Suevic: Salvage of a White Star Liner
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- Опубліковано 9 гру 2020
- The SS Suevic was the last of the White Star Line's Jubilee Class ships. Built for the Liverpool to Australia route, she was salvaged and had her entire bow replaced after grounding off the Lizard Point.
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Sources:
- “Falling Star: Misadventures of White Star Line Ships” by John P. Eaton & Charles A. Haas
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There was this ship called ss katrina and the captain is thomas Larson. (Look It Up)
For some time, Suevic was the longest ship in the world, with her bow in Belfast and her stern in Southampton.
boom boom lol
As they say in Belfast about a lot of the White Star ships that ended their lives very very early... "She was fine when she left Belfast.". ;)
Wa wa waaaaaa!
Very good lol.
Reminds me to an old limerick starting: "There once was a young girl named Jill"
Hahaha
Brings a whole new meaning to "I SAWED THIS BOAT IN HALF!!"
Lol
Epic
You're brilliant sir
Twice!
AND FIXED IT WITH FLEX TAPE
There seems to be a lot of "last voyage before retirement" in white star line disasters.
Yep
Drunk all the way there and back.
yeah i rmemeber captain edward j smith
White Star had something of a problem with accurate navigation, as their list of ship disasters and accidents indicate.
White star line suffered with financial difficulties during most of its later operations so maybe these are insurance frauds but I’m sure past records would prove some form of pattern if so. As it is also rumoured that Titanic was a insurance job because it was swapped her sister ship Olympic as she had a collision with HMS hawke in which Hawke had damaged Olympic under the water line and keel plates so she was swapped with the Titanic because it was a great cost to white star to fix.
Not to worry, we are still sailing half a ship.
- First Officer Kenobi
Hello There
You are a bold one
@@batstherebel2704 General Kenobi
So much love for this comment....thank you passive smoking.
Shields are down, but the Phasers are all operative!
Suevic: *Runs aground, has her bow blasted and torn off to save the rest of her*
Suevic: “Tis but a scratch”
Underated Comment
"Just a flesh wound"
"A _scratch?!_ Your bow's off!"
My insurance company when I hit a pothole: *total loss*
6:02 Can you imagine being one of the owners and being told "good news there's virtually no damage to the ship", walking down to the docks, and seeing that.
Lol
Wow! Cut an ocean liner in two, with explosives, on a rocky shore, sound it for buoyancy, tow it to Harland & Wolfe, attach a new bow, and put it back in service. Wow! Those were manly men!
Wouldn't see that from the limp rest retards the world is made from now.
That's what you call engineers ;)
And if it weren’t economically viable back then, they’d have done the same.
Ships are surprisingly survivable. It still happens now that ships will receive new bows, sterns, mid ship parts etc. The latter usually just to improve the cargo carrying capacity as opposed to damage repairs.
@@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24 I’m not saying that it happens all the time but it does happen. I worked on the ss Kowloon Bay a container ship that received a new bow after running aground on Rondo Rock near Malacca Strait. The tanker Jahre Viking was jumboised after being bombed during the first gulf war. Also, the term beaching is when a ship is deliberately run aground to prevent sinking when taking on water or any other reason😊.
I'm just impressed that it is possible to blow a ship in half with dynamite and sail one half across the ocean..
This was before oxy-acetelyn welding.
Watertight bulkheads are a wonderful thing. And to be fair this was dynamite being used in a carefully-calculated way, like plastic explosives are today.
Josh Roberts -read the story of San Demetrio -blown in half by a torpedo -the bow half sank -the stern was still.afloat the next day so the crew re-boarded from their lifeboats and sailed her stern first half way across the Atlantic and made landfall in Clew Bay Western Ireland. They made a film of her story .
Oh to be a fly on the wall during THAT conversation between White Star and Harland & Wolff 🤣
"Yes so we need another Jubilee class liner, but only half of one. We'll explain later."
This is one of my favorite ship stories. The lengths that they went to save the Suevic were INSANE, yet it was still successful! This rescue mission is usually overlooked, however I think Suevic deserves more recognition.
@TheImperialShipster you were that guy from Roblox right? The German dude.
@Georges_LeBeau Oh yeah I remember you.
This story also serves to debunk a certain conspiracy theory about the _Olympic_ and _Titanic:_ If Harland & Wolff were able to build a new bow for the _Suevic,_ the damage the _Olympic_ suffered when she collided with the _Hawke_ would be small Irish potatoes by comparison.
This was a captivating story. The thought of taking a ship apart while on the rocks and fitting a new bow would probably not be attempted today. Thanks for sharing this story.
I agree, the wreck would have probably been abandoned today.
Love learning about ship stories I only know so much about. We hear about way too many disasters (which is important), but not nearly enough victory stories like this one.
Absolutely! To me, stories like this one provide great insight into the operations of shipping companies.
The RNLI guys are something very special to us in Great Britain we support them and provide voluntary contributions to help keep it going. They are very brave men who shirk at nothing and often launch into Gales and very treacherous seas without hesitation.
This is an absolute credit to the skill of Harland & Wolff and the quality of their construction. Whenever people suggest the Titanic/Olympic 'switch' theory, arguing that Olympic was damaged beyond hope of repair in the Hawke collision, hence the supposed switch, I like to point them to Suevic as an example of just what H&W and WSL could achive. It's utter nonsense to imagine that the people who salvaged the Suevic were incapable of making Olympic good as new after her collision with the Hawke.
As usual, an amazing video! Bravo sirrah! This one got my subscription!
Also steel is just a fantastic material to repair, especially after the advent of welding. But back then they'd remove the bolts on the damages plates and put in new ones. It was expensive but it wasn't any sort of super human feat, especially compared to Suevic.
I guess that makes her the "longest" ship in the world
When they mean to cut the ship in half, they really mean *Blow Her Apart*
Well, oxyacetylene wasn't a thing yet.
@@ZeldaTheSwordsman Oxyacetylene was developed in 1903 and this ship was wrecked in 1907...
Using oxyacetylene here would be simply silly. They just wanted to free part of the ship that was undamaged.
How you would use oxyacetylene in part of the ship that was under water? Ocean would make the steel cold and hard to cut and even if you would make the cut then the hole would be acting as fountain...
A shaped charges should be used to make clean cuts with minimal damage to other parts of the ship but that "wasn't a thing yet". ;)
I'm so happy you finally did one on the Suevic! Her story is fairly forgotten, but still very interesting!
h
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@@oceanicstarline1899 h
@@anormalcommentor9452 h
HOW
DO
I
FIND
YOU...
Interesting: the bow was lost and replaced with a new one, and then the stern was replaced with a different on. Is it still the same ship?
That's an interesting philosophical question. In my opinion yes: A ship is an idea on what a bunch of metal in this case is supposed to be. As long as the story of this idea continues, it's still the same ship.
@@iffn en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus#:~:text=In%20the%20metaphysics%20of%20identity,remains%20fundamentally%20the%20same%20object.
As much as grampa's axe still is grampa's axe.
You should know that the USS Wisconsin got into a collision with a destroyer and the bow was damaged, the bow was replaced with a new bow originally from the USS Kentucky, an unfinished Iowa class battleship
Only the stern was changed, the middle was still original and the bow was to the original design, so in my opinion yes it was the same ship.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution rocks!
Well technically the Suvic rocks 🪨 🚢
I find it amazing that they were capable of doing such work all those years ago.
Amazing story I'd never heard before. No loss of life, and 2/3 a ship is still a ship worth saving. Excellent!
To show you the power of flex tape. I'm going to use these explosives to blow the bow of this ship off.
:)
Great comment, hahaha!
What a story, I have never heard of anything like that being done. The skill of the shipbuilders was something, to build just a bow section and have it fit a ship that ran aground is amazing. Thanks for your hours of work in posting your videos....... Top notch.....
One of the most unique stories of any ocean liner
This is the kind of channel where I like the video before it starts.
One of my favourite videos on here. Real enginuity back then, these days it would have just been an insurance write off. One thing that surprised me was that they didn't have a small team strip the bow by salvaging every railing, davits, bridge equipment, the main mast, etc and transport it all back to Belfast to be fitted onto the new bow being built.
White Star Line's ships always have a disaster if the captain is in his last voyage. What a curse!.
To be fair, any disaster in which the captain dies is the captain's last voyage.
Yeah, if the captain is retiring, I'm sleeping in a life raft while wearing a life preserver. LOL
I’ve repeatedly read of the Suevic story in Richard Larn and Clive Carter’s fascinating book “Cornish Shipwrecks - The South Coast” book ever since I was a youngster. It’s great to finally see a visual representation of this incredible story, including some images that I’ve never seen before. Great video, thanks for researching and creating it and you’ve certainly got a new subscriber here! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
This really is quite impressive harland and wolff was stupidly good st their job then, and even though they’ve moved away from ship building, they’re still stupid good at their job now
Didn’t they go bust recently ?
Glad we are a supporter of this channel!!!
Looking forward to our joint video in a few weeks!
@@TheGreatBigMove can't wait either!!!!
@@TheGreatBigMove Wait you are doing a cross over with him?
@@FreedomLovingLoyalistOfficial Yes, it'll be on Queen Mary and will be uploaded 6 weeks from today (if all goes according to plan).
@@TheGreatBigMove Oh Wonderful.
Glad you researched this, this story is very underrated.
Like the Atlantic sinking
That must be one of the most extraordinary stories to come from the sea !
What an amazing idea. Imagine being in that boardroom.
Higher up executive:”We could have huge losses, we have to think how to minimize them”
Another executive, who possibly dabbles in hobby magic:” what if we saw her... in half. Stitch her on a new head”
* tense silence*
Executives: “brilliant!”
Great video, one thing to remember the RNLI rescuers are all volunteers people who hold regular jobs and then suit up and go out to help people in the sea at a moments notice. You should really do a story on the origination and how it is funding primarily by public donation.
I could do that. Seems like an interesting topic.
Reminds me of a similar salvage of a WWII US Navy destroyer; USS Murphy (DD-603). While escorting a convoy Murphy was struck on the port side between the bridge and forward stack by the oil tanker SS Bulkoil. The forward third of the ship sank in 265 feet of water, taking 36 officers and men with it. The aft two-thirds was kept afloat and was towed into New York Navy Yard for repairs, which included the replacement of the entire bow.
Suevic was an absolute legend.
You know that just figures: Your last voyage before you retire and all hell breaks loose~
I'm an airline pilot. When I'm getting ready to retire, my last month I'm going to do the first half of my flying.....And then call sick for the second of my month just so that I can avoid shit like this!
Awesome video!
In 1970 I remember visiting The Top House pub at The Lizard which had some Chart room tables
that had been salvaged from The Suevic. I wonder if they still have them...?
I haven't heard of a franken-ship this far back, on this scale. During WW1 and WW2 there were cases of two destroyers or destroyer escorts with opposite damaged ends being welded together to make 1 ship. New bows for cruisers became a common thing with because of the Long Lance's tendency to blow them clean off. But on the merchant side, this didn't become popular until after the war. Such as the aft end and plant of the burned out SEA WITCH became the foundation of the CHEMICAL PIONEER or the SEABULK AMERICA being the tank body of an ITB that suffered the uncontrolled flooding and sinking of the tug and the engineering spaces of a wrecked japanese freighter...
Dear TGBM
👍👌👏 What a simply fantastic kind of recycling! Thanks a lot for making, uploading and sharing this great video.
Best regards, luck and health.
A testament to the skills of people pre computer age
Gratitude! Enjoyed every minute👏👏
This was a troopship during WW1, transported Australians to Europe. By Great uncle was on this ship to the UK from Australia. He was killed at Passchendale in 1917.
This story reminds me of the two British destroyers during the Second World War that were cut in half, one losing its bow, the other losing its stern, and instead of writing them off, joined the two of them together making a new ship.
Mitosis.
"When a mummy and daddy ship love each other very much" lol
Interesting history. I've learned something of White Star over the years but this is completely new to me...
Very impressive story. Thank you for telling it.
What a salvage and 'repair'... The most daring ones I have ever seen dayum
what ingenuity to save part and fix her. Glad to hear of ship rescues that are so successful. It was not uncommon here on the Great lakes to break a ship in half and add a new section in the middle to increase length for more cargo but to save a vessel that way, awesome. Well told. Thanks
there is no damage to the ship, except for the missing bow
Is her original bow still out there on the rocks or has it gone completely now?
Sadly it rioted away and now only a rock remains
probably gone after 120 years on the rocky English coastline
After over 110 years of Atlantic storms why would it have changed?
Love your channel. Keep this great content coming. Thanks👍
Not sure why this was recommended. But I'm glad it was. Fascinating story!
They sure don't build em like they used to!
Glad you enjoyed!
White Star: You may commence the salvage.
Salvage team: So anyway I started blasting...
Amazing story. Thanks for posting.
That is pretty amazing
Excellent video, thank you
1908, no CAD, no laser guided measurements, no HD digital photography, or anyway to perform an independent analysis short of seeing it for yourself. That means Harland and Wolfs engineers built a half a ship, based on nothing more than pen and paper calculations, marks on a scale drawing and their own eyes! And it fitted on perfectly.
Yes, it really is impressive!
Just make me think what they could have done if they still existed we could have had mile longships with all the fixing aha oh well I suppose we should remember them for the amazing shipbuilder they were not the ones they could have been today
They had the mighty slide rule!
You are one of the best channels on UA-cam sir. Love your work, keep it up and Godspeed.
I love the story of Suevic. Really happy that you bring it up and share it with the world. Just so sad what happened to her in the end..
There is one other White Star Ship that has a even more interesting story. That is SS Naronic.
I will look into that! Thanks for the suggestion.
Thats an interesting story I wasnt aware of the Suevics History Thankyou.
I took a sailing class and sailed right by the SS United States in Philly, unknowingly at the time. I discovered this channel a week after I got back from the sailing class and I was so mad I didn't know that I had sailed past an american sailing icon!
I took my powerboat up under the bow of the SS United States. Gave my guests something of a “Titanic” view of her.
She was a grand ship in her day! I keep hoping the owners will refurbish her to some extent.
I like your videos very informational..straight to the point very well put together!! 💯🧠👊
Thanks for another great video!
I always was interested in ships, especially from White Star Line (for quite obvious reasons), and this maybe is a more unknown story of a White Star ship (of course dominated by the stories other White Star ships), but it's certainly a very interesting one. It kind of amazes me that they did such a salvage operation at that time and that the Suevic served on for many years after this happened (which unfortunately can't be said about some other beautiful White Star ship(s)...)
I discovered this channel a couple of weeks ago, and I enjoyed every video, you're doing a great job and your channel definitely deserves more subscribers
Amazing Story, Thx for sharing..
Amazing repair !!
Sounds amazing. And sounds even more amazing after you read and the "salvage" and sinking of Stella Banner. Very new ship that wasn't Even sunk or damaged..
Do the SS Palo Alto and the history of concrete ships
As always, good video.
Great story. The White Star Line eventually became part of the Shaw Savill & Albion Co. Ltd and there were several more "Suevic" s over the years. The last ship of that name was scrapped in 1974, shortly after I joined the company as an Engineer Cadet in 1971.
Why is it that ship captains always mess up on their last voyage before retrieving or being promoted
This channel is a hidden gem
Such an interesting video!
Great rescue job, really.
Im so proud of those people
How did I miss this? Liked
Great upload
🤘
I'm curious about what happened to the original bow. I couldn't find anything on Google after a quick search. I'm guessing it broke apart on the rocks over time.
It was broken up by the waves not long after, according to wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Suevic
i often go on holiday to the place where the Suevic sunk
What a groovy engineering project and challenge
Great vid...incredibly interesting !
Thanks, Jared! Glad you enjoyed it.
I love this channel i hope you make more videos.
I will!
Very interesting video
Incredible!
I was expecting more "Now that's a lot of damage!" lines in these comments.
Suevic: *gets her bow amputated to save her from sinking.*
Also Suevic: Aye, tis a scratch.
This is my favorite channel
Incredible story
You're the best! I can't believe you covered this rather obscure ship! I first read about this one in de Kerbrech;s history of the White Star Line. The story of the disaster is fascinating and underscores just how many disasters White Star had in it's history and that Titanic's was just one of many. If I remember correctly, the ship's name is pronounced _'sweevic'_ . It was named after the Germanic Suevic people that inhabited the area along much of the Danube in north Central Europe..
Yes, that pronunciation may very well be correct. I have done a lot of reading on Suevic, but, frankly, I have never heard it pronounced out loud as far as I recall.
@@TheGreatBigMove Same here too. I originally pronounced it just as you do, and it seems natural to pronounce it that way. De Kerbrech stated that it is pronounced with a long "e". This makes sense. The word is of proto-German original and that two-vowel combination takes the sound of a long 'e'. Various articles on the tribe of the same name phonetically diagram the sound as a long "e". And the tribe also had its origins in southern Sweden, from with that country gets its name. However it's pronounced, I REALLY appreciated you doing this video.
@@g1a1r1y3 And I appreciate your explanation and reference to de Kerbrech. It sounds like you're right. I might pin a comment on this video to address the incorrect pronunciation, but I want to verify with another source first.
@@TheGreatBigMove Ahh. I wouldn't worry about it. A more enlightening note is how this pioneering feat was the model for all those cruise ship "lengthenings" in the 1980s. Again, thanks for all you do!
@@TheGreatBigMove Actually, it should be pronounced "swayvik". The modern day descendents of the Suevi are called Swabians in English and live in Baden-Württemberg and western Bavaria.
Fascinating
Waste not want not, they left nothing of the Suevic to waste, and made the best of the wreak, great story.
"Bah Gawd! The Suivic has been broken in half."
- Jim Ross
Hey there, I just discovered your page. I just want to say I appreciate what you are doing here and I think your videos are great and informative. It's nice to see someone who has the same level of interest in ocean liners and other historical modes of transportation. What got you into liners in the first place? Thank you for your channel. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, Kyle. I appreciate that. I actually have a video coming out soon about how I became interested in ocean liners.
@@TheGreatBigMove That's great, looking forward to it. I think I will be spending some of the holiday binge-watching your channel.
Good video
Captain: Great, we are still sailing half a ship!
RNLI: Captain Kenobi?
An incredibly tale of salvage I certainly never knew. Personally I've stayed in the old keepers' cottages of the Lizard light on about a dozen occasions as it's a lovely place and would recommend staying there, if not for the fact one is staying in a lighthouse for one, but the history and beauty of the point with a heritage centre located in the fog signal station next door. I knew of the danger of the rocks plaguing the shores of the peninsula, if not by just observing the waters in bad weather then by the numerous maps locating shipwrecks around Lizard point and Cornwall itself. I recall a listing on one of these maps with "The bow of the Suevic" and am now wishing I followed it up!
I would like to point out however that the photograph of the RNLI station is *of* 1914 rather than *in*, it being a much more modern photo based on the fact the slipway in the top right was severely damaged as a result of a lack of maintenance, it having been abandoned in 1961 in favour of a different, lower maintenance cost station further along the peninsula that is still in service today. The remains of the station of 1885 that took part in the evacuation of the Suevic can still be seen a short way up the path that leads from the lighthouse to the beach in Polpeor Cove.
All in all a nice video though. Keep em coming.
That’s pretty bloody amazing. I wonder how common this practice was as it appears all involved had high expectations of the success of the operation.
dang, if only she wasn't scuttled she could have probably been preserved to live to this day! And what a magnificent story to this beautiful ship.
I've read a bunch about the big liners, interesting to hear about smaller ones.
Beautiful ship.
WOW! Theres a man in one of the last pics of the SUEVIC at dock (possibly in sydney NSW, Australia) before its name change, looks very much like my great great grandfather.