Maritime record MWX2463 - Ailsa Craig

Armed British Steamship, carrying coal, lost when torpedoed by German submarine UB-80 off Portland Bill 15 April 1918. Shellcases reported to the Receiver of Wreck.

Ailsa Craig, single boiler screw steamer, 80 horsepower, built in 1906 by Ailsa SB Co Ltd., Troon, 601 gross tonnage, registered at Belfast, crew of 15. Carries one 13pdr gun.

Carrying coal from Cardiff to Granville, it was torpedoed 7.10am 15 April 1918 by German submarine UB80, and sank in 5 minutes, off Portland Bill (3)(4)(5). Only the ship's boat remained intact by which the entire crew managed to get away to be picked up by up by a British naval ship and landed at Weymouth. The W/T codes and confidential papers went down with the vessel.

The Ailsa Craig was sunk just under 4 miles due west of the Pomeranian, and on the same day; the vessels may have been in convoy.

Wreck sold by DOT (War Risk Insurance Office) in 1971 to Mr. E. Nicklin of Weymouth.

Wreck lies orientated NE/SW, bow to the SW (5).
The wreck is still relatively intact and sits more or less upright, standing 5.5m high, but the bows are twisted over to starboard. The stern is intact with the boiler and engine upright and exposed at the aft. The wreck lies facing west on a silty sea-bed in 35m. The wreck of the Moidart is 650yds to the north-east (9).

Forward section broken, boiler and engines still upright. Some superstructure intact. Stern intact. R Edmonds 14-6-99.

Artefacts recovered from the site and reported to the Receiver of Wreck include: 2 x 13lbr shellcases from Lyme Regis (12) and 4 x 13lbr shellcases from Portland (13). Possible confusion over the location of the wreck?

Additional sources in (5): LCWLR 1914-18 p211; BMS 1914-18 p58; BVLS 1914-18 p86; LR 1917-18 No.353(A); PRO Kew.Adm.137/2964; M.

Tonnage gross

Position 50 33.66N 2 47.46W taken from (9)

Horizontal Datum: OGB
Vertical Datum: LAT
Quality of Depth: SWS
Orientation: 070/250
Method of Fix: SYL
(1)

Built: 1906
Builder: Ailsa SB. Co. Ltd.
HP: 80
Boilers: 1
Propulsion: Screw driven, 2 cylinder compound engine
Armament: 1 x 13pdr.
Owner: H Craig and Co, 6, Royal Avenue, Belfst.
Master: Robert Milliken, 57, Wauvegaw Street, Belfast.
Crew: 15
(5)

Built: Troon
Gunners: Thomas McCune, LS RNR, No D1721 Portsmouth
J. Sullivan, AB RNVR, nO mz 1784, Portsmouth
Jas Sharp, AB RNVR, No CZ 8071, Portsmouth
(10)

The AILSA CRAIG was torpedoed at 7.10am by the German submarine UB80 and sank in five minutes. Only one ship's boat remained intact, by which the entire crew managed to get away to be picked up by one of HM ships and landed at Weymouth. The W/T codes and confidential papers went down with the vessel. Wreck sold by DOT (War Risk Insurance Office) in 1971 to Mr E Nicklin.(5)

Date of loss given as 17-APR (Date wrong), she was torpedoed amidships, she stands upright in 35m with the stern badly damaged. Some salvage work has taken place.(7)(8)

She sits more or less upright in 35m, 5.5m proud on a silty seabed. Her bows are twisted but her stern intact with her boilers and engine exposed.((9)

Date of loss given as the 14-APR, at 7.10am an enormous explosion took place on the starboard side which blew away the whole midship section of the ships keel. Torpedoed reportedly by UB-80, she sank rapidly the crew getting away in two minutes.(10)

She was torpedoed at 7.10 am while carrying 705 tons of coal and sank within five minutes 13 miles W by N from Portland. The crew got away in the only remaining boat and were picked up by one of HM ships and landed at Weymouth.(11)

16-APR-1918 position 50 30 00N, 02 48 00W.

11-JUN-1952 Wire drift sweep; clear at 13 fathoms, foul at 14 fathoms. Least depth by echosounder 78 feet general depth 17 fathoms. Length 200 feet. Lying NE/SW the shallowest part is in the centre position 50 33 37N, 02 47 28W.

09-AUG-1982 Dived on several times recently. Thought by local boatman to be the SS BAMSE (see 50 29 05N, 02 58 53W). Bows, heading sw, almost intact and upright. Stern has 13pdr gun and ammunition, dated 1916, found in boxes nearby. Highest point appears to be boilers amidships, with depth of 28m.

25-JUL-1984 Swept clear at 26.5, foul at 26.8m. Least echo sounder depth 27.1 in general depth 33m. Scour 1m deep, side scan sonar height 6m, length approximately 55m, beam 9m. Lying 070/250 degs. (1)

4 x 13pdr shell cases recovered from this wreck in the vicinity of Portland. (Droit A/1726).(6)

2 x 13pdr shell cases recovered from this wreck, Lyme Regis. (Droit A/2540).(6)

A masthead light (copper lantern inscribed "Murray McVinnie, Glasgow") recovered from this wreck, position 50 33.97N 002 47.25W. (Droit A/3576).(6)

Additional sources:
Lloyds Register 1917-18 No.353(A);

<1> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, 1992, Hydrographic Office wreck index (Index). SWX4837.

<2> 1990, Lloyds war losses, The First World War: Casualties to shipping through enemy causes 1914-1918, 211 (Index). SWX4540.

<3> Tennant, A J, 1990, British Merchant Ships Sunk by U boats in the 1914-1918 War, 58 (Monograph). SWX4539.

<3> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<4> 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, 86 (Monograph). SWX4538.

<5> 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.

<6> 2001, Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Receiver of Wreck Amnesty, 23-Jan to 24-Apr-2001 (Index). SWX4542.

<7> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1984, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (1st Edition), No 27 p33 (Monograph). SWX1714.

<8> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1990, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (2nd Edition), No 27 p33 (Monograph). SWX5640.

<9> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1999, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (3rd Edition), Wreck 40, p50 (Monograph). SWX1.

<10> Maw, Neil, 1999, World War One Channel Wrecks (Vessels lost in the English Channel 1914-1918), 161 (Monograph). SDO20146.

<11> Admiralty Records, ADM/137/2964 p138 (Monograph). SDO20160.

<12> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck A/2540 (Unpublished document). SWX529.

<13> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck A/1726 (Unpublished document). SWX457.

<14> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 5 (Monograph). SDO16406.

<15> National Record of the Historic Environment, 904639 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 9 2024 11:25AM