Summary : 1914 wreck of British trawler which foundered approximately 30 miles east of the Tyne after being mined while on patrol duty as a minesweeper, operating out of the Tyne in the North Sea. Constructed of steel in 1911, she was a steam-driven vessel which had been hired by the Admiralty. She was one of six vessels all lost in the same minefield within 24 hours; for the other vessels, please see GOTTFRIED, 1473042; GAEA, 1002309; THOMAS W IRVIN, 1366041; BARLEY RIG, 1366064; and SKULI FOGETI, 1002311. |
More information : Sank after striking a mine thought to have been laid by a German submarine. This vessel had previously been a fishing trawler, hired by the Admiralty in 1914. (1)(5)
27-AUG-1914: Mined off Tyne while on Admiralty service. (2)
27-AUG-1914: Sunk by a mine off the River Tyne; listed as a hired trawler. (3)
Trawler CRATHIE 210/11 hired in 1914, sunk 27-AUG-1914 by a mine off the Tyne. (4)
'On the morning of Thursday, August 27, 1914, we were lying in the Tyne, in touch, as usual, with our outlying patrols, when, at about 4.30am, we received a signal from one of our torpedo-boats. This is what I wrote in my diary the same day:
'...the SKULI FOGETI had been blown up by a mine at 10pm last night. It happened about 30 miles to the eastward of the Tyne...
'Next, at 5.30pm, we heard that...the THOMAS W IRVIN, one of those that had gone to sea that morning, had been blown up and sunk. Three quarters of an hour later we got similar information about No.106, the CRATHIE....So far as I can gather, the following are the casualties...CRATHIE, 2 killed...
'That particular minefiled, containing 194 mines, had been laid by the German minelayer ALBATROS escorted by the cruiser STUTTGART soon after dark on August 26...' (6)
Ex. Caledonian ST Co. Ltd., Aberdeen. Requisitioned and based on the Tyne as a minesweeper. Sunk by mine 27-AUG-1914. (8)
Built: 1911 (4)(7)(8) Builder: Duthie Torry (7)(8) Where Built: Aberdeen (7)(8) Propulsion: Screw-driven, 3-cylinder triple-expansion engine (5) Fishing Number: A350 (8) Crew Lost: 2 (6) Owner: Royal Navy [all sources]
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss |