| Summary : 1914 wreck of British trawler which foundered approximately 30 miles off Tynemouth after being mined while on patrol duty as a minesweeper, operating in the North Sea out of her base in Tynemouth. Constructed of steel in 1911, she was a steam-driven vessel, which had been hired by the Admiralty on the outbreak of war. She was one of six vessels all lost to the same minefield within 24 hours: for the others, please see GOTTFRIED, 1473042 / NU 31 SW 27; GAEA, 1002309 / NZ 56 SW 7; CRATHIE, 1002310 / NZ 46 NE 71; BARLEY RIG, 1366064 / NZ 46 NE 93; and SKULI FOGETI, 1002311 / NZ 46 NE 70. |
More information : 27-AUG-1914: 'This fishing trawler, originally registered at Aberdeen, and belonging to R. Irvin and Sons Ltd, detonated a German mine and sank. Hired by the Admiralty from 08.1914.' Place of loss stated as "off Tynemouth". (1)
27-AUG-1914: THOMAS W IRVIN, 201 tons, sunk by a mine in the Tyne. (2)
27-AUG-1914: A British trawler of 201 gross tons mined in the Tyne whilst in Admiralty service. (3)(4)
Based on the Tyne as a minesweeper; sunk by a mine on 27-AUG-[1914].
Dimensions stated as: 115 x 22 x 13 feet. (5)
'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...
'...an Icelandic trawler, the SKULI FORGETI [sic], 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 Hired Trawler No.61, the THOMAS W IRVIN, one of those that had gone to sea that morning, had been blown up and sunk...So far as I can gather, the following are the casualties...THOMAS W IRVIN, 3 killed...
'The Skipper of No.61 came on board when he arrived in harbour at about 8pm, and had some food in the wardroom. He is a splendid fellow; but is naturally rather shaken by his experience.
'He was in the wheelhouse with Commander Dalgety when the mine went off undearneath him. He doesn't remember how he got out of the wheelhous; but imagines he was blown out through the roof, for the next thing he remembers was that he was drenched in water and running aft to launch the one boat they carried in the stern...The ship went down in less than five minutes, her boiler exploding as she did so...
'That particular minefield, containing 194 mines, had been laid by the German minelayer ALBATROS escorted by the cruiser STUTTGART soon after dark on August 26...' (6)
Built: 1911 (1)(5)
Builder: Hall, Russell and Company Ltd. (1)(5)
Where built: Aberdeen (1)(5)
Propulsion: Screw-driven, 3-cylinder triple expansion (1)
HP: 78 (1)
Boilers: 1 (1)
Construction: 1 deck (1)
Crew Lost: 3 (6)
Owner: Royal Navy [all sources]
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
LR 1913-14 No 609(T) |