Bank at East London on 12th October 1917 but was refloated five days later without any damage.
On 16 November 1917, on a voyage from Barry, Wales to Malta with a cargo of coal and stores, the Gasconia was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-63 under the command of Otto Schultze while 20 kilometers north east of Cape Shershel, Algeria. At the time three men lost their lives.