SS ''Dettifoss'' was an Icelandic

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

that was torpedoed by the in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

out of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, United Kingdom(), while she was travelling from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States, to

, United Kingdom, and later to

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland.

Construction

''Dettifoss'' was constructed in 1930 at the Frederikshavns Vaerft & Flydedok A/S shipyard in

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast on the North Jutlandic Island in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The ...

, Denmark. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . The ship was assessed at . She had a compound expansion engine driving a single screw propeller and the engine was rated at 124

nominal horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

Sinking

On 21 February 1945, ''Dettifoss'' was on a voyage in Convoy UR 155 from

, United States, to

, United Kingdom, and later to

, Iceland, with a general cargo of 1,300 tons. When she was torpedoed by the at 08:39 hours in the

out of Belfast. ''Dettifoss'' sank within seven minutes resulting in the death of 12 crew members and 3 passengers. The 29 survivors (18 crew and 11 passengers) were picked up an hour after the sinking by and were then taken to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and later to Iceland. The sinking of ''Dettifoss'' was a harsh blow so soon after the loss of . All public activities in Iceland were cancelled on 24 February 1945.

Wreck

The wreck lies at .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dettifoss Cargo ships of Iceland 1930 ships Ships built in Denmark Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Maritime incidents in February 1945 Shipwrecks in the Irish Sea