RMS ''Transylvania'' was a British

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

. She was launched on 11 March 1925 for the Anchor Line and was the

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

to the SS ''California'' and RMS ''Caledonia''. She was converted into an

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

, pennant F56 during World War II. On 10 August 1940, HMS ''Transylvania'' was torpedoed and sunk by the German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

History

Construction

''Transylvania'' was built in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, by the Fairfield company, Yard No. 595. She was long and wide. The liner had twin propellers with a service speed of . ''Transylvania'' had three

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

s but only required one; three funnels were more visually appealing and attracted more passengers than her similar-looking fleetmates which only had one funnel each.

Ocean Liner Career

''Transylvania'' was completed on 2 September 1925 and sailed from Glasgow to New York on her maiden voyage ten days later. ''Transylvania'' could carry 279 passengers in First Class, 344 in Second Class and 800 in Third Class for a total of 1,423 people. On 28 March 1929, ''Transylvania'' ran aground in the fog at La Coeque Rocks, west of

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

. In Cherbourg, she disembarked her passengers and then sailed to the Clyde for repairs. In 1930, there was a change in ship passenger accommodation with the increase in international tourism.

Second World War

In September 1939, the liner was requisitioned by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as an

and ''Transylvania'' was assigned to the 10th Cruiser Squadron and served in the Northern Patrol, which was responsible for the

naval blockade A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

against the Germans. On 10 August 1940, off Malin Head, Ireland, she was torpedoed by . ''Transylvania'' was towed by the stern but sank before reaching land. A total of 36 people died. The wreck lies at a depth of about north of

Tory Island Tory Island, or simply Tory, is an island 14.5 kilometres (7+3⁄4 nautical miles) off the north-west coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. It is officially known by its Iris ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Transylvania (1925) Ocean liners World War II Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II 1925 ships Maritime incidents in August 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean