SS Devonian (1900)

Devonian in the Mersey Estuary
History
United Kingdom
Name	Devonian
Owner	F Leyland & Co
Port of registry	Liverpool
Route	Liverpool – Boston
Builder	Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Laid down	331
Launched	28 April 1900
Completed	6 September 1900
Maiden voyage	15 September 1900
Identification	UK official number 113399 code letters RTVD call sign MDL
Fate	sunk by torpedo, 1917
General characteristics
Type	cargo liner
Tonnage	10,418 GRT, 6,823 NRT
Length	552.5 ft (168.4 m)
Beam	59.3 ft (18.1 m)
Depth	36.8 ft (11.2 m)
Decks	3
Installed power	847 NHP or 5,500 ihp
Propulsion	1 × triple-expansion engine 1 × screw
Sail plan	four-masted schooner
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h)
Capacity	as built: 125 passengers 900 head of cattle refrigerated cargo: 1901: 8,640 cubic feet (245 m3) 1903: 34,400 cubic feet (974 m3) 1914: 53,330 cubic feet (1,510 m3)
Crew	1906: 82 1917: 60
Armament	1916: 1 × 4-inch (100 mm) gun
Notes	sister ship: Winifredian

SS Devonian was a British cargo liner that was launched in Ireland in 1900. She was designed to carry a large number of cattle or other livestock, and a smaller number of passengers. When she was built, she had a small amount of refrigerated space in her holds. This was increased twice in her career. She spent her whole career with Frederick Leyland & Co, mostly on a scheduled route between Liverpool and Boston.

Devonian survived two fires in Boston. In 1907, her cattle feed caught fire, some of her cargo was destroyed, but she avoided serious damage. In 1908, part of East Boston caught fire, including warehouses where she was docked, but she avoided damage by being warped away from the quayside.

Devonian took part in three North Atlantic rescues. In 1910, she rescued 16 survivors from the British cargo ship West Point, which had burned and sunk. In 1913, she rescued 59 survivors from the emigrant ship Volturno, which caught fire in a storm. Also in 1913, she towed to safety the French cargo ship Mexico, which had lost its propeller.

In the First World War, Devonian brought thousands of horses from Boston to Liverpool for the British Army. A U-boat sank her in 1917 off the north coast of Ireland.