SS Columbia (1894)

This article is about the British passenger vessel. For other uses, see List of ships named SS Columbia.

History
United Kingdom, France
Name	1894–1912: SS Columbia 1912–1915: SS Sitges 1915–1918: SS Corse
Operator	1894–1912: London and South Western Railway 1912–1915: J.J. Sitges Freres, Alicante 1915–1918: French Navy
Port of registry
Builder	J and G Thomson, Clydebank
Yard number	274
Launched	4 September 1894
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk 24 January 1918
General characteristics
Type	Passenger vessel/troopship
Tonnage	1,145 gross register tons (GRT)
Length	270.7 feet (82.5 m)
Beam	34 feet (10 m)
Draught	14.6 feet (4.5 m)

SS Columbia was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway in 1894.^[1]

History

The ship was built by J and G Thomson of Clydebank and launched on 4 September 1894,^[2] sponsored by a Miss Alderson. Columbia was one of an order for two ships, the other being Alma. She was intended for the fast passenger mail service operated by the railway company between Southampton and Le Havre.

On 13 February 1898, Columbia collided with the French fishing-smack Gazelle. Of the crew of eight French fishermen, only two were rescued.^[3]

In 1912, Columbia was sold to J. J. Sitges Freres of Alicante, Spain, and renamed Sitges. He was acquired by the French Navy in 1915 for World War I service as a troopship and renamed 'Corse'. Corse was sunk on 24 January 1918 in the Mediterranean Sea off La Ciotat, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, by the Imperial German Navy submarine SM UC-67. Her crew survived.^[4]

References

1. Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
2. "New Passenger Steamer". The Star. Scotland. 6 September 1894. Retrieved 14 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "A fatal collision…". Grantham Journal. England. 19 February 1898. Retrieved 14 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Corse". Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 December 2012.