Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Le Havre and the transAtlantic steamer 'La Bourgogne'


This ship, seen entering the French port of Le Havre in the 1890s, the French SS La Bourgogne, was sunk on 4 July 1898 after a collision in dense fog with the British ship Cromartyshire off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. At the time of the disaster she was carrying 730 passengers and crew, of whom 565 were lost.

This was actually the second collision that this ship had been involved in.

The ship was built in 1885 by Forges & Chantiers de la Mediteranée, La Seyne for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique. She was a 7,395 gross ton vessel, length 150.7 metres (494.4 ft) x beam 15.9 metres (52.2 ft), two funnels, four masts, iron and steel construction, single screw and a speed of 17 knots. There was accommodation for 390 first, 65 second and 600 third class passengers. Launched on 8 October 1885, she sailed on her maiden voyage from Le Havre to New York on 19 June 1886. In February, 1896 she collided with, and sank the steamer Atlas off the US coast. In 1897-8 she was fitted with quadruple expansion engines and her masts reduced to two.

Below is another view of the harbour, the name of the ship departing is not recorded.

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