SS Delphic (1897)
SS Delphic | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | Delphic |
| Owner | White Star Line |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
| Yard number | 309 |
| Launched | 5 January 1897 |
| Completed | 15 May 1897 |
| Maiden voyage | 17 June 1897 |
| Out of service | 16 August 1917 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk, 16 August 1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 8,273 GRT |
| Length | 475.11 ft (144.8 m) |
| Beam | 55.3 ft (16.9 m) |
| Installed power | 3,000 ihp (2,200 kW) |
| Propulsion | Two triple expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) service speed |
| Capacity | 1,000 passengers |
SS Delphic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line, built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast and completed on 15 May 1897. She was assigned to the New Zealand route. She was a fairly slow ship primarily intended for transporting emigrants and goods to New Zealand. Despite this, she made her first crossings on the New York route before joining the route to New Zealand. For twenty years, her service on this route was uneventful, with the exception of troop transport missions during the Second Boer War.
World War I did not disturb her service until March 1917, when she was requisitioned to serve in the war effort. It was during a crossing to South America, the following May, that the ship was torpedoed by the German submarine UC-72. Five people were killed, but the ship sank slowly enough that the rest of the crew could be evacuated, before the ship was sunk by additional torpedoes.