SS Trent

SS ''Trent'' was a British steamship that was built in 1899 as an ocean liner for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (RMSP) service between England and the Caribbean. In the First World War she was a Royal Navy depot ship. She was scrapped in 1922.

This was the last of three RMSP ships that were named after the English River Trent. RMSP's first ''Trent'' was built in 1841 and scrapped in 1867. The second was built as ''Vasco da Gama'' in 1873, renamed ''Trent'' in 1878 and scrapped in 1897.

Building

In 1899 Robert Napier and Sons in Govan built a pair of sister ships for RMSP. ''Tagus'' was launched on 27 June and completed that October. ''Trent'' was launched on 19 September 1899 and completed in January 1900. ''Trent'' was built as yard number 467. Her registered length was , her beam was , her depth was and her tonnages were and .

''Trent'' had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple expansion engine. It was rated at 1,050 NHP and gave her a speed of .

''Tagus'' and ''Trent'' had a straight stem, counter stern and twin funnels. The two ships looked like RMSP's ''Nile'' and ''Danube'' of 1893 and 1894, but were slightly smaller, and had two masts instead of ''Nile'' and ''Danube''s three.

RMSP registered ''Trent'' at London. Her UK official number was 112664 and her code letters were RMGF.

Civilian liner

On 6 June 1909 ''Trent'' ran aground on Semedine Bank, near Cartagena, Colombia. tried to tow her off, but without success. ''Trent'' was refloated that May.

By 1910 ''Trent'' was equipped for submarine signalling and wireless telegraphy. The Marconi Company supplied and operated her wireless equipment, which had a range of about . By 1913 her wireless call sign was UNR.

''America'' airship crew rescue

In October 1910 ''Trent'' rescued the six-man crew of the airship ''America'', including its owner, Walter Wellman. They had been trying to make the first transatlantic crossing by air. ''America'' had left Bader Field, New Jersey on 15 October. Changes in wind direction had slowed the airship's progress and blown it off-course, and technical problems had caused it to lose height. At 0507 hrs on the morning of 18 October, ''America''s crew sighted ''Trent'', which was also off her usual course. ''Trent''s usual route had been changed to make a one-off call at Antilla, Cuba. She left Antilla on 14 October, making her two days late to reach her next call at Bermuda. The change in both her course and her schedule was what led ''Trent'' to be in the right position at the right time to sight and rescue ''America''s crew.

''America'' contacted ''Trent'' by signal lamp, and requested assistance. The airship crew signalled to the steamship by Morse code, and also by displaying a signal of two red lights one below the other, meaning that ''America'' was not under control. ''Trent'' changed course to reach ''America'', which was struggling to maintain an altitude of . After establishing contact by signal lamp, ''America'' and ''Trent'' communicated almost entirely by wireless telegraph. ''Trent''s Master, Captain CE Down, RNR, reported that "The wireless played a wonderful part in the rescue".

''America''s crew lowered a line for ''Trent''s crew to catch, but gusty conditions repeatedly prevented this. ''America'' drifted with the wind at about , and ''Trent'' followed her for about three hours. Eventually ''Trent''s crew succeeded in catching the line and making it fast to the steamship, but another gust broke it and ''America'' was blown away.

The airship crew then reduced ''America''s altitude and launched her lifeboat. The airship struck the lifeboat and nearly capsized it, but the boat righted itself and the airship floated away. The airmen rowed toward ''Trent'', whose crew lowered lines to bring them safely aboard the steamship. Their position was now about 408 miles southeast of Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

Naval depot ship

On 6 March 1915 the Admiralty requisitioned ''Trent'' to serve as a depot ship. She was assigned to support the river monitors , and in the Gallipoli campaign. ''Trent'' transported the monitors' crews to Malta, while the monitors themselves were towed there by tugs. ''Trent'' continued to support the monitors, accompanying ''Mersey'' and ''Severn'' to East Africa in July 1915, for their attack on on the Rufiji River.

''Trent'' later returned to home waters, and on 1 October 1917 became the depot ship for HMS ''Icarus'', the Royal Naval Air Service base at Houton Bay, Scapa Flow. Here she supported the Orkney Air Service's anti-submarine patrols until March 1918.

Disposal

The Admiralty returned ''Trent'' to her owners on 23 January 1919. She was scrapped at Rotterdam in February 1922.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Trent, SS
1899 ships
Auxiliary ships of the Royal Navy
Ocean liners of the United Kingdom
Ships built in Govan
Ships of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
Steamships of the United Kingdom
World War I auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom
World War I passenger ships of the United Kingdom