List of shipwrecks in December 1918

The list of shipwrecks in December 1918 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during December 1918.

1 December

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List of shipwrecks: 1 December 1918
Ship State Description
Einswarden   Imperial German Navy The Einswarden-class Vorpostenboot was sunk by mines in the German Bight.
Sea Gull   United Kingdom The tug, towing coal barge Margarida (  United Kingdom) from the Tyne for Boulogne, France, was stranded on the Goodwin Sands, off Kent, England, rolling over and becoming a wreck. The crew were rescued by the boat of Margarida, which had been kept from stranding.[1][2]
Tours   France The steamer was beached/wrecked on Gower Rocks in bad weather at the foot of the Pwlldu Head cliff, located near Swansea Wales, United Kingdom, and was abandoned. Refloated in July 1919 and towed to Swansea.[3][4]

2 December

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List of shipwrecks: 2 December 1918
Ship State Description
Tours   France The ship ran aground in Deepslade Bay. She was on a voyage from Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Inférieure to Swansea, Glamorgan, United Kingdom. Tours was refloated on 29 June 1919.[5]

3 December

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List of shipwrecks: 3 December 1918
Ship State Description
George H. Van Vleck   United States The steamer foundered in the Detroit River near Ecorse, Michigan, obstructing the channel. Wreck removal work finished 5 April 1919.[6][7]
Mineola   United States The forward half of the steamer (she had been cut in two to facilitate passage through the Welland Canal) foundered in a severe snowstorm in Lake Ontario five miles (8.0 km) south of Duck Island. Lost with all 11 hands.[8]

4 December

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List of shipwrecks: 4 December 1918
Ship State Description
Kum-Chow   Burma The steamship departed from Rangoon for Colombo, Ceylon. No further trace, reported missing.[9]

5 December

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List of shipwrecks: 5 December 1918
Ship State Description
HMS Cassandra   Royal Navy Russian Civil War: British campaign in the Baltic: The C-class cruiser struck a mine and sank in the Gulf of Finland with the loss of ten of her 400 crew.[10]

6 December

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List of shipwrecks: 6 December 1918
Ship State Description
Capt. Jack   United States The lighter sank at New London Navy Yard, New London, Connecticut, when an extremely low tide caused her to settle on a pile which penetrated her bottom.[11]

7 December

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List of shipwrecks: 7 December 1918
Ship State Description
Gerisoles   United States The cargo ship foundered in Lake Superior with the loss of all hands.[12]
Inkerman   United States The cargo ship foundered in Lake Superior with the loss of all hands.[12]

8 December

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List of shipwrecks: 8 December 1918
Ship State Description
Minola   United States The cargo ship foundered in Lake Ontario.[12]
North West   United States The cargo ship foundered in Lake Ontario.[12]

9 December

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List of shipwrecks: 9 December 1918
Ship State Description
Eva C.   Newfoundland The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean (42°00′N 86°00′W / 42.000°N 86.000°W / 42.000; -86.000). Her crew were rescued.[13]

10 December

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List of shipwrecks: 10 December 1918
Ship State Description
Moto   United Kingdom The cargo ship collided with a warship and sank in the North Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) north of the mouth of the River Tyne. Her crew were rescued.[14]

11 December

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List of shipwrecks: 11 December 1918
Ship State Description
USS Lake Bloomington   United States Navy The cargo ship grounded and sunk east of Point de la Combre, France, at the mouth of the Gironde River.[15]
Richard   United States The lighter was beached near the Central Vermont Dock, New London, Connecticut, to keep her from sinking.[11]

12 December

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List of shipwrecks: 12 December 1918
Ship State Description
Helen Stewart   United Kingdom The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean 12 nautical miles (22 km) north of Graciosa, Canary Islands, Spain. Her eight crew survived.[16]

13 December

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List of shipwrecks: 13 December 1918
Ship State Description
Rudmore   United Kingdom The cargo ship collided with Crown of Galicia (  United Kingdom) and sank in the River Thames at Purfleet, Essex. Her crew were rescued.[17]

15 December

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List of shipwrecks: 15 December 1918
Ship State Description
Grecian Prince   United Kingdom The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of six of her eight crew.[18]
Sehome   United States The passenger ship collided with General Frisbie (  United States) and sank in San Francisco Bay with the loss of two of her crew.[13]

16 December

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List of shipwrecks: 16 December 1918
Ship State Description
Nils   Norway The cargo ship struck a submerged wreck at New York, United States and was beached.[16]
Tacoma   United States Out of service and anchored with no one on board in the harbor at Metlakatla in Southeast Alaska, the 11-ton, 35.7-foot (10.9 m) fishing vessel broke loose from her anchorage during a gale and drifted onto a reef in the harbor, where waves battered her to pieces.[19]

17 December

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List of shipwrecks: 17 December 1918
Ship State Description
Margaret Ann   United Kingdom The schooner was abandoned in the Irish Sea off the Crow Rock.[16]
Silex   United States The steam-powered canal boat sank near Essex, Connecticut.[11]

19 December

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List of shipwrecks: 21 December 1918
Ship State Description
George Loomis   United States The steamship departed from San Francisco, California for Marshfield, Oregon. No further trace, reported missing.[9]

20 December

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List of shipwrecks: 21 December 1918
Ship State Description
Gitano   United Kingdom The steamship was sighted off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire whilst on a voyage from Hull, Yorkshire to Gothenburg, Sweden. No further trace, reported missing.[9]

21 December

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List of shipwrecks: 21 December 1918
Ship State Description
Killarney   United States The 13-gross register ton motor vessel departed Petersburg, Territory of Alaska, bound for a cannery at Thomas Bay in Southeast Alaska with three people and a cargo of approximately five tons of salt, coal, cans, and groceries aboard and was never seen again.[20]

24 December

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List of shipwrecks: 24 December 1918
Ship State Description
Aryan   United States The barque burned in the Pacific Ocean 260 miles (420 km) east of the Chatham Islands. One lifeboat with her captain and 12 people reached Kaingaroa, Chatham Islands. The other lifeboat with nine crewmen never reached land.[21][22]

26 December

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List of shipwrecks: 26 December 1918
Ship State Description
Scow No. 12   United States The scow sank near the wharf of the Bay State Dredging Company, East Boston, Massachusetts.[23]
Spartak   Soviet Navy Russian Civil War: British campaign in the Baltic: Battle of Revel: The Kapitan Izylmetyev-class destroyer ran aground on the Develsej Bank on the approaches to Tallinn while under pursuit by HMS Calypso and HMS Caradoc (both   Royal Navy) and was captured. Refloated and transferred to Estonia as Wambola (  Estonian Navy).[24]

27 December

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List of shipwrecks: 27 December 1918
Ship State Description
USS Teaser   United States Navy The patrol vessel was destroyed by fire in Hampton Roads, Virginia.[25]

28 December

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List of shipwrecks: 28 December 1918
Ship State Description
USS Tenadores   United States Navy The cargo ship ran aground in dense fog on the Île d'Yeu, Vendée. Salvage efforts were abandoned on 2 January 1919 because she had rolled on her side and was breaking up.[15][26]
USS Lake Weston   United States Navy The Lake-class cargo ship stranded on the rocks about one mile (1.6 km) west of Nash Point in the Bristol Channel, Great Britain. Declared a total loss and stripped. The wreck was later sold, salvaged and returned to commercial service by new owners.[15][27]

29 December

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List of shipwrecks: 29 December 1918
Ship State Description
Merida   United Kingdom The cargo ship was wrecked in the English Channel off Le Touquet, Pas-de-Calais, France.[28]

30 December

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List of shipwrecks: 30 December 1918
Ship State Description
USS Katherine W. Cullen   United States Navy The barge sank while in tow of USS Heron (  United States Navy), 15 miles (24 km) southeast from Boston Light, Massachusetts.[15][29]

31 December

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List of shipwrecks: 31 December 1918
Ship State Description
Arendal   United States The 123.58-foot (37.67 m), 210-gross register ton three-masted schooner was abandoned along the coast of Wisconsin. She subsequently deteriorated into a wreck.[30]
Manda   United Kingdom The fishing vessel departed from Grimsby, Lincolnshire. No further trace, reported missing.[9]

Unknown date

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List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1918
Ship State Description
Benito Juarez   United States The steamer foundered in a north east gale in Pacific Ocean off Molokai, Hawaii (21°36′00″N 156°11′00″W / 21.60000°N 156.18333°W / 21.60000; -156.18333) on either 3, 10, or 12 December. Nine crewmen were killed.[31][14][32]
N F Co. No. 1   United States The 30-ton scow was wrecked in Washington Bay (56°43′00″N 134°23′20″W / 56.71667°N 134.38889°W / 56.71667; -134.38889 (Washington Bay)) in Southeast Alaska.[33]
Pioneer   United States With no one on board, the 11-gross register ton, 33.5-foot (10.2 m) fishing vessel sank in the harbor at Metlakatla, Territory of Alaska.[34]
SM U-3   United Kingdom The Type U-3 submarine foundered while under tow.
Undola   New South Wales The steamship departed from Bellambi for Sydney. No further trace, reported missing.[9]
Yâdigâr-ı-Millet (aka Jadhigar-i-Millet)   Ottoman Navy The salvaged S165-class destroyer sank at her dock at Istanbul, Turkey. Raised in 1924 and scrapped.

References

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  1. ^ "Shipwreck on Goodwins". Evening Express. No. 12683. Aberdeen. 2 December 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 18 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Loss of Life at Sea". Daily Record. No. 22427. Glasgow. 2 December 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 18 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Tours". Wrecksite. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. ^ "American Marine Engineer March, 1920". Unknown. Retrieved 20 August 2020 – via Haithi Trust.
  5. ^ Tovey, Ron. "A Chronology of Bristol Channel Shipwrecks" (PDF). Swansea Docks. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Annual report of the chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, Corp of Engineers Year ending June 30, 1919". Government Printing Office, Washington. 1919. Retrieved 14 August 2019 – via Googlebooks.
  7. ^ "George H. Van Vleck (Propeller), U150042, fire, 3 Aug 1914". maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1919". Government Printing Office, Washington. Retrieved 14 August 2019 – via Haithi Trust.
  9. ^ a b c d e Returns of Vessels Totally Lost, Condemned, &c, 1st January to 31st March, 1919 (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1919. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Soviet Naval Battles during Civil War (Redone)". Soviet-Empire. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  11. ^ a b c "Records of the T. A. Scott co". mysticseaport.org. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 41969. London. 10 December 1918. col C, p. 14.
  13. ^ a b "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 41975. London. 17 December 1918. col D, p. 16.
  14. ^ a b "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 41972. London. 13 December 1918. col E, p. 14.
  15. ^ a b c d "U. S. Navy Ships Sunk or Damaged from Various Causes during World War I". usmm.org. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 41976. London. 18 December 1918. col D, p. 14.
  17. ^ "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 41973. London. 14 December 1918. col F, p. 14.
  18. ^ "Trawler mined and sunk". The Times. No. 41974. London. 16 December 1918. col A, p. 8.
  19. ^ "Alaska Shipwrecks (T) – Alaska Shipwrecks". alaskashipwreck.com.
  20. ^ "Alaska Shipwrecks (K) – Alaska Shipwrecks". alaskashipwreck.com.
  21. ^ "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1919". Harvard University. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Aryan (+1918)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Records of the T. A. Scott co". mysticseaport.org. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Soviet Naval Battles during Civil War (Redone)". Soviet-Empire. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  25. ^ "U. S. Navy Ships Sunk or Damaged from Various Causes during World War I". usmm.org. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Tenadores". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  27. ^ "S.S. Lake Weston (American Freighter, 1918) Originally named War Swift. Served as USS Lake Weston (ID # 2926) in 1918-1919. Later renamed Panaghis Vergottis, Strand, Rundo, Salt, Solbritt, and Fidelia". Shipscribe. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Merida". Uboat.net. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  29. ^ "Katherine W. Cullen". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Arendal - WI Shipwrecks". www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org.
  31. ^ "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1919". Government Printing Office, Washington. Retrieved 14 August 2019 – via Haithi Trust.
  32. ^ "Benito Juarez (+1918)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Alaska Shipwrecks (N) – Alaska Shipwrecks". alaskashipwreck.com.
  34. ^ "Alaska Shipwrecks (P) – Alaska Shipwrecks". alaskashipwreck.com.