SS Adriatic (1871)

Adriatic by George Parker Greenwood, (1889)

600hp

**SS *Adriatic*** was the first of two White Star Line ocean liners to carry the name *Adriatic*. The White Star Line's first four steamships, the (*Oceanic*(I), *Atlantic*, *Baltic*, and the *Republic*) met with great success in the trans-Atlantic market, and the line decided to build two more. The first of these was the SS *Adriatic*, which was built by Harland and Wolff and launched on 17 October 1871; the second was the *Celtic*.

## History

During the remainder of 1871 and the early part of 1872, *Adriatic* was fitted out. As a part of this process, a technology new to that era was tried on the ship. Up to this point, ships' cabins had been lit by oil lamps, but the builders decided to try new gas lamps on *Adriatic*. A machine was added to the engine room to produce gas from coal, the first ship in the world to have such a system, but problems with gas leaks meant it had to be removed before the ship went into service.

*Adriatic* left on her maiden voyage on 11 April 1872, sailing from Liverpool to New York, under Captain Sir Digby Murray, who had captained the maiden voyage of the White Star's first ship, *Oceanic* the year before. *Adriatic* was similar in configuration to the earlier *Oceanic*-class ships, with a single funnel and four masts, with the highest towering to 150 ft (46 m), and the first three square-rigged. Her hull was painted black in typical White Star fashion, and accommodated two classes, First and Steerage. As the largest of the six White Star Line ships, *Adriatic* received the designation as the Line's flagship, a title she held until the larger *Britannic* came on line in 1874.

A month later, during a subsequent Atlantic crossing to New York, *Adriatic* maintained an average speed of 14.52 knots and won the Blue Riband away from the Cunard Line's *Scotia*, which she held since 1866.

*Adriatic* was involved in several accidents. The first occurred in October 1874, when she collided with the Cunard Line's *Parthia* while sailing parallel. There was little damage to either ship. In March, 1875, *Adriatic* rammed the American ship *Columbus* in the Crosby Channel at Liverpool; *Columbus* was sunk and her captain's child was drowned, but the other six people on board were rescued by a passing ship.

December of the same year, in St. Georges Channel, *Adriatic* ran down and sank the sailing vessel *Harvest Queen* in an accident that resulted in the loss of all life aboard *Harvest Queen*. *Harvest Queen* sank so quickly that the crew of *Adriatic* could not identify what ship they had hit, and only a records search later showed who the victim had been. On 19 July 1878, *Adriatic* hit the brig *G. A. Pike* off of South Wales, killing five crew on board *Pike*. Blame was fixed on *Adriatic* for excessive speed.[4]

In 1883, *Adriatic* carried copper wire bars from New York to Liverpool that were subsequently used to create the first ever London Metal Exchange warrant issued by the company Henry Bath & Son Ltd.

In 1884, *Adriatic* underwent a refit, during which accommodations for 50 second class passengers were added. In 1897, she was deemed too old for regular trans-Atlantic service, and was laid up as a reserve ship for the Line, at Birkenhead. When RMS *Oceanic* entered service in 1899, *Adriatic* was sold for scrap, arriving in Preston on 12 February.