HMT Aragon
From Our Contribution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMT Aragon |
| Owner | Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. |
| Builder | Harland and Wolf Belfast. |
| Launched | 23 Feb 1905 |
| Completed | 22 Jun 1905 |
| In service | 14 Jul 1905 |
| Out of service | 30 Dec 1917 |
| Reclassified | Passenger ship |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sank |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Mail ship / passengers |
| Tonnage | 9,588 tons |
| Length | 512 ft 4 in (156.16m) |
| Beam | 60 ft 4 in (18.39m) |
| Depth | 31 ft (9.45m) |
| Propulsion | twin screw |
| Speed | 16 knots (29.63 km/h) |
| Capacity | 306 x 1st class; 66 x 2nd; 632 x 3rd. |
Contents
Remarks
Built as a transatlantic mail ship for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She was the first of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's fleet of "A-liners" that worked regular routes between Southampton and South American ports including Buenos Aires.
In 1913 Aragon became Britain's first Defensively-Armed Merchant Ship ("DAMS") of modern times. Armament included 2 × stern-mounted QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns (from 1913). During WW1 it acted as a fast troop ship, primarily in the Mediterranean, including participation in the British landing at Cape Helles during the Gallipoli campaign. Her duties also included evacuating nearly 1,500 wounded personnel to Alexandria and Malta.
on 30 Dec 1917 just outside Alexandria Harbour, the Aragon was torpedoed by U Boat UC-34, which also torpedoed the ship which had picked up most of her survivors. In all 610 of the 2,700 troops aboard her were lost.
Armament: 2 × stern-mounted QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns (from 1913)[4