Hi Cally ! Would you happen to have a picture of SS Columbia in 1919 ( it had started doing trans atlantic trips by then ! ) Thanking you in advance ! Annie
A right confusing task that was Annie! Firstly there were two SS Columbias in existence at the start of the 20th century. One of them is still around today awaiting total renovation - but she is one of those large Steamboats that plied their trade on the american lakes. The other one is the one that I think you are looking for[more in a minute!] To make things even more confusing another ship around at the same sort of time was the SS Belgenland launched by Harland and Wolffes in 1914 and broken up in 1938 - well this famous liner was renamed SS Columbia in 1934. Nearly all of the pictures doing the rounds are of this ship!! To make things even EVEN more confusing the Japanese have apparently built a "replica" of this SS Columbia [life sized!] and have made it the centre of a theme-park in Japan. There are many realistic colour photographs doing the rounds of this ship as well!!! Back to the [hopefully] SS Columbia that you are looking for. Firstly a few brief details that I have taken from "Clydeships"... ss COLUMBIA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- built by D & W Henderson Ltd Glasgow, Yard No 425 Known as HMS Columbella during WW I Propulsion: Twin screw Converted to oil burning in 1921 Launched: Saturday, 22/02/1902 Ship Type: Passenger Cargo Vessel Ship's Role: Glasgow - New York service Tonnage: 8282 Length: 485.5 Breadth: 56.3 Owner History: Anchor Line Glasgow Status: Scrapped - 1929 in Venice Remarks: Laid up in the Clyde in 1926 and sold to the Byron Line who renamed her MOREAS After only three voyages with this company (Piraeus to New York) she was laid up in 1928 and then sold to the National Greek Line. However, she fared even less well with them, without setting sail at all! You can see why the renaming of the Belgenland to Columbia could not take place until after this ship was scrapped in 1929. Finally I enclose the only picture available [the only one I have ever seen] of the above Columbia - it is the first picture I show. Apologies for it not being of my usually preferred quality- but it is I suppose better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick! To make matters even, even ,even, even more complicated the ex Belgenland Columbia was also 3-funneled and looked very similar to "your" SS Columbia [see my second picture] Oh well - these things are set to try us!
Oh Cally ... I'm sorry I seem to have given you the run around ! But thank you for all your trouble ! I did find this little titchy one ... is this the same one do you think ?
You are both right Annie and Adrian - it is the correct Columbia as per my first picture. She was built for the Anchor Line in 1902 and after her brief period as an armed merchant cruiser during WW1 was returned once more to the AnchorLine in 1919 After a root about on my other, older, computer I have come up with a slightly better picture although again nothing much to write home about!
Hi Cally, would you happen to have a photo of the Mahens? It was used as a hospital ship to transfer the wounded across the channel.
Hi Al. The ship you are referring to although occasionally known as the Mahens was in fact the Hospital Ship SS Maheno which was used by the Royal Navy for transporting casualties across the English Channel during WW1. Most of the time she was used to transport the injured and wounded of New Zealand division. Basic info about the ship is she was launched in 1905 at a Scottish Yard and was intended for the lucrative luxury passenger trade across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. After being taken over by the admiralty for the duration of the war she returned to her former life ferrying the rich and famous across the Tasman Sea. This idyllic life continued right up until 1935 when she was condemned to be scrapped. Anyway the old girl wasn`t going to take this without a fight and whilst being towed to Japan from Melbourne she took advantage of a cyclone and ended up beaching herself on Fraser Island - where amazingly enough she is still in existence today!!! Well the rusting remains of her anyhow are still there - she is also bent and twisted from being used for bomber practise by the Royal Australian airforce during WW2... Pictures of SS Maheno are hard to find with any sort of clarity. However what I have found are firstly a picture of an excellent model built of her and secondly two pictures of her as she exists still today!
Hi Cally, a great service you're providing here. Do you have any pics of the French battleship Danton which was found in the Med recently?
Hello Andy, Cally may have more but in the meantime here are three. http://www.photoship.co.uk/JAlbum Ships/Old Ships D/slides/Danton-02.html http://www.photoship.co.uk/JAlbum Ships/Old Ships D/slides/Danton-01.html http://www.photoship.co.uk/JAlbum Ships/Old Ships D/slides/Danton-03.html French battleship DANTON launched 4.11.1909 and completed 1.6.1911. Torpedoed and sunk by U-64 SW Sardinia 19.3.17 with the loss of 296. Regards Hugh
Thank you Andy and Hugh. Your comments are appreciated. Here is a small selection of pictures of the old French Battleship Danton.
A superb picture showing a badly mauled German battleship Seydlitz after the Battle of Jutland 1916...
An excellent photograph of a King George Vth Battleship in Halifax dry-dock Nova Scotia taken some time during WW1...
Fairly sure it would have been before Annie as it took a long time to get thing back to normal after that dreadful disaster...
