| Summary : 1914 wreck of Norwegian cargo vessel which foundered either 15 or 27 miles NE of the Tyne after being mined en route from Egersund for Blyth in ballast. Constructed of steel in 1889, she was a steam-driven vessel. GOTTFRIED was one of six vessels to be lost in the course of a day in the same minefield: for the others please see GAEA, 1002309 / NZ 56 SW 7; CRATHIE, 1002310 / NZ 46 NE 71; THOMAS W IRVIN 1366041 / NZ 46 NE 93; BARLEY RIG, 1366064 / NZ 46 NE 94; and SKULI FOGETI, 1002311 / NZ 46 NE 70. |
More information : 27-AUG-1914: GOTTFRIED, 426 tons, mined in the North Sea 15 miles from the Tyne, en route Egersund for Blyth. (1)
27-AUG-1914: GOTTFRIED, 426 tons, mined off the Tyne, 27 miles E half N of Tynemouth. (2)
Dimensions: 462 [error for 426?] tons gross, 240 net; 140 x 25.1 x 12.8 feet.
Built as GOTTFRIED for her first owner in Stockholm, 1889. She changed hands in 1902 and again in 1904, going into Norwegian service.
27-AUG-1914: Sunk by mine with the loss of 8 lives, 27 miles E half N of Tynemouth, en route Egersund for Blyth in ballast. She was lost in a minefield laid the previous day by the German minelayer SMS ALBATROSS. (3)
Dimensions: 425 tons; 42.3m x 7.6m.
27-AUG-1914: Mined 15 miles NE of the Tyne. (4)
NB: A position of loss 27 miles NE of the Tyne would be outside territorial waters. A position 15 miles NE of the Tyne appears to be within the 12 mile limit opposite the southern end of Druridge Bay. It is possible that the position as described is inaccurate, since the bearing is given as from the Tyne, but the vessel was southbound from Egersund and had not yet reached the Tyne. (6)
'On the morning of Thursday, August 27, 1914, we were lying in the Tyne...During the forenoon we heard that a Norwegian steamer, the GOTTFRIED, of 600 tons, had been blown up on another mine in much the same place [as the SKULI FOGETI: see NZ 46 NE 70] at 2.15am. The crew had no time to get out the boats, for the ship went down in a minute and a half, to leave the survivors in the water for over five hours before they were picked up by a British drifter.
'...So far as I can gather, the following are the casualties...GOTTFRIED, Norwegian steamer, 8 killed or drowned...' (7)
Foundered en route Egersund for the Tyne in ballast. (8)
'MINES SINK TWO STEAMERS.
'More Neutral Vessels Blown up in North Sea - 12 Lives Lost.
'London, Aug. 27. Floating mines in the North Sea caused havoc to shipping last night and this morning . . . the Norwegian steamer GOTTFRIED was blown up, with a loss of eight lives.
' . . . Four survivors from the GOTTFRIED were landed at Shields by the fishing boat NORDEN. The crew of the NORDEN say that about 9 o'clock last night they heard an explosion in the distance, and another at midnight. Two louder concussions were heard at about 3 o'clock this morning. About 5:30 the lookout espied a man floating on a plank. He was rescued, and was found to belong to the GOTTFRIED. Later another survivor was rescued. He proved to be the Captain of the GOTTFRIED. He had kept himself afloat with the aid of a lifebelt. Afterward two other men, with only a plank between them, were hauled aboard.
'A member of the GOTTFRIED's crew said the mine struck the vessel forward and that the ship sank in two minutes. It is thought that three men in the forecastle were blown to pieces.
'The GOTTFRIED, built at Stockholm in 1899, had a gross tonnage of 425 and was 140 feet long. She was owned in Haugesund, Norway.' (9)
Built: 1889 (1)(3)(4)
Builder: Bergsunds mek. Verksted (3)(4)
Where Built: Stockholm (3)(4)
Machinery: Bergsunds mek. Verksted, Stockholm (3)
Propulsion: 2-cylinder compound engine (3)
Official Number: 2568 (5) [Swedish numbering system]
HP: 80 (3)
Crew Lost: 8 (3)(7)
Owner: K J Knudsen m.fl., Haugesund (3)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
MOD(N)Hyd.Wk.No.006700196 |