Everything about Ss Austria totally explained
SS Austria was a
steamship of the
Hamburg America Line which sank on
13 September 1858, in one of the worst
transatlantic maritime disasters of the nineteenth century, claiming the lives of 449 passengers and crew. The
Austria was built by
Caird & Co. of
Greenock,
Scotland and was launched on
23 June 1857. She was 318
ft and 2,684
BRT, with three
masts and
single screw propulsion.
After a cancelled British Government charter, she went into service with the
Hamburg America Line on
1 May 1858 on the
Hamburg-
New York route.
Tragedy at sea
On
1 September 1858, SS
Austria captained by
F. A. Heydtmann sailed from
Hamburg on her third voyage to
New York City. At approximately 12:00, on 13 September, at coordinates, a decision was made to
fumigate steerage by dipping a red-hot chain into a bucket of tar; the chain became too hot for the
boatswain to hold, and it was dropped onto the deck, which immediately burst into flames; although the ship was traveling at only
half speed it was impossible to stop the engines as the engine crew had become asphyxiated. When the helmsman abandoned the wheel, the ship swung into the wind, spreading the flames down the length of the ship, racing through the mahogany veneer and varnished bulkheads, as passengers jumped into the sea. The passing
barque,
Maurice of France rescued most of the survivors, and the
Catarina of Norway picked up more the next morning. As the blackened hulk was left to sink, all but 65 of 538 passengers were lost.
Survivors
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ss Austria'.
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