Maritime record MDO20119 - Polkerris (Adolphus, Adolf)

French collier. 1918 wreck of French cargo vessel which foundered 10 miles SE of the Bill of Portland after being torpedoed en route from Penarth for Rouen with coal. She is also recorded as operating for the British government (being named for a bay in England). Constructed of steel in 1889, she was a steam-driven vessel. A site recorded at SY 46 NE 2 was formerly thought to represent the remains of the POLKERRIS, but is now considered to be the probable remains of the MINERVA.

Position 50 29 35 N 2 45 19 W taken from (1)

Ex-ADOLPHUS, ex-ADOLF; gross tonnage quoted as 943 tons; place of loss given as 10 miles SE of Portland Bill; nationality given as French.

Text quotes the description of a wreck site, identified at the time of writing as the possible remains of the POLKERRIS, but now regarded as the MINERVA [SY 46 NE 3]: Wreck lies in a general depth of 43m, orientated 050/230, least depth 116ft. (1)

Indexed as a French vessel, 944 tons gross. Torpedoed by UB-80 in the Channel, 10 miles west of Portland Bill. (2)

Indexed as a French vessel, 943 tons gross. Sunk by submarine 10 miles SE of Portland Bill, en route Penarth for Rouen with coal. (3)

Built as ADOLF in 1889 for H Schuldt, Flensburg; renamed ADOLPHUS in 1915, then POLKERRIS later that year. Tonnage 936 tons. (4)

She was taken over by the British Government in 1915 and assigned an official number; in British service under the names ADOLPHUS and POLKERRIS. (5) http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/list?search_op=OR&IDNo=1133578 > accessed on 21-FEB-2008

Torpedoed by submarine 10 miles SE of Portland Bill. (4) http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/show/190097 > accessed on 21-FEB-2008

Built: 1889 (1)(2)(4)
Builder: Rostocker Act. Ges. (1); Rostocker (4)
Where Built: Rostock (1)
Propulsion: Screw-driven, 3-cylinder triple-expansion engine (1)
Machinery: Rostocker Act. Ges., Rostock (1)
HP: 86 (1)
Boilers: 2 (1)
Construction: quarter-deck 76ft; bridge-deck 52ft; forecastle 23ft; 1 x deck (1)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
LR 1917-18 No.733(P)
DGWP p26(11)

National Record of the Historic Environment, 1465929 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Von Munching, L, 1968, Merchant shipping losses of Allied, neutral and central powers during and shortly after World War I, 21 (Monograph). SWX4751.

1990, Lloyds war losses, The First World War: Casualties to shipping through enemy causes 1914-1918, 204 (Index). SWX4540.

<1> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

Record last edited

Nov 14 2023 3:23PM