In the 1880s RMSP introduced a series of larger new ships to improve its scheduled services between Southampton, South America and the Caribbean. The first was the 4,572 GRTOrinoco, built by Caird and Company and launched in 1886. She was RMSP's first new ship to have a hull of steel rather than iron.[1]
After Orinoco's success RMSP ordered two more ships to an improved and enlarged version of the design from Robert Napier and Sons of Govan. Atrato was launched on 22 September 1888, followed by Magdalena, which was launched in 1889. Before these were completed RMSP ordered two more from Napier: the slightly larger Thames in 1889 and Clyde launched in 1890.[1]
Atrato{'s registered length was 421.2 ft (128.4 m), her beam was 50.0 ft (15.2 m) and her depth was 33 ft 4 in (10.16 m). Her tonnages were 5,347 GRT and 3,069 NRT.[2]
Orinoco had only a small amount of deck housing, and was the last square-rigged sail-steamer to be built for RMSP. The four Napier-built ships were more modern, each with a full superstructure deck and rigged as a three-masted schooner.[3]Atrato was the first RMSP ship to be built without yards.[4] The smaller sail plan was based on the increasing economy and reliability of their engines.[1]
Atrato's boilers had a working pressure of 150 lbf/in2.[5] She had eight of them, supplying steam to one three-cylinder triple expansion steam engine that was rated at 687 NHP[6] and drove a single screw. This gave her a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h) on trials[1] and a service speed of 14 knots (26 km/h).[7]
Atrato was designed to meet the standards for an armed merchant cruiser, for which the UK Government would pay a subvention. However, in April 1888, before she had been launched, the Admiralty deemed that she her engine was not powerful enough, and she lacked enough capacity for armament, for the subvention to be paid for her.[1]
Atrato had berths for 176 passengers in first class staterooms, 42 people in second class, and nearly 400 emigrants in steerage class.[8] Her cargo capacity was 2,524 tons and her coal bunkers 1,109 tons. She had 6,000 cubic feet (170 m3) of refrigerated storage space for provisions,[1] using a dry-air refrigeration system with a discharge rate of 10,000 cubic feet (280 m3) of air per hour.[5] She had tanks for 20,000 imperial gallons (91,000 litres) of fresh water.[3]
Atrato's maiden voyage began from Southampton on 17 January 1889.[4] As well as her passengers, mails and a full cargo she carried in her strong room £120,000 in sovereigns, jewellery worth £2,000 and silver bars worth £400. She called at Carril, Vigo and Lisbon, and then crossed the Atlantic to South America. There she worked her way down the east coast, calling at Pernambuco, Maceió, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.[10]Magdalena, Thames and Clyde joined the same South American route over the next 18 months,[11] but after her maiden voyage Atrato was switched to join Orinoco on RMSP's Caribbean route.[10] All five ships had long and successful careers.
The five ships' furnaces suffered from heat damage, so in 1891 they were lined with zinc.[5] In 1899 Day, Summers and Company of Southampton raised the boats on Atrato, Magdalena, Thames and Clyde "to a boat deck clear of the promenade" at a cost of more than £5,000. In 1903 Atrato, Magdalena and Clyde were fitted with bronze propellers costing another £5,000.[12] In 1901 Atrato's hull was painted white.[4] This was short-lived as the new colour showed any grime, rust and soot, and white paint was three times the price of black. In 1902 RMSP reversed the policy and the ship was returned to her original colour.[13] In May 1905 RMSP ordered insulation and refrigeration to be fitted to part of their cargo space to enable Orinoco and Atrato to carry fresh fruit.[12]
In October 1912 the Viking Cruising Company of London bought Atrato and renamed her The Viking. She became a cruise ship, touring the waters of northern Europe.[12] By 1913 her wireless call sign was MVK.[14]
Naval service and loss
The Norwegian liner Bergensfjord, which Viknor detained in 1915
Despite having rejected Atrato as an armed merchant cruiser in 1888, the Admiralty requisitioned her after the UK entered the First World War in 1914. She was fitted out, armed, and commissioned as HMS Viknor.[7] She was placed under the command of Commander EO Ballantyne[15] with a complement of 22 officers and 273 ratings and assigned to the 10th Cruiser Squadron.[12]
On 28 December 1914 Viknor went on patrol from the River Tyne, and on 1 January she joined "B" patrol off the north coast of Scotland.[12] The patrol was ordered to find and stop the neutral Norwegian America Line ship Bergensfjord, which the UK Government believed was carrying a suspected German spy. Viknor found Bergensfjord, detained her and escorted her to Kirkwall in Orkney. There the suspect and a number of other prisoners were transferred to Viknor, which then left for Liverpool.[12]
Viknor never reached her destination. On 13 January 1915 she sank with all hands in heavy seas off Tory Island, County Donegal, Ireland.[16] She sent no distress signal.[15] Some wreckage and many corpses washed ashore on the northern coast of Ireland.[12]
It is thought she struck a German naval mine, possibly one of those laid by the German auxiliary cruiser Berlin.[17] Her wreck was found[18] in 2006,[17] and in 2011 a scuba diver placed a White Ensign on it in memory of her complement.[19]
^ abAllen, Tony (22 September 1913). "HMS Viknor [+1915]". Wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
^"British Auxiliary Lost". The New York Times. 26 January 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
^ ab"The Viking". Shipspotting. 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2014. – includes photo of the ship in Palmers Dock, Hebburn
^"Atrato (1888)". Maritime Quest. Michael W Pocock. Retrieved 2 October 2014. – photographs of Atrato and her wreck
^"HMS Viknor". Vimeo. Retrieved 2 October 2014. – placing of a White Ensign on the wreck by scuba diver Stewart Andrews
Bibliography
Haws, Duncan (1982). Royal Mail & Nelson Lines. Merchant Fleets. Vol. 5. Crowborough: Travel Creatours Ltd Publications. ISBN0-946378-00-2.
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping. Vol. I.—Steamers. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1910 – via Internet Archive.
The Marconi Press Agency Ltd (1913). The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony. London: The St Katherine Press.
Mercantile Navy List. London. 1890 – via Crew List Index Project.
Monograph No. 19: The Tenth Cruiser Squadron(PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. VII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1922. pp. 5–66.
Nicol, Stuart (2001a). MacQueen's Legacy; A History of the Royal Mail Line. Vol. 1. Brimscombe Port and Charleston, SC: Tempus Publishing. ISBN0-7524-2118-2.
Nicol, Stuart (2001b). MacQueen's Legacy; Ships of the Royal Mail Line. Vol. 2. Brimscombe Port and Charleston, SC: Tempus Publishing. ISBN0-7524-2119-0.
Osborne, Richard; Spong, Harry & Grover, Tom (2007). Armed Merchant Cruisers 1878–1945. Windsor: World Warship Society. ISBN978-0-9543310-8-5.
Universal Register. London: Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping. 1889 – via Internet Archive.
External links
Media related to Atrato (ship, 1888) at Wikimedia Commons
"Royal Navy – Warship and Auxiliary Crew Numbers and Types". World War 1 at Sea. Naval-History.net. – includes detailed composition of Viknor's crew numbers
"Sinking of HMS Viknor". Royal Marines History.com. – includes underwater photograph of part of Viknor's wreck.
January 12, 2023
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This article is about the RMSP s 1888 screw steamer Atrato For the RMSP s earlier paddle steamer see RMS Atrato 1853 RMS Atrato was a UK steamship that was built in 1888 as a Royal Mail Ship and ocean liner for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company In 1912 she was sold and became the cruise ship The Viking Late in 1914 she was requisitioned and converted into the armed merchant cruiser HMS Viknor She sank in 1915 with all hands a total of 295 Royal Navy officers and men An artist s impression of AtratoHistoryUnited KingdomName1888 Atrato 1912 The Viking 1914 HMS ViknorNamesakeAtrato River in ColombiaOwner1888 RMSP Co 1912 Viking Cruising CoOperator1914 Royal NavyPort of registryLondonRouteSouthampton Brazil Uruguay Argentina 1889 Southampton Caribbean 1889 1912 BuilderRobert Napier and Sons GovanYard number410Launched22 September 1888Maiden voyage17 January 1889IdentificationUK official number 95512 code letters KWSH 1913 call sign MVKFateSunk 13 January 1915General characteristicsType1889 ocean liner 1912 cruise ship 1914 armed merchant cruiserTonnage5 347 GRT 3 069 NRTLength421 2 ft 128 4 m Beam50 0 ft 15 2 m Draught25 0 ft 7 6 m Depth33 ft 4 in 10 16 m Decks3Installed power687 NHPPropulsion1 triple expansion engine 1 screwSail plan3 masted schoonerSpeed14 knots 26 km h service 16 knots 30 km h maximumBoats amp landing craft carried5 30 foot 9 1 m lifeboats 2 28 foot 8 5 m cutters 1 28 foot 8 5 m steam launch 1 25 foot 7 6 m gig 1 18 foot 5 5 m dinghyCapacityPassengers 176 1st class 42 2nd class nearly 400 steerage Cargo 2 524 tonsComplementas armed merchant cruiser 22 officers 273 ratingsSensors and processing systemsby 1910 submarine signallingNotessister ships Magdalena Thames Clyde Contents 1 Building 2 Civilian service 3 Naval service and loss 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksBuilding EditIn the 1880s RMSP introduced a series of larger new ships to improve its scheduled services between Southampton South America and the Caribbean The first was the 4 572 GRT Orinoco built by Caird and Company and launched in 1886 She was RMSP s first new ship to have a hull of steel rather than iron 1 After Orinoco s success RMSP ordered two more ships to an improved and enlarged version of the design from Robert Napier and Sons of Govan Atrato was launched on 22 September 1888 followed by Magdalena which was launched in 1889 Before these were completed RMSP ordered two more from Napier the slightly larger Thames in 1889 and Clyde launched in 1890 1 Atrato s registered length was 421 2 ft 128 4 m her beam was 50 0 ft 15 2 m and her depth was 33 ft 4 in 10 16 m Her tonnages were 5 347 GRT and 3 069 NRT 2 Orinoco had only a small amount of deck housing and was the last square rigged sail steamer to be built for RMSP The four Napier built ships were more modern each with a full superstructure deck and rigged as a three masted schooner 3 Atrato was the first RMSP ship to be built without yards 4 The smaller sail plan was based on the increasing economy and reliability of their engines 1 Atrato s boilers had a working pressure of 150 lbf in2 5 She had eight of them supplying steam to one three cylinder triple expansion steam engine that was rated at 687 NHP 6 and drove a single screw This gave her a top speed of 16 knots 30 km h on trials 1 and a service speed of 14 knots 26 km h 7 Atrato was designed to meet the standards for an armed merchant cruiser for which the UK Government would pay a subvention However in April 1888 before she had been launched the Admiralty deemed that she her engine was not powerful enough and she lacked enough capacity for armament for the subvention to be paid for her 1 Atrato had berths for 176 passengers in first class staterooms 42 people in second class and nearly 400 emigrants in steerage class 8 Her cargo capacity was 2 524 tons and her coal bunkers 1 109 tons She had 6 000 cubic feet 170 m3 of refrigerated storage space for provisions 1 using a dry air refrigeration system with a discharge rate of 10 000 cubic feet 280 m3 of air per hour 5 She had tanks for 20 000 imperial gallons 91 000 litres of fresh water 3 Atrato was launched on 22 September 1888 1 named after the Atrato River in Colombia RMSP named all of its ships after rivers many of them with Hispanic names to reflect its trade with Latin America RMSP registered her in London Her UK official number was 95512 and her code letters were KWSH 2 9 Civilian service Edit Atrato in civilian service Atrato s maiden voyage began from Southampton on 17 January 1889 4 As well as her passengers mails and a full cargo she carried in her strong room 120 000 in sovereigns jewellery worth 2 000 and silver bars worth 400 She called at Carril Vigo and Lisbon and then crossed the Atlantic to South America There she worked her way down the east coast calling at Pernambuco Maceio Bahia Rio de Janeiro Santos Montevideo and Buenos Aires 10 Magdalena Thames and Clyde joined the same South American route over the next 18 months 11 but after her maiden voyage Atrato was switched to join Orinoco on RMSP s Caribbean route 10 All five ships had long and successful careers The five ships furnaces suffered from heat damage so in 1891 they were lined with zinc 5 In 1899 Day Summers and Company of Southampton raised the boats on Atrato Magdalena Thames and Clyde to a boat deck clear of the promenade at a cost of more than 5 000 In 1903 Atrato Magdalena and Clyde were fitted with bronze propellers costing another 5 000 12 In 1901 Atrato s hull was painted white 4 This was short lived as the new colour showed any grime rust and soot and white paint was three times the price of black In 1902 RMSP reversed the policy and the ship was returned to her original colour 13 In May 1905 RMSP ordered insulation and refrigeration to be fitted to part of their cargo space to enable Orinoco and Atrato to carry fresh fruit 12 By 1910 Atrato was equipped for submarine signalling and wireless telegraphy 6 The Marconi Company supplied and operated her wireless equipment 14 In October 1912 the Viking Cruising Company of London bought Atrato and renamed her The Viking She became a cruise ship touring the waters of northern Europe 12 By 1913 her wireless call sign was MVK 14 Naval service and loss Edit The Norwegian liner Bergensfjord which Viknor detained in 1915 Despite having rejected Atrato as an armed merchant cruiser in 1888 the Admiralty requisitioned her after the UK entered the First World War in 1914 She was fitted out armed and commissioned as HMS Viknor 7 She was placed under the command of Commander EO Ballantyne 15 with a complement of 22 officers and 273 ratings and assigned to the 10th Cruiser Squadron 12 On 28 December 1914 Viknor went on patrol from the River Tyne and on 1 January she joined B patrol off the north coast of Scotland 12 The patrol was ordered to find and stop the neutral Norwegian America Line ship Bergensfjord which the UK Government believed was carrying a suspected German spy Viknor found Bergensfjord detained her and escorted her to Kirkwall in Orkney There the suspect and a number of other prisoners were transferred to Viknor which then left for Liverpool 12 Viknor never reached her destination On 13 January 1915 she sank with all hands in heavy seas off Tory Island County Donegal Ireland 16 She sent no distress signal 15 Some wreckage and many corpses washed ashore on the northern coast of Ireland 12 It is thought she struck a German naval mine possibly one of those laid by the German auxiliary cruiser Berlin 17 Her wreck was found 18 in 2006 17 and in 2011 a scuba diver placed a White Ensign on it in memory of her complement 19 References Edit a b c d e f g Nicol 2001b p 87 a b Universal Register 1889 ATA a b Nicol 2001b p 88 a b c Haws 1982 p 54 a b c Nicol 2001b p 89 a b Lloyd s Register 1910 ATL ATT a b Atrato Scottish Built Ships Caledonian Maritime Research Trust Retrieved 1 December 2022 Nicol 2001b pp 87 88 Mercantile Navy List 1890 p 20 a b Nicol 2001b p 84 Nicol 2001b p 91 a b c d e f g Nicol 2001b p 90 Nicol 2001b p 92 a b The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1913 p 263 a b Allen Tony 22 September 1913 HMS Viknor 1915 Wrecksite eu Retrieved 2 October 2014 British Auxiliary Lost The New York Times 26 January 1915 p 2 Retrieved 2 October 2014 a b The Viking Shipspotting 2012 Retrieved 2 October 2014 includes photo of the ship in Palmers Dock Hebburn Atrato 1888 Maritime Quest Michael W Pocock Retrieved 2 October 2014 photographs of Atrato and her wreck HMS Viknor Vimeo Retrieved 2 October 2014 placing of a White Ensign on the wreck by scuba diver Stewart AndrewsBibliography EditHaws Duncan 1982 Royal Mail amp Nelson Lines Merchant Fleets Vol 5 Crowborough Travel Creatours Ltd Publications ISBN 0 946378 00 2 Lloyd s Register of British and Foreign Shipping Vol I Steamers London Lloyd s Register of Shipping 1910 via Internet Archive The Marconi Press Agency Ltd 1913 The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony London The St Katherine Press Mercantile Navy List London 1890 via Crew List Index Project Monograph No 19 The Tenth Cruiser Squadron PDF Naval Staff Monographs Historical Vol VII Naval Staff Training and Staff Duties Division 1922 pp 5 66 Nicol Stuart 2001a MacQueen s Legacy A History of the Royal Mail Line Vol 1 Brimscombe Port and Charleston SC Tempus Publishing ISBN 0 7524 2118 2 Nicol Stuart 2001b MacQueen s Legacy Ships of the Royal Mail Line Vol 2 Brimscombe Port and Charleston SC Tempus Publishing ISBN 0 7524 2119 0 Osborne Richard Spong Harry amp Grover Tom 2007 Armed Merchant Cruisers 1878 1945 Windsor World Warship Society ISBN 978 0 9543310 8 5 Universal Register London Lloyd s Register of British and Foreign Shipping 1889 via Internet Archive External links Edit Media related to Atrato ship 1888 at Wikimedia Commons Royal Navy Warship and Auxiliary Crew Numbers and Types World War 1 at Sea Naval History net includes detailed composition of Viknor s crew numbers Sinking of HMS Viknor Royal Marines History com includes underwater photograph of part of Viknor s wreck Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title RMS Atrato 1888 amp oldid 1126744540, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
